The Good Pub Guide

The Good Pub Guide is a long running publication which lists and rates UK pubs.

Published by Random House's Ebury Publishing subsidiary since 1982, it is released annually in book form and, since 2009 in regularly updated website form.

By 2009, the book form guide contained over 5,000 of the UKs top pubs based upon food, drink and atmosphere. There were 1,140 fully inspected main entries and 1,931 entries recommended by readers which had yet to be inspected. In addition, the website contained a list of 55,000 pubs.

The editor in chief was Alisdair Aird, in collaboration with Fiona Stapley, both formerly of the Consumers' Association. The book bore vividly the stamp of Aird's personality until the launch of the website version, which diluted the effect. An iPhone app was issued in 2011, about which time there was discussion on BBC Radio 4 of the future of the Good Pub Guide business model: since the project was funded not by membership fees but by income from sales of the book, free access to the website and app versions reduced revenue. The publication now charges fees from recommended pubs, a step which had never previously been taken.

Guide categorisations

Pubs receive a categorisation according to the findings of a GPG inspection. In order of the highest rating first, they are:

• Approved, a pub which has been fully inspected by GPG staff and has attained the highest standard.
• Recommended, a pub which has been fully inspected by GPG staff and has attained a high standard.
• Lucky Dip, a pub which has been recommended for inclusion by several readers, but has not yet been assessed by GPG staff.

See also

• List of public house topics

External links

• The Good Pub Guide