Mark Solomons

The horror of gastropubs

They're pricy, pretentious – and not really pubs at all

  • From Spectator Life
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Last week saw the publication of the 14th annual Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs of Great Britain, a list consumed by middle-class foodies as eagerly as a £27 fish finger sandwich served on a piece of slate, washed down by a non-alcoholic cocktail in a jam jar. Couples scroll through former drinking holes transformed into Michelin-starred restaurants with ‘wacky’ names such as the Unruly Pig and the Scran and Scallie, noting the ones they have been to and others to put on a gastronomic bucket list – the bucket probably being what their sweet potato fries are served in.

It’s a far cry from George Orwell’s 1946 essay ‘The Moon Under Water’. In it he described his vision of the perfect pub, in which he felt food takes away rather than adds to the enjoyment – though he conceded that there may be the odd snack available, such as a liver-sausage sandwich or a plate of mussels. Mind you, he also thought beer should be served in china mugs and didn’t like barmaids who called you ‘ducky’ rather than ‘dear’.

The point is, gastropubs are fine for an expensive meal out once in a while, but they are not really pubs – or at least not the kind of pub many of us grew up with, nor the kind of ‘local’ that is disappearing at the rate of around 400 a month. Yes, that’s right, 400 per month. Even more than during the Covid years.

There are, of course, many reasons why pubs are closing or have closed in years gone by. Right now it is down to the sheer expense of keeping them open at a time of staff shortages, soaring energy bills, would-be customers cutting back on spending and the lack of profit on heavily taxed alcohol which can be bought for half the price at the supermarket.

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