The “Estrella Damm” Top 50 Gastropub Awards are voted for by the hospitality industry. It is a list of the best places to eat chosen by your peers, meaning these highly acclaimed venues are being recognised as being the best in the business by the most influential people.
As well as the core 1 to 50 list of the best pubs, we also introduced a 51-100 list in 2019 which further highlight culinary excellence within the pub industry. There is also a selection of special awards that are judged by an expert panel.
Our voting academy
Our authoritative voting academy is made up of more than 350 industry experts from across the country. These voters are either gastropub operators, food writers, pubco catering development managers and executive chefs, celebrity and top hospitality industry chefs, pub guide editors, industry chiefs and food operators. Voters are either approached directly or can apply by contacting us on charli.tomney@wrbm.com
Voters represent regions across the UK to avoid any regional bias.
Each academy member has four votes that they cast in order: position 1 being their top choice of gastropub, descending to number four, which is their fourth favourite choice. One of their four votes must be from the region they represent. If you are a pub operator, you are not allowed to vote for your own pub or one that is associated with you.
Special Awards
Our self-entry category of One to Watch gives pubs a chance to put themselves forward to be a part of the Top 50 Gastropubs list. The category will be paper judged before being visited by an expert judge with the winner being announced alongside the list at the live event in January.
Whether you've been open for six months or six years, the One to Watch category gives all pubs a chance of joining our prestigious list.
Alongside our self-entry, a small panel of expert judges also vote on our Service Award and Chef of the Year. The Highest New Entry and Highest Climber will also be awarded at the ceremony.
The Morning Advertiser editor Ed Bedington says: “Winning or being shortlisted as a finalist is an excellent way of getting your pub – and yourself – the recognition that you deserve. Getting on this list is the jewel in the crown for foodie pubs across the UK. It’s the place to be seen.”
How do you get your gastropub on the list?
There is no short cut. You have to run a great food pub… all of the time! However, if you are doing so but still not getting the recognition you think you deserve, we have put some tips together to help.
- Follow Top 50 Gastropubs on social media. Engage with us, tag us and use the #top50gastropubs hashtag on your posts, we’ll reshare it too, and voters and possible customers will then become more aware of your presence and may visit.
- Email us directly. We hold some small events throughout the year and often visit venues too – let us know if we should come and see you.
- Engage with the current top 100 gastropubs, this could be by visiting or by interacting on social media
- Enter other national pub and food award schemes such as the Great British Pub Awards
- Become a part of the voting academy. It is a great understanding of what to look for and implement in your own pub. Email Charli on charli.tomney@wrbm.com with a small paragraph on why you should be considered as a voter.
We update our voting academy on an annual basis and review our judging criteria regularly to ensure we can give a credible annual snapshot of the UK gastropub sector. We recognise that rankings are not beyond criticism and endeavour to accurately represent the industry.
Watch the 2023 event highlights below
