Cotswold pub The Ebrington Arms, sister pub to The Killingworth Castle in Wootton, has been named Best Pub for Food in the UK by The Telegraph and Sawdays today.
Landlords Jim and Claire Alexander are ecstatic, after a hard six months during lockdown.
Claire said: “After the hardest 6 months we’ve ever had in hospitality we are taking this as a giant sign that we’re here to stay and at the top of our game.
“It’s such a boost for our team who work so hard and are so passionate. To get the best pub in the UK for food is huge and Sawdays and The Telegraph picked us out of 500 pubs they were looking at.
“A properly unpretentious inn, run by the nicest people. One of the best”
“We’ve been on a journey at both The Ebrington Arms and The Killingworth Castle to introduce more organic food and we’re so pleased at how it’s been received.
“Huge respect to our head chef Adam Brown (who’s worked for Champignon Sauvage, Gordon Ramsay and Mallory Court) and his team and also our front of house. In fact huge respect to everyone working in hospitality right now.”
The Telegraph and Sawdays said they chose The Ebrington Arms in Chipping Camden as Best For Food because: “This gorgeous old stone pub with a weathered wooden bar is leading the charge for sustainable, superb food from within its historic walls.
“The sourcing has earned landlords Claire and Jim a rare three-star rating from The Soil Association, meaning they always use 50-70 per cent organic ingredients. The menu they form is a perfect blend of creativity and simplicity, with pub classics and inventive dishes all serving as a showcase for the incredible local produce. Worn stone floors, fresh flowers and a delightful mishmash of tables set the scene for terrific pub food.
It concluded: “A properly unpretentious inn, run by the nicest people. One of the best.”
The Ebrington was also named The UK’s number 1 Village Pub by The Times recently
And with chef Andrew Lipp back at The Killy where he was chef when it won two rosettes, things look lime they are on the up for one of oxinabox.co.uk’s favourite pubs.
Landlords Jim and Claire Alexander fulfilled their lifetime dream of running a country pub, which they found in the shape of The Ebrington Arms in 2007 – a village inn that had been serving the good people of Ebrington since the 1640s.
A baptism by fire would be a huge understatement for the task they undertook, but they’ve since renovated the pub and its five luxurious B&B rooms and have greatly increased the capacity of the restaurant – not to mention picking up a clutch of awards including two AA Rosettes for seven consecutive years and the award for CAMRA North Cotswold ‘pub of the year’ three years running.
In 2012 Jim and Claire also purchased, renovated and re-opened The Killingworth Castle, a previously derelict 17th century coaching inn in Wootton.
See it’s transformation here: http://551.326.mywebsitetransfer.com/top-tenish-new-look-the-amazing-transformations-carried-out-in-these-oxfordshire-pubs-cafes-and-restaurants-in-lockdown/
Two years later they launched their own craft beer range, under the banner of The Yubberton Brewing Co.
Another Oxfordshire pub recognised in the awards was The Swan at Ascott-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, which came Runner-up in the Best for Rooms category.
