Dating back to the 16th century, the East Anglian-based pub has been run by Brendan Padfield and chef-patron Dave Wall since 2015.
This is the third time it has taken the number one slot after topping the list in 2024 and 2022, having first entered the list in 2107.
Other winners at the awards, which were held yesterday (27 January) at Plaisterers’ Hall in London, include The Devonshire in Soho, which was ranked at number two and named Highest New Entry and The Bull in Charlbury, Oxfordshire, which was named this year’s Highest Climber, rising 39 places to number 11.
John Hooker, who runs the Cornish Arms in Tavistock, Devon, with wife Emma, which is ranked number nine on this year’s list was named Chef of the Year, and Tommy Banks’ The Abbey Inn in Byland was named the Estrella Damm Sustainable Pub of the Year.
This year’s winner of the One to Watch award is the White Horse in Fyfield, Oxfordshire, run by owners Mark and Kay Chandler.
Ed Bedington, editor of The Morning Advertiser, which organises the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs, says: “This list demonstrates the innovation, standards and excellence that thrives across the pub sector and long may it continue.”
The Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list
1. The Unruly Pig, Bromeswell, Suffolk
2. The Devonshire, Soho, London
3. The Star Inn, Harome, North Yorkshire
4. Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire
5. The Mariners, Rock, Cornwall
6. The Red Lion & Sun, Highgate, London
7. The Three Horseshoes, Batcombe, Somerset
8. The Sportsman, Seasalter, Kent
9. The Cornish Arms, Tavistock, Devon
10. The Bull & Last, Highgate, London
11. The Bull, Charlbury, Oxfordshire
12. The Gunton Arms, Norwich, Norfolk
13. The Fordwich Arm. Canterbury, Kent
14. The Harwood Arms, Fulham, London
15. The Angel at Hetton, Hetton, Yorkshire
16. The Edinburgh Castle, Ancoats, Manchester
17. The Baring, Islington, London
18. The Packhorse, Hayfield, Derbyshire
19. The Woolpack Inn, Slad, Gloucestershire
20. The Rat Inn, Anick, Northumberland
21. Shibden Mill Inn, Halifax, Yorkshire
22. Canton Arms, Stockwell, London
23. The Loch & The Tyne by Adam Handling, Old Windsor, Berkshire
24. The Black Bear Inn Usk, Monmouthshire
25. The Clarence Tavern, Stoke Newington, London
26. The Black Bull, Sedbergh, Cumbria
27. The Abbey Inn, Byland, Yorkshire
28. The Pipe and Glass, South Dalton, Yorkshire
29. The Coach, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
30. The Longs Arms, South Wraxall, Wiltshire
31. The Broad Chare, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland
32. The Hand & Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
33. The Bulls Head, Craswall, Herefordshire
34. Heft, High Newton, Cumbria
35. The Crown, Burchetts Green, Maidenhead
36. The Silver Cup, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
37. The Waterman’s Arms, Barnes, London
38. The Camberwell Arms, Camberwell, London
39. The Dog and Gun, Skelton, Cumbria
40. The Drapers Arms, Islington, London
41. The Scran & Scallie, Edinburgh, Midlothian
42. The Durham Ox, Crayke, Yorkshire
43. The Eagle, Farringdon, London
44. The Merry Harriers, Hambledon, Hampshire
45. The Tamil Prince, Islington, London
46. The Wild Rabbit, Kingham, Oxfordshire
47. The Three Fishes, Whalley, Lancashire
48. The Dog at Wingham, Wingham, Kent
49. The White Swan at Fence, Fence, Lancashire
50. The Double Red Duke, Bampton, Oxfordshire