Awards keep coming for village pub
ELLASTONE’S Duncombe Arms pub has made it into a prestigious list of the nation’s best gastropubs for the second time.
The family-run Main Road pub, which already has a Michelin Bib Gourmand award to its name, has been included in the Estrella Damn Top 50 Gastropub list, placed in a respectable 28th in the country.
This puts the Duncombe Arms, which is also listed in The Good Pub Guide, in the same line-up as some of the country’s best-known eating establishments, alongside The Harwood Arms in London and The Sportsman in Kent
General manager James Oddy said: “After a tough two years it’s an amazing way for the team’s hard work to be recognised. Cheers to everyone who has put in the graft and well done to everyone in the Top 50.”
The pub’s head chef Jake Boyce was previously head chef for two wellknown London restaurants, Minnow in Clapham and Jason Atherton’s Social Wine and Tapas in Marylebone.
He has continued to pioneer local producers and fresh, seasonal produce to create the dishes served up in Ellastone, which include salt-cured duck breast, buttered dill pickle, white beans and chestnut or roast cod.
He said: “What a fantastic way to start 2022. Myself and the whole team are truly honoured to be number 28 in the country and the only Staffordshire pub on the list. This award is a fantastic start to 2022 and hopefully a sign of more great things to come.
“The awards ceremony was an excellent opportunity for hundreds of hospitality professionals to get together and put the difficulties of the last 10 months behind them. The food, drink and company was all incredible and the whole day was very humbling.
“Now we are back to the grindstone though with our goal now being to really focus on being more sustainable as a business and to be more self sufficient, champion the amazing local suppliers on our doorstep and of course keep making tasty food.”
The Duncombe Arms is also home to 10 bedrooms in the adjacent Walnut House, and each room has been individually designed as an extension of owner, Laura Greenall’s home with Colefax & Fowler wallpapers and luxurious fabrics. A price for an overnight stay in one of the rooms starts at £195.
Laura said: “Coming 28th is an amazing achievement for The Duncombe Arms and also a wonderful way to make our 10th anniversary which is this year.
“We couldn’t be more proud of James, Jake and the amazing team – past and present – who put so much hard work in and have managed to get us here, where we are rubbing shoulders with so many who are such an inspiration to us.
“It really feels like such a positive step after a very difficult two years and we are hopeful it is upwards from here.”