Pork belly at Packhorse, Peak District
Last November a group of us went on a trip to the Peak District for my father’s 60th birthday. We booked the Packhorse Inn in Little Longstone, just off the famous Monsal Trail, for a celebration dinner. The bar sources all its products locally and changes its menu monthly. When we arrived, we were greeted by roaring fires and delights on the menu, including pork belly with black pudding and mustard puree, game rolls and over-the-top sticky toffee pudding. It was worth it, but we then had to walk home on a muddy walk through cow fields in pitch darkness.
Eloise
Guinness and seafood, County Antrim
O’Connors Bar in Ballycastle is a traditional, low-ceilinged Irish pub with a welcoming open fireplace and excellent food and drink. The menu has a wide range of the freshest daily specials, using local produce, with great fish and seafood, especially when in season. Guinness is also excellent. Local drinkers, family groups, visitors and international tourists fill the bar and cozy spaces. The food, drink, service and atmosphere make this my favorite pub to eat at.
Aileen
Tips from Guardian Travel readers
Every week we ask our readers for travel recommendations. Various tips will be posted online and may be available in print. To enter the latest contest, visit the reader tips homepage
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A game of pool and a cheeky cocktail, Perth and Kinross
The Muirs Inn, Kinross, near Loch Leven, between Edinburgh and Perth, was the venue for an evening of two halves. Firstly, the light-filled, warm, inviting conservatory extension dining room hosted us for delightful dishes such as large, flaky cod and beer-battered North Sea haddock in Mediterranean tomato and caper casserole, with cookies to finish. The second half featured a game of pool and a cheeky cocktail drink next door in the traditional section of the bar. Great host, sharp service and sharp prices.
Sophie
Polish sausage and free pudding, Wolverhampton
It’s almost impossible to pick a favorite pub, but the Stile Inn on Harrow Street stands out in the crowd. Local Banks’ draft beer and a unique menu of authentic Polish dishes: homemade pierogi, polish sausage, goulash, barbecued pork steak… you can’t find this everywhere. If there are more than four of you you get a free pudding and the portions are large; Takeaway boxes are standard. It may be in a back street of Wolverhampton but they make you feel welcome: they run regular charity nights and offer a special lunch on Christmas Day so no one has to spend it alone.
Sarah Collings
Eclectic menu, Staffordshire
The Black Lion Inn in the Staffordshire Peak District offers a thoroughly delicious and eclectic menu in the beautiful, ‘doubly thankful’ village of Butterton. Hannah and Matt’s locally sourced menu is delightful and the Sunday lunch (£16) is quite memorable (I’ll be thinking about the celery puree for a long time!) and the incredibly delicious beetroot and tofu burger (£13.50). Think comforting, spacious tables, stony floors, whitewashed walls and cozy wood stoves that make it hard to leave the old inn, but luckily there are also rooms upstairs where you can relax for a while.
Steph Woodhouse
A flood of taste, Bosham, West Sussex
After an invigorating walk along the coastline of Chichester harbour, fill up on hearty food at Anchor Bleu in Bosham, overlooking the low tide. Defrost in the cozy room with open fireplace downstairs or in the airy space upstairs for great views of the harbor’s bird life. Enjoy comforting pub grub, Sunday lunches and local fresh fish. After your meal, explore the beautiful village of Bosham, home to the church of the Holy Trinity depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, but park wisely or you will find your car flooded by the tide that floods the harbor front road twice a day.
Cathy Robinson
Perfect for dark nights, Llanarmon, Wrexham
The El at Llanarmon in the Ceiriog Valley has all the makings of a great dine-in bar, especially as the dark nights approach. It has wonderful old beams, a roaring fire and mismatched solid wood furniture, and it makes you feel like you’re a millionaire. Miles from anywhere when the wind howls outside. Specials change regularly and include delicious roasted and marinated Welsh lamb rump, grilled sea bass with samphire and leeks, and blue cheese risotto, served with red wine dates.
Sign
Banquet on the ferry, Isle of Wight
The Wheatsheaf has a flatteringly quirky design style, featuring lights made from antique diving helmets and a wooden parrot above the bar (watch your head!). The regularly changing menu features Isle of Wight produce cooked by chefs who really know what they are doing. Main courses include pan-fried, slow-cooked Isle of Wight veal shank and a wonderful sweet potato, chickpea and spinach curry. Almost all of the evening mains are under £20, or go for lunch and get a large homemade fish finger roll for a tenner. The pub is right next to the ferry terminal connecting the island to Lymington, Hampshire.
Cat
Relating to: Britain’s 10 best pubs with rooms in a great walking area
Moor please, south Devon
While hiking on Dartmoor in the icy fog of New Year’s Day, my friends and I crashed into the Warren House Inn with our muddy boots and cold noses. While Warrener’s pies (soft, springy and delicious rabbit – £16.50) baked, we defrosted them with the help of the fire, which is said to have been burning since 1845. Moorland farms provide most of their produce; The Dartmoor steak is rich and silky, the beer comes from the pump. Later, once more on the empty moorland shrouded in the mist of twilight, we struggled with the temptation to walk back through the Warren’s door into the loving warmth and welcome within.
harriet
Winning tip: Procrastinating dogs, Lake District
The 300-year-old Blacksmiths Arms near Broughton Mills in the Southern Lakes feels like one of the last of a dying breed; a pub that reflects a collective nostalgic image of what a pub should be: stone floors, rough wooden tables, low-beamed ceilings, an open fire burning, locals chatting at the bar. Nothing extra, no tweed decor, just an overwhelming sense of familiarity and comfort. Delicious home-cooked meals at affordable prices, with a contemporary yet unpretentious approach. I spent an afternoon there – autumn light streaming in, the dog sleeping at our feet – incredibly grateful that a place like this still exists. Evening mains are good value: aubergine tagine with salad and new potatoes for £12.95, for example.
Clare