A list of the top 50 gastropubs in the UK has been announced, with two North East pubs making it onto the list.
The annual Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs awards took place in Manchester on Monday January 24, with The Rat Inn in Anick and The Broad Chare on Newcastle Quayside having both made it into the top 20 gastropubs in the UK.
Neither pub is a stranger to winning awards, with The Rat named the best pub in Northumberland at the 2018 National Pub and Bar Awards and its chef Kevin MacLean winning Parliamentary Pub Chef of the year in February 2018; while the Broad Chare has also won a clutch of food and drink awards.
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Karen Errington, co-owner of The Rat, said: "It's amazing, we're so happy to be included. There are loads of great pubs up and down the country so we're hugely honoured to be included on such a prestigious list."
The Rat changes its menu every day depending on what's in season, with dishes such as slow-cooked belly pork with chestnut and chorizo stew, and broccoli and crab bisque impressing voters. But one thing that's always on the menu is steak.
Karen continued: "We always have Northumbrian steaks on the menu - rump, sirloin, fillet, rib-eye. We've never used meat from outside of the area since we opened in 2007. We're quite proud that we use local farms and butchers."
The Rat is hidden away in the hamlet of Anick and looks out over Corbridge and Hexham, with stunning views of the Tyne Valley.
And while the restaurant has also been named in the Michelin Guide on several occasions, Karen says: "We don't like to think that we're a fancy restaurant. We just like to think that we do simple, unfussy food. People come for nice food, nice views and the garden. It's about hospitality more than anything else."
The other North East entry was the Broad Chare in Newcastle, which came in at 19th.
A post on the pub's Facebook page read: "We are thrilled, if somewhat humbled to learn that our little pub has made it into 2022 Top 50 gastropubs at no.19.
"After almost two years of grave uncertainty; of twisting and turning; of ducking and diving, it’s lovely, at last, to have a little good fortune and a modicum of good cheer.
"Thank you top 50 gastropubs for recognising our loyal, hard working team and the marvellous job that they do on a daily basis... and of course, a massive thank you to our extended family; our lovely, customers and our ever supportive suppliers, without whom we really don’t know where we’d be."
The top gastropub in the country was The Unruly Pig in Woodbridge Suffolk, with the top five being rounded off by pubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
The list is compiled by Spanish beer company Estrella Damm, with top foodies and hospitality experts voting for their favourites, aiming to ensure the list is decided by the industry. You can see the full list of Top 50 Gastropubs in the UK here.
