6 pubs awarded Bib Gourmands by Michelin
The pubs awarded a Bib Gourmand for the first time were Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub the Compasses Inn, Crundale, Kent; Bell Inn in Langford, Oxfordshire; Charlton Arms in Ludlow, Shropshire; Dog and Gun in Skelton, Cumbria; the Windmill Chatham Green in Chelmsford, Essex; and the Crown Inn, Upton in Hampshire.
Michelin said pubs were “well-represented”. It hailed the Dog and Gun as “unashamedly old-fashioned”, the Compasses as “hugely characterful”, and that the Crown Inn’s menus “championed the county’s produce”.
Mixed news
The awards, which have been released ahead of the official launch of this year’s Michelin Guide on Monday 1 October, included 27 new entries overall.
However, it wasn’t all good news as six pubs lost the title, including the Drapers Arms in Islington, north London and the Canton Arms in Lambeth, south London.
The four other pubs were Bird in Hand, Long Ashton, Bristol; Five Bells Inn, Clyst Hydon, Devon; Anchor in Hullbridge, Essex; and the Talbot Inn in Mells, Somerset.
Another Top 50 Gastropub – the Staith House in North Shields retained its Bib Gourmand and its sister site, the bistro-style restaurant Route gained a Bib too.
Pubs that have retained Bib Gourmands are:
- The Hundred of Ashendon, Ashendon, Buckinghamshire
- Russell Arms, Butler’s Cross, Buckinghamshire
- The Forester, Donhead-St-Andrew, Wiltshire
- Three Oaks, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire
- The Inn at Welland, Great Malvern, Worcestershire
- Green Man, Howe Street, Essex
- Chadwicks Inn, Maltby, Stockton-on-Tees
- Broad Chare, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne & Wear
- Tolcarne Inn, Newlyn, Cornwall
- Staith House, North Shields, Tyne & Wear
- Magdalen Arms, Oxford, Oxfordshire
- Anchor, Ripley, Surrey
- St Tudy Inn, St Tudy, Cornwall
- Hope & Anchor, South Ferriby, Lincolnshire
- Cornish Arms, Tavistock, Devon
- Gunton Arms, Thorpe Market, Norfolk
- Longs Arms, South Wraxall, Wiltshire
- Cat Inn, West Hoathly, West Sussex
- Berkeley Arms, Wymondham, Leicestershire
- The Scran & Scallie, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Hare & Hounds, Aberthin, Glamorgan
- Felin Fach Griffin, Brecon, Powys
Rebecca Burr, director of The Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland, said: “Prices and value for money are important but the Bib Gourmand is about much more.
“It is about the ethos and philosophy of a restaurant. The Michelin inspectors love finding new Bib Gourmands and they are always hugely popular with our readers.”
