Michelin Guide pub winner praises staff
The pub in Stockbridge, Hampshire was crowned Pub of the Year last week by the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs guide. It previously held a star in 2004 and was known as the Greyhound at Stockbridge.
"I think we won the accolade because the food is consistent, our chef is good, the staff are great and the location is good," said owner Lucy Townsend.
The dining area holds 50 covers and is averaging between 80 and 100 a day.
The pub benefits from its own River Test beat at the end of the garden. Guests can order food to be served on the riverbank, in the beat’s fly-fishers’ hut.
Townsend, who opened the site in March, plans to landscape the large outside space and possibly add an outdoor pizza oven. Next year will also see the addition of four more bedrooms, bringing the total number of rooms to 11.
This year’s guide recommends more than 570 pubs of which 70 are new entries.
Editor Rebecca Burr disputed claims that the British pub is dying and praised pub food. She also urged the industry to drop the term ‘gastropub’, as did The Good Food Guide in 2011.
