The Good Food Guide defies doom and gloom of Britain’s pubs demise with its launch of 100 Best Pubs, featuring Leeds’ Highland Laddie in top spot.
The Good Food Guide, Britain’s authority on eating out since 1951, has published its inaugural list of 100 Best Pubs in Britain, in partnership with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and supported by Tracklements and Koffmann’s Potatoes.
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 in the hands of new owners Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton (also of the Empire Café, Leeds).
After finding the pub for sale on Rightmove, the couple remastered the historic watering hole with an eclectic menu that raises the bar for casual yet creative pub dining. They said: “We are all absolutely over the moon to be recognised as The Good Food Guide’s No.1 pub in Britain! We are even more thrilled to be flying the flag for Leeds and Yorkshire.”
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.
Editor of The Good Food Guide, Chloë Hamilton: “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.”
This year’s list also demonstrates the importance pubs play in community. Jane Jenkins, marketing director at Timothy Taylor’s: “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…”
https://www.highlandladdie.com/
