The UK’s Top 50 Gastropubs have been named, and there’s a great showing for the north west – including a reborn boozer right in the heart of Ancoats.
The Edinburgh Castle shot into the prestigious list for the first time, landing at an impressive 24th place.
The city centre pub wasn’t the only one on our doorstep to make the Estrella Damm UK Top 50 Gastropubs list either – The Pack Horse, just outside Greater Manchester in Hayfield, also snuck into the top 20 this year.
Last year’s top-placed pub, The Parkers Arms in Newton-in-Bowland, managed to stay in the top 10 gastropubs in the UK, ranking seventh.
The Parkers Arms is famed for its pies and its idyllic setting, and was the host venue for last night’s awards.
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Also representing the north west was Freemasons at Wiswell, and The White Swan at Fence.
Over in Yorkshire, The Star Inn in Harome, previously shuttered by a devastating fire but reopened for about a year now, was awarded the eighth spot in the list.
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And despite being open for less than a year, Gary Usher’s Cheshire pub The White Horse made it into the top 100 list.
Gary Usher’s The White Horse made the Top 100 Gastropubs list. Credit: The Manc GroupGary Usher’s The White Horse made the Top 100 Gastropubs list. Credit: The Manc Group
Upon receiving the award news, The Edinburgh Castle wrote: “Not only were we delighted to be included in the @top50gastropubs but to have come away as number 24 in the UK is a huge accomplishment.
“Thank you to all our wonderful guests, our dedicated team and of course @top50gastropubs for including us. We can’t wait for the year ahead! Now, we celebrate…”
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The Pack Horse Hayfield shared: “Well, there it is! Our 3rd year in the @top50gastropubs, our 2nd year in a row in the top 20!
“What an honour and a privilege it is to be among our peers, voted for by the industry, it will always be humbling and surreal.
“Massive thanks to the brilliant @theparkersarms for hosting against all the challenges they faced today, and a huge congratulations to @unrulypig on returning to the top. It is so deserved.”
The Edinburgh Castle has ranked highlight in the Top 50 Gastropubs list. Credit: The Manc Group
The Parkers Arms said: “Delighted to place no 7 in the UK which places us number 1 in Lancashire on the @top50gastropubs list. Thank you to all that voted for us.”
And The White Horse, who placed 68th, said: “What an honour this is! So so proud and to be up there with some amazing other pubs! What a fantastic start to 2024.”
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Ed Bedington, editor of the Morning Advertiser, the pub industry’s main publication and the founders of the awards, said: “Pubs are a beloved institution and part of the UK’s culture, and this list of the most astounding and impressive food pubs in the country is wonderful to see.
“Pubs serve so many roles to so many people, and for operators like the Unruly Pig and all of our list, to be able to offer amazing food and wonderful experiences, up there with some of the best in fine dining, is brilliant to see.”
The full list of the Estrella Damm UK Top 50 Gastropubs 2024
Electrik Bar in Chorlton is giving away 100 FREE frankfurters to celebrate their latest kitchen collab
Danny Jones
We all love a freebie, so we thought we’d spread the good word of the scran lords by letting you know that Electrik over in Chorlton is giving away 100 free frankfurters to celebrate their newest menu takeover.
The popular neighbourhood bar and kitchen on Wilbraham Road in the South Manchester suburb has had a couple of different foodie collaborations over the past couple of years, with local residents Paramogeddon and Four Side Vegan Pizza being the most recent, but now they’re doing hot dogs.
Welcoming their latest vendors Tisch Und Teller, Electrik will be giving away a total of 100 free frankfurters to the first century of people there this evening.
Bringing a taste of Berlin, Bavaria, Frankfurt and more (with a Manc twist, of course) to the popular pub for the Thursday launch party, all you need to do is order a drink upon arrival to get your hands on a free frankfurter sandwiched between a lovely fluffy roll.
Who doesn’t love a hot dog? Especially when they’re giving them away.
As for Tisch Und Teller (TuT), they’ve been serving up German-inspired favourites from the likes of The Shakespeare in Manchester city centre and Nip and Tipple in Whalley Range since September last year, including some very impressive brunches and Sunday roasts.
But the brand just keeps gaining more traction and now they’re setting up shop in Electrik, we’re sure the word will continue to spread – and fast.
Better still, as advertised on the promo poster, not only will TuT now be serving up their delicious food from Electrik every Thursday-Sunday for the foreseeable but the launch party will also live music by local legend and DJing veteran, Abigail Ward of Ghost Assembly.
Free food, pints and top tunes – what more could you ask for on a random weeknight?
The offer will be available from 6pm tonight and, once again, you have to be among the first 100 people to buy a pint to be eligible for a free frankfurter.
Manchester’s new Instagrammable coffee shop is giving away FREE drinks tomorrow
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s newest Instagrammable coffee shops is giving away free drinks tomorrow ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
With another long weekend right around the corner, and much of Greater Manchester and the UK fortunately looking set to bask in the springtime heat, popular coffee chain, Blank Street – which is one of Manchester city centre’s newest residents, with two sites in Piccadilly Gardens, and on the corner of King Street and Cross Street – has decided it wants to help the country “beat the 3pm slump”.
Ahead of the upcoming bank holiday weekend, the chain is inviting Mancs to “meet for matcha” tomorrow afternoon (Friday 3 May).
The exciting freebie offer is all said to be “inspired by data” that shows that almost half of office workers aren’t taking a break from their desks during the day, even despite research showing that this can boost productivity.
Hundreds of iced matcha lattes will be served up at Blank Street‘s Manchester branch on the corner of King Street and Cross Street between 3pm and 4pm tomorrow.
Manchester’s new Instagrammable coffee shop is giving away free drinks tomorrow / Credit: Blank Street
For anyone “ice cold pick-me-up ahead of the long weekend”, but keen not to tip their employers off, the coffee shop chain has created an online tool to allow workers to discreetly add a matcha moment to their diary.
The brand-new online tool will apparently help to “distract calendar snoopers” by creating a cleverly-named meeting and adding it automatically to Outlook, Google, or Apple calendars – with potential meeting titles that include plenty of corporate jargon to “provide the perfect alibi”.
So, all matcha fans need to do tomorrow afternoon is show the Blank Street team at their chosen branch a meeting in their calendar, and in return, they’ll receive a free small iced matcha latte of their choice from the chain’s delicious spring menu.
Blank Street’s popular matcha offering includes the Classic Matcha, the viral Blueberry Matcha, the silky-smooth White Chocolate Matcha, and the brand-new sumptuous Golden Matcha, so there’s something to “inspire every matcha lover to take a little time out”.
As matcha allows a slow release of caffeine, Blank Street says it’s the “perfect drink” to keep energy levels up throughout the afternoon when you’re stuck at your desk on a Friday.
Daisy Jackson -
23rd January 2024 
