The Top 50 gastropubs in the UK have been revealed, and it’s safe to say we’re well and truly spoilt here in the north.
Four out of five of the country’s very best foodie pubs are located up north, with number two – The Parkers Arms in Clitheroe – just an hour’s drive from Manchester.
Time to start making some bookings.
Despite being pipped to the top spot by Suffolk’s Unruly Pig, the Clitheroe pub has still leapt up two spots from its 2021 position to make it the best in the north of England, according to the prestigious Estrella Damn Top 50 Gastropubs 2022 list.
Other pubs up north to achieve recognition in the list include The Star Inn (Harome, North Yorkshire), The Angel (Hetton, Skipton), and Freemasons (Wiswell, Clitheroe), ranking at numbers 3, 4 and 5 respectively.
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It’s certainly been an eventful year for Michelin-starred pub The Star Inn, which burnt down in a fire in 2020 – yet still managed to claim one of the top spots, despite only having been back open for a few months.
Further down the list sits the critically acclaimed Pack Horse at Hayfield, which sits at the foot of Kinder Scout and is only a 50-minute drive from Manchester. The pub was also recently added to the Michelin Guide, to the delight of chef-owner Luke Payne.
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In total, fifteen northern pubs made it into the top 50 list, with more notable selections close to Manchester including West Yorkshire pubs The Moorcock in Sowerby Bridge, and The Shibden Mill Inn.
Suffolk’s Unruly Pig, meanwhile, was been crowned the UK’s finest, moving up from last year’s Highest Climber category to become the very best in the Estrella Damn Top 50 Gastropubs 2022 list today.
The Top 50 Gastropubs list, now in its 13th year, ranks the UK’s best gastropubs according to the votes from more than 400 gastropub owners, food critics and other industry experts.
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Image: The Pack Horse at Hayfield
Chris Lowe,, Top 50 Gastropubs publisher, said: “After a tough two years for the hospitality industry, we are thrilled to see such a strong list of contenders this year, including a new number one and several new entrants!
“The Top 50 Gastropubs provides a platform for food-lovers to explore the very best offerings across the UK. We are delighted to host this year’s event in Manchester for the first time, highlighting the range of talent across the UK.
“I’m incredibly delighted for Brendan and everyone at The Unruly Pig to get the number 1 spot.”
Further northern pubs to feature in the list include The Rat Inn (Anick, Hexham) The Broad Chare (Newcastle Upon Tyne), The Higher Buck, Waddington (near Manchester), The Pipe and Glass, (Barnsley,Yorkshire), The Shibden Mill Inn (Shibden, West Yorkshire), The White Swan at Fence (Fence, Burnley), Heft (High Newton, Lancashire), The Higher Buck (Waddington, Lancashire) and The Hovingham Inn (Yorkshire).
Inside The Moorcock at Sowerby Bridge, which jumped up 10 places on this year’s list from #39 to #29 / Image: The Moorcock, West Yorkshire
James Healey, UK Country Manager for Estrella Damm, said: “As the authentic premium beer of Barcelona, Estrella Damm is proud to continue to support the UK’s gastropubs.
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“This is the seventh year that we have sponsored the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub Awards, an awards ceremony that celebrates high calibre ingredients, culinary excellence and innovation, qualities that are also shared by Estrella Damm.
“We want to extend our congratulations to all 50 gastropubs on the list and hope more pub-goers are lucky enough to experience their talent in 2022.”
The Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs 2022 list is as follows:
Beloved plant-based independent street food business Herbivorous is set to close imminently
Danny Jones
We hate writing this, but we have news of yet another local hospitality closure as beloved Manchester-born and pioneering plant-based brand Herbivorous has confirmed they’ll soon be calling it a day.
If you can hear us sighing through the screen, apologies – we’re just getting really fed up of saying farewell to our favourites, so god knows how rubbish those involved feel.
As you can see, the team behind the multi-location vegan street food specialists began by writing: “It’s a long one so stay with me… It seems you can’t open social media at the moment without reading about another hospitality business closing down.
“Throughout 8 years of Herbivorous years we’ve come up against many challenges from Covid 5 years ago to watching all the big vegan brands from London and beyond come to Manchester and largely disappear again to the closure of Hatch our busiest site, but with continually increasing costs its becoming really difficult to maintain a thriving business.”
Herbivorous started out life back in 2016 as a cult hit at the old outdoor food, drink and entertainment hub centring around a ‘container village’, the first of its kind in the city and soon to reopen under new owners and a new name.
Since then, co-founders Robyn and Damian have gone on to expand not just to one permanent site over in Withington but with outposts in Sheffield and York, having gained a strong reputation with stalls and pop-ups all over.
Their hospitality story might not have the ending we personally would hope for, but it’s been a brilliant one for so many foodie fans – us lot included.
Nevertheless, they go on to add in the emotional statement that external pressures such as a recent bereavement and their own ever-growing family have also contributed to the decision which, despite being an understandably hard one, “feel like the right time.”
“We are so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come from spending long days slinging duck wraps from our green vintage horse box at festivals to three Herbi locations across the North of England”, they continue, “and with that we’ve also met so many fantastic people!”
“Whether you worked for us at a few festivals over [the] summer or for years at our restaurant, we just wanted to say and massive thank you! The memories will stay with us forever and, of course, how can we not mention our fabulous customers!
“Thank you all so much for choosing Herbivorous over the years. Those of you who had our food at Festivals and then found us at one of our permanent locations, those of you who came back week after week to Hatch, Spark, Withington and beyond.”
They signed off by detailing their final business days, with their Sheffield Kommune spot having already shut for refurbishment; meanwhile, their spot in SPARK York will be wrapping up on Saturday, 19 April.
As for their flagship brick-and-mortar venue here in Greater Manchester, Herbivorous Withington will be shutting on Friday, 25 April.
Once again, there’s nothing we can say other than thank you for years of delicious food, that we’re guttted to see you go, and that everyone at The Manc Group wishes you the best whatever comes next.
AJ Tracey is playing a VERY intimate gig in Manchester next month
Thomas Melia
London rapper and respected grime artist AJ Tracey is ‘live and direct’ once again, announcing a whole host of UK dates, one of which is a rather intimate gig right here in Manchester.
It’s official: one of UK rap’s leading gents is getting back on the road and he’s showing a ‘Little More Love’ to lots of cities, including Manchester.
In a post on the UK star’s socials, AJ Tracey trades his music persona for that of a sports pundit as he announces the dates for his upcoming tour while impersonating an F1 commentator.
Anyone looking to attend Tracey’s ‘Not Even A Tour’ can catch the star up and down the country on his over 20-date tour with a stop in Manchester as soon as this month.
The rapper has reached phenomenal heights since dropping the unforgettable ‘Ladbroke Grove’ in 2019 and is heading out across the nation to make sure everyone knows about it.
Get ready to spit bars left and right as this rapper’s discography is stacked with serious tunes like ‘Dinner Guest’, ‘West Ten’, ‘Thiago Silva’ and more.
More recently, he collaborated with Walsall’s finest Jorja Smith for a flirty garage beat also known as ‘Crush’ with the video being the two artists talking it out in a good old fashioned caff.
The latest collaboration with Smith marks the start of a new era for Mr. Live and direct as it fell in line with the announcement of his third studio album.
Titled Don’t Die Before You’re Dead, we’re sure he’ll be “building a vibe” wherever he goes and probably previewing a few exclusive tracks from his upcoming project too.
This gig may come as quite a surprise for any hardcore fans of the ‘Ladbroke Grove’ star as the venue in which he’s performing is definitely intimate only, holding just over 250 guests.
This rap giant is bringing his unbelievable beats to none other than the legendary small-cap city centre live music venue, The Deaf Institute, at the end of this month.
It’s safe to say you won’t get many more chances, if any, to see him in such a tight-knit space again.
AJ Tracey is bringing ‘Not Even A Tour’ to Deaf Institute in Manchester on 30 April, with tickets on sale Friday 4 April from 12 noon.
Georgina Pellant -
25th January 2022 
