The Great British Pub Awards aim to recognise and reward the finest pubs up and down the country, with a wide range of 17 categories such as Best Beer Pub, Best Pub Garden and Best Pub to Watch Sport.
Three months on, The Morning Advertiser caught up with some of the winners to hear how the award has lifted trade.
Blind Jack’s, based in the North Yorkshire market town of Knaresborough, was named Best Beer Pub. Owners Christian and Alice Ogley, who have run the venue for eight years, said sales have risen by around 60% since the win.
“There was a substantially noticeable increase in footfall immediately after winning. We’ve got the data from the tills, and you can clearly see a huge uptick.”
To meet demand, Blind Jack’s has almost quadrupled its ordering stock, creating new challenges around cellar capacity and stock management.
“For one of our mid-range offering beers, this time last year we were looking at around three barrels a week,” Christian Ogley said. “The order that arrived this week was 10 for the same product.”
“We’ve had to really adapt and make sure we have strong cellar management,” added Alice Ogley.
Genuine difference
In Dorset, Chaplins & The Cellar Bar in Boscombe took home the Best Community Pub award. Managing director Harry Seccombe said the award has helped drive sales growth of at least 50%.
“Winning a Great British Pub Award has made a genuine difference for us,” he said.
A newly installed smokehouse has proved popular with customers, with food cooked slowly on site using an offset smoker and real wood, rather than bought-in products.
“Food in particular has really picked up,” he added. “The last three months have been our strongest food sales so far.”
Food sales have also increased at Leeds city-centre venue Pinnacle Sports and Games, winner of Best Pub to Watch Sport. Manager Olivia Kendall said a refreshed menu has also supported the uplift.
“We’ve had an amazing quarter and an even better Christmas than we thought that we were going to have. The change of menu has been more accommodating to our audience.”
Food is US-inspired, with pizzas, loaded hotdogs and fries, as well as a variety of baskets and platters.
Significant impact
Kendall attributed the award to Pinnacle’s long-term investment in visible changes such as additional Sky boxes and upgraded sound systems.
“We’ve put in the changes to really highlight that we are a sports bar and added features in. I think [the judges] could recognise that we have put in changes to really push becoming the best place to watch sport,” she said.
Elsewhere, Worcestershire’s the Fleece Inn was named Best Country Pub 2025. Licensee Nigel Smith, who has run the pub for more than 21 years, said the business is trading around 20% higher than last year across food and drink.
The pub’s award-winning pies have been a key draw, supported by a carefully curated drinks range.
Looking ahead, Leeds-based Myrtle Tavern, two-years-running winner of Best Pub Garden, is expecting a surge in footfall in summer 2026 as warmer weather returns.
Operator Scott Westlake said the garden category delivers a delayed but significant impact, with outdoor spaces largely unused through winter.
Following its first win in September 2024, the pub recorded a 15 to 20% uplift in summer trading compared with the previous year.
“Once the summer started this year, we were busier than ever,” Westlake said. “It was a really noticeable difference, massive.”
The Myrtle Tavern’s two-tiered garden features a marquee with a private Aspall garden, views across a picturesque cricket pitch, a wildlife pond and a greenhouse, among other elements.
Westlake expects a long-term boost to footfall and sales: “The Pub Garden award sees [the effect] last, but benefits from it later on.”
