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Each and every year, the National Pub and Bar Awards seeks out the finest pubs in the land. It assesses food offerings, quality of service, drinks line-ups, interiors and general vibes to come up with a list of more than 90 boozers that represent the best their county has to offer. Of those boozers, one is selected as the ultimate national winner. For 2026, the national title went to The Gunton Arms in Norfolk.
The Gunton Arms sits within the vast Gunton Estate near Cromer and has been around since 2011. After visiting back in March this year, our food and drink editor Leonie Cooper called the pub ‘uniquely down to earth’ and gave it a glowing five out of five stars. Shortly after, it rose to number one on Time Out’s ranking of the best gastropubs in the country. But what makes it so great?
Before you even get to the food and drink, a huge part of the Gunton Arms’ brilliance is its decor. ‘There’s a roaring fireplace and cosy armchairs as soon as you enter,’ Leonie said. ‘Welcoming staff serve reasonably priced pints for you to sink in various spaces across the maze-like pub, including a perfect William Morris-wallpapered nook.’
Thanks to owner Ivan Braka’s history as an art dealer, the pub has an astounding collection of contemporary art to rival the Tate Modern. ‘World-beating works by Damien Hirst, Lucian Freud, Paula Rego and Frank Auerbach lay in casual wait behind various corners,’ Leonie recalled. ‘And though the imposing Elk Room is the main dining space, there’s also a side room dedicated to the work of Tracey Emin.’ Yet, the place still has all the beloved features of a good old pub, from its pool table to its dart board, that ‘make it feel like a boozer for everyone’.
Now, onto the food. The kitchen here is led by chef Stuart Tatterstall (ex-head chef with Mark Hix), who takes a seasonal approach and makes the most of venison from the surrounding estate, the famous Cromer crab and beef from nearby Blickling. His menu changes daily, but sample dishes include deep fried cod cheeks with caper and bronze fennel mayonnaise, pork and leek sausages with mash and onion gravy and slow roast shoulder of lamb with spring bubble and squeak.
Leonie called the crab soup starter she had at the Gunton Arms ‘delightfully moody and magically murky, lifted to heroic heights thanks to an enlivening splash of Somerset cider’. She also commended the ‘smokey steak straight from the fire, cavolo nero dressed with fierce ginger and garlic, and earthy, luxe venison lion that comes with a tangy jelly’.
You can read the full review here.
Read all about the pubs named the best in each UK region at the 2026 Pub and Bar Awards here and find out more about the London winner.
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Plus: Time Out went to the London restaurant that has been crowned the best in the UK.
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