This year's Estrella Damm Top 50 UK Gastro Pubs list has been announced with Kent's The Sportsman regaining the top spot making it the 5th year it's taken the award.
The Michelin-star pub located in Seasalter on Kent's north coast is run by chef patron Stephen Harris and has previously won the award in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. The awards ceremony took place virtually on 26th March with the awards extending from 50 to 100 for the first time in a move to give food pubs more visibility in the wake of the pandemic as pubs around the country prepare to re-open this month.
Chef Harris abandoned a career in the City to open his "grotty boozer by the sea", taking over the pub in 1999 and holding a Michelin Star since 2008. With a focus on terroir foods, reflecting the local geography, Harris now picks seaweed from the Sportsman's adjoining beach, as well as making his own salt from the sea and using meat from the numerous farms of the Seasalter area.
Menu highlights include roast saddle of Monkshill Farm lamb with mint sauce; thornback ray with brown butter, razor clams and sherry vinegar dressing; and braised brill fillet with mussel and bacon tartare.
In second place was The Star Inn, Harome, ahead of last year's victor, Fulham's The Harwood Arms in third place. The full top 10 can be found below.
1. The Sportsman, Kent
2. The Star Inn at Harome, North Yorkshire
3. The Harwood Arms, London
4. Parkers Arms, Lancashire
5. The Mariners, Cornwall
6. Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire
7. The Hand and Flowers, Buckinghamshire
8. The Compasses Inn, Kent
9. The Coach, Buckinghamshire
10. The Unruly Pig, Suffolk
Find out more over on the Top 50 Gastro Pubs website here.