"We're very proud" says the only Lancashire pub named as one of the best in the UK for food
A Lancashire pub has been named as one of the best in the UK for food in a brand new prestigious ranking.
The Good Food Guide, Britain’s authority on eating out since 1951, had today launched ts inaugural list of 100 Best Pubs in Britain, in partnership with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and supported by Tracklements and Koffmann’s Potatoes.
Despite the doom and gloom picture of Britain’s pubs, with closures currently averaging one per day in 2025, The Good Food Guide is celebrating the nation’s thriving appetite for genuine pubs with proper food and proper beer – and the growing number of venues that are delivering it.
Taking the No. 1 spot in Britain is The Highland Laddie in Leeds, a 100-year-old city centre institution that reopened in April 2025 whilst the Readers’ Choice Award was awarded to The Broad Chare in Newcastle.
Do any Lancashire pubs feature?
Only one pub in Lancashire has been named in The Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs in Britain.
The Parkers Arms in Newton-In-Bowland, near Clitheroe has been ranked as the 39th best in the UK.
This rural country inn was taken over by business partners Kathy Smith and Stosie Madi in January 2007 when it was just a derelict abandoned landmark but now it is consistently named as one of the best foodie pubs in the country.
What has the Parker Arms said about its latest accolade?
Co-owner and head chef Stosie, who moved to Lancashire from the Gambia 21 years ago, said: “We are delighted once again, to be flying the flag for Lancashire, because we have been at the Parkers Arms for 19 years this January and when we first took over, I don't think anyone hardly knew where Clitheroe or anything around it was. And every year, we are always so, so proud to make sure people know all about the beautiful area that we live in by highlighting what we do with seasonal locally produced food.
“We've been in the Good Food Guide, top 100 a few times, you know, like the local restaurants and stuff. This is the first time they've put this award on and with it being a pub award, I think it's very special that that we're in it, because being a pub is a very special thing for us.”
Asked why that is, Stosie, who has worked with Rossendale local Kathy since 1989, answered: “Well because we are a pub, we are not a restaurant only. We pride ourselves in being independently owned, investor free, family owned, and hands on. You can walk in and have a pint at the bar with a packet of crisps, or you can just sit down and order one thing off our Walkers ‘walk in’ menu, if you will, or you can go all out and have a three course meal. So we're a great dining pub that's very nationally renowned, but we're also very much a pub, you know, you don't have to book a table to have a meal.
“Parkers Arms is a very unfussy place. It’s a no frills, down to earth country place where you come and be as casual as you want or as dressed up as you want, It's very, very comfortable and very welcoming. For me, this is very important because a lot of pubs, I find, are not really pubs, they're restaurants, and you have to dress up or you get very supremely fancied up food. Our food is produced just as well with the same top quality ingredients but we really believe in keeping it hearty, rustic and generous. It’s very important for us to get that across, because pubs are a dying breed, you know, and we're a female led business as well so it's fantastic that in the male dominated world of hospitality and invester dominated businesses, a small business keeps doing this so we're very proud.”
When can I get myself down to try their food?
Parkers Arms is open between 12-2pm and 6:30-8:30pm Thursday to Saturday and between 12-4pm on Sundays.
There is currently a half term treat offer on whilst their festive menu is also available to view.
Parkers Arms is closed on bank holidays, including Christmas Day.
You can book online here or by phoning 01200 446236
One of our reporters even visited Parker’s Arms last year for a three course meal and you can read their review here.
What else has been said about the guide?
Editor of The Good Food Guide, Chloë Hamilton, said: “We went searching for the pubs that nail the drinking and dining side of the equation. It turns out the harder you look the more you find, and they’re not all hidden away in the Cotswolds. The Highland Laddie – a city-centre slam dunk – is a very good case in point.”
Jane Jenkins, marketing director at Timothy Taylor’s said: “Timothy Taylor’s is delighted to have taken part in The Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs campaign celebrating such quality, community-led establishments. Congratulations to all the winners, many of whom serve Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, the UK’s number one cask ale, and a special shout out to The Highland Laddie and the Broad Chare.”
Group CEO and founder of The Food Heroes, Simon Martin, added “We are delighted by the groundswell of support for Britain’s best pubs during these tough times for our industry!” while marketing director of Tracklement’s, Liz Cuff, said: “After the success of Britain’s Best Sunday Roasts in 2024, we’re delighted to support The Good Food Guide in celebrating Britain’s 100 Best Pubs 2025. The fabulous but approachable pub food on show throughout this list goes hand in hand with our award-winning condiments.”
What are the full rankings?
The Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs 2025
1. The Highland Laddie, Leeds
2. The Kinneuchar Inn, Fife
3. The Merry Harriers, Surrey
4. The Beckford Arms, Wiltshire
5. The Radnor Arms, Kent
6. Greyhound Inn, Pettistree, Suffolk
7. The Pelican, London
8. The Abbey Inn, North Yorkshire
9. Inn at The Sticks, Carmarthenshire
10. The Pack Horse, Hayfield, Derbyshire
11. The Eagle, London
12. The Barrington Boar, Somerset
13. The Sun Inn, Dedham, Essex
14. The Kerfield Arms, London
15. The Broad Chare, Newcastle – Readers’ Choice Award
16. Church House Inn, Devon
17. The Killingworth Castle, Oxfordshire
18. The Felin Fach Griffin, Powys
19. The Gunton Arms, Norfolk
20. The Plough, Rye, East Sussex
21. The Bath Arms at Longleat, Somerset
22. The Parakeet, London
23. The Rat Inn, Northumberland
24. The White Hart Inn, Essex
25. The Pipe & Glass, East Yorkshire
26. The Bull Charlbury, Oxfordshire
27. The Farmers Arms, Devon
28. The Devonshire, London
29. Hop Pole Inn, Somerset
30. The Waterman’s Arms, London
31. White Horse Holme, Norfolk
32. The Olive Branch, Rutland
33. The Old Wharf Inn, West Midlands
34. The Star Inn, Harome, North Yorkshire
35. The George at Burpham, West Sussex
36. Fox & Hounds, Hertfordshire
37. Tichborne Arms, Hampshire
38. The Bull Inn, Totnes, Devon
39. Parkers Arms, Lancashire
40. The Woolpack Inn, Gloucestershire
41. The Double Red Duke, Oxfordshire
42. The Cat Inn, West Sussex
43. The Canton Arms, London
44. The General Tarleton, North Yorkshire45. The Anchor, Walberswick, Suffolk46. The Camberwell Arms, London47. The Brisley Bell, Norfolk
48. The Swan, Suffolk
49. The Riverside at Aymestrey, Herefordshire
50. The White Horse, Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk
51. The Kirkstyle Inn & Sportsman’s Rest, Northumberland
52. The Grove Inn, Devon53. The White Hart, Fyfield, Oxfordshire
54. The Silver Cup, Hertfordshire
55. The Anglesea Arms, Hammersmith, London56. Heathcock, Cardiff57. The Feathers Inn, Northumberland58. The Anchor & Hope, London59. The Taybank, Perthshire & Kinross60. The Queens Arms, Somerset
61. Hare & Hounds, Glamorgan
62. Applecross Inn, Highlands
63. The Punch Bowl Inn, Cumbria
64. The Clachan Inn, Dumfries & Galloway
65. The Bull Freehouse, Troston, Suffolk
66. The Exmoor Forest Inn, Somerset
67. The Ship Inn, Northumberland
68. The Bell at Selsley, Gloucestershire
69. The Tamil Crown, London
70. The Millbrook Inn, Devon
71. The Drunken Duck Inn, Cumbria
72. The Bull’s Head, Herefordshire
73. Dylan’s at The Kings Arms, Hertfordshire
74. St Kew Inn, Cornwall
75. The Pilgrim, Buckinghamshire
76. The Howard Arms, Warwickshire
77. The White Horse, Churton, Cheshire
78. The Alford Arms, Hertfordshire
79. The Plough, Bolnhurst, Bedfordshire
80. The Cotley Inn, Somerset
81. The Cornish Arms, Tavistock, Devon
82. Kilchrenan Inn, Argyll & Bute
83. The Red Lion, Isle of Wight
84. The Greyhound Inn, Letcombe Regis, Oxfordshire
85. The Halfway at Kineton, Gloucestershire
86. The Crown, Hastings, East Sussex
87. The Bonnie Badger, East Lothian
88. The Owl Hawnby, North Yorkshire
89. The Blind Bull, Little Hucklow, Derbyshire
90. The Surprise, London
91. The Leicester Arms, Kent
92. The Old Eyre Arms, Derbyshire
93. The Dartmoor Inn, Lydford, Devon
94. The Longs Arms, Wiltshire
95. The New Inn, Herefordshire
96. The Duck at Yeoford, Devon
97. White Horse, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
98. The Gurnard’s Head, Cornwall
99. The Manor House Inn, Somerset
100. The Bunch of Grapes, Rhondda, Pontypridd