Manchester City Centre venue named one of the BEST gastropubs in the country

A city centre venue has received the top honour of being named one of the best gastropubs in the UK.

The Elephant Castle in Ancoats has made it to the shortlist of 50 venues at this year’s Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs, which sees members within the hospitality industry including top chefs and food writers vote for their best places to eat.

The pub on Blossom Street, which dates back to 1811, is the first Manchester city centre venue to ever be recognised in the respected awards. The historic pub reopened in 2019 under the ownership of the same team behind Cottonopolis.

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Speaking about the recognition, a message posted on the Elephant Castle’s social media said: “Fantastic achievement, we’ve received the @top50gastropubs award today. Thank you to all the team and our lovely guests that make all of this possible and so much fun.”

The pub offers a small menu of traditional British dishes featuring locally-sourced ingredients and products from local suppliers, such as sourdough bread from Manchester’s Pollen Bakery. Executive chef Shaun Moffat joined the venue last September having previously worked at Berber & Q, Shoreditch's Manteca, and at restaurants within the Jamie Oliver Group.

Earlier this year, food critic Jay Rayner described The Elephant Castle as ‘a great place to eat’ in a glowing review, heaping praise on its ham hock terrine, pork chops and a 'crisp-crusted' berry seed cake.

Also recognised at this year’s Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs are three from Lancashire - the Freemasons at Wiswell, The White Swan at Fence