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The Honey Bee took home the title after impressing judges with its focus on customer service, staff development and creating a pub firmly rooted in its local community.
Located on Trenchard Street in Aylesbury, the pub is operated by Gavin Crisell, who has been at the helm for almost three years.
Under his leadership, the Honey Bee has evolved into a thriving community-focused operation, with broad appeal and plenty to keep people coming back.
Significance of events
The pub offers everything from pool, darts to live sport, dog-friendly facilities and family entertainment, while its food offer ranges from pub classics to pizzas.
Events have also become a significant part of the operation, with quizzes, poker nights and functions joined by newer additions including monthly live music and children’s brunches.
Bingo nights, introduced in December, have proved particularly popular, and the pub actively asks customers what they would like to see added to its events calendar.
Though its community ties stretch beyond events, with the Honey Bee maintaining relationships with local organisations and parish councils as well as supporting local and national charities through fundraising.
Community engagement
Behind the scenes, staff development is a key focus, combining Marston’s learning platform with in-house coaching across the kitchen and bar teams, while positive mentions of individual team members in customer feedback are recognised and rewarded.
Overall, the Honey Bee impressed judges with its community engagement, strong leadership, ambitious events programme and charitable activity, alongside its continued focus on service and developing its team.
For the Honey Bee, putting people and events at the centre of the operation has helped reshape the pub – and now earned it the title of Marston’s Pub of the Year 2026.
