Michelin Guide backs pub grub improvement

The new Michelin Guide has backed the improving quality of pub food and says that reports of the death of the British pub are “grossly exaggerated.”

There are more than 70 new entries in a record 570-strong list of pubs in the Michelin Eating Out In Pubs Guide 2014.

The guide’s editor Rebecca Burr told the Press Association that good pubs are now spread throughout the UK.

Burr said: “We now recommend more pubs than ever before and the great news is that they are spread all over Great Britain and Ireland, rather than just being concentrated in a few counties.

“No one has to put up with bad food in a pub any more, however picturesque that pub may be. The pubs in our guide have been rigorously inspected by our team of full-time inspectors – and highlight the fact that pubs serving good food are thriving.”

Burr added that she also hopes that the push by pubs to improve their food offering will bring about an end to the term “gastropub”.

“Hopefully we can now all stop using the term ‘gastropub’,” Burr said. “Many of the establishments in this guide are traditional pubs playing a big part in the local community, complete with quiz nights and themed evenings. A pub doesn’t need a modern makeover to serve good food, nor does it need to transform itself into a restaurant.

“Chefs looking to open their own place without having to spend huge amounts of money are also finding pubs to be the perfect choice. And with such skills in the kitchen, these pubs in turn are becoming great training schools for the next generation of chefs.”

The guide’s pub of the year award has gone to The Greyhound in Stockbridge, Hampshire.