The term ‘gastropub’ was coined, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, in 1995 by restaurant critic Fay Maschler, four years after what is acknowledged to be the origin of the species, the Eagle in Farringdon, opened its doors.
It’s a word that suggests that, by then, the seed of suspicion that these weren’t ‘proper pubs’ and that a creeping gentrification was consuming the good old boozer, was probably already germinating.
Since then, commentators have periodically announced a gastropub revival, when they’ve never really gone away, only evolved to meet the shifting needs of increasingly knowledgeable food-lovers.
They continue to spring up across the country in many shapes and sizes, defying criticism and demonstrating there’s an undying demand for reasonably priced restaurant-quality food served in the convivial buzz of a pub atmosphere.
The Stagg Inn at Titley in Herefordshire was the first pub to win a Michelin star, and now around 20 pubs each year claim the honour. Yet gastropubs remain champions of democratic dining where you can still eat well more cheaply than in a high-end restaurant.
Like many ideas that last, the first gastropub happened by chance. Restaurateurs Michael Belben and David Eyre could afford only a cheap premises, and the Beer Orders provided plenty to choose from by forcing thousands of pubs onto the market. ‘Rustic’ cookery was in vogue, so their food was relatively simple and substantial.
And just as influential as the menu, the Eagle also set a trend for minimal décor, mismatched future and bare-board floors that continue to define the modern London pub. It’s the almost accidental feel that lends such venues their authenticity and suggests all your hosts really care about is the food. Even while there’s a slick operation purring away beneath the chaotic surface.
Wherever you are, and whatever the décor, there’s always a creative tension between a gastropub’s dual identity as both restaurant and pub with diners demanding ever more informality and chefs aspiring to fancier food, and let’s not forget a great drink offer as well. Estrella Damm have been working hard with the gastropub sector, and the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub list in particular for nearly a decade now, to ensure high quality beer liquid refreshment is matched to the food – and what better drink to have in a gastropub than the beer of Barcelona, Estrella Damm! a great beer!
Michael and Sasha Ibbotson are celebrating a quarter century at the Durham Ox in Crayke, North Yorkshire, on the way building a whole chain of gastropubs before leaving the seven-strong Provenance Inns in 2017 to focus once more on their original purchase.
“I was 28 when we started and I was more of a restaurateur then,” says Michael. “The Ox was a well-thought-of drinking pub that had gone bust, and I ended up with the freehold.
“There were no other gastropubs locally, and I remember when we put in a coffee machine it was a big deal, the first one people had seen around here. A few years in we got rid of the tablecloths and introduced antique scrubbed tables.
“We were a bit fancier back in the day, but we started doing fish and chips and steak. Classic cooking is our thing but we’re also very proud of our traditional pub dishes. It all comes from the same thought processes. In fact, we built our reputation on our steaks and our sticky toffee pudding.
“‘Gastropub’ became a bit of an ugly word, just because a pub did food,” he goes on. “We might serve better food than a lot of restaurants, but we are still a pub. We’ve always kept a tap room for drinkers and served beer at reasonable pub prices, and we’ve always had high beer sales.
“Now I feel we’re like a comfy pair of slippers that people return to with comfortable dining chairs and space to move around. But we’re always striving to be best in class, trying to improve.”
One of the big changes he’s noticed over the past 25 years is the proliferation of artisanal food manufacturers who have become the Ox’s suppliers.
“We made everything ourselves at the beginning, but now we can buy in ice-cream made to our recipe and we have a delivery of fresh bread every day. You pay for it but it’s not cheating if you tell people who has made it.”
Indeed, noting the provenance of ingredients and proudly name-checking suppliers on the menu has become one of the identifying characteristics of a serious gastropub.
Another difference is the growth of competition, not just from other food pubs but places such a garden centres, which compete for staff and well as for customers.
Michael believes “quality will prevail” though. “People appreciate food more now, and if anything I feel the gastropub is becoming more popular.”
You can make a case for the gastropub not only saving failed drinking pubs but playing a key role in developing fine dining in the UK, experimenting with different dishes and cuisines and opening the experience to a wider population.
Brendan Padfield, a relative newcomer who will soon celebrate the 10th birthday of the Unruly Pig at Bromeswell, Suffolk, is currently number one in the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list and believes the gastropub has “come of age”. Along with his partner in the business chef Dave Wall, a chef ambassador for Estrella Damm, the pair have built an outstanding operation which has rightly earned plaudits.
“As society has become less deferential, high-end food in a relaxed setting is of the moment, and the pub is a ready-made for that,” he says. “Because it’s a bit of fun and not stuffy it’s become more relevant while, with honourable exceptions, the days of the boozer have long gone.
“Since the 1960s eating out has become the norm and the mid-market is saturated and homogenous. Fish and chips and pork belly are great but they are all variations on a theme and, if anything, the Top 50 Gastropubs are serving even higher-end food today. Turbot, brill and lobster have become mainstream, and I wouldn’t have dreamed that octopus could be our best-selling starter.
“People have travelled more, their tastes have expanded. Who knew what a bao bun was 10 years ago? And it’s also a post-Covid thing. Eating out has become more of a treat, people are coming out less but spending more, and they are looking for something different.”
His customers have changed in other ways, too. “There’s more family dining and they’re demanding something different, too - as long as there’s a credible offering for the kids. They’re bringing their dogs, too. We allow them only in certain rooms, but the fact you’ve now got dogs at a high-end dinner tells you something!”
