The Top 10 Pubs Near University Arms Hotel
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Rank 1. The Burleigh Arms
Modern British Pub
A Cambridge gastropub where the head chef's West Indian roots run quietly through an otherwise modern British menu, turning a neighbourhood pub into somewhere you'd actually plan around. The bar side has its own themed cocktail menu, so drinkers aren't an afterthought. Regulars from the surrounding streets mix with people who drove across town, which tells you most of what you need to know.
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A thatched-roof country pub on the Great River Ouse, The Sun has the kind of postcard exterior that makes you wonder if the food can possibly keep up. It does. The kitchen runs its own farm, so "local ingredients" isn't just menu copywriting here. The bar hatch turns out goat curry and fritto misto alongside pints, while the seasonal tasting menu leans into beef shin, smoked trout, and whatever the farm is doing that week.
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Rank 3. The Dog and Pickle
Seafood Pub
Oysters three ways (natural, Rockefeller, tempura) sets the tone early: this is a seafood-leaning gastropub in a quiet Essex village that takes its cooking more seriously than the postcode might suggest. The wood fire runs through much of the menu, from dry-aged beef to Scottish scallops, though beer-battered fish and chips holds its ground alongside the lobster bouillabaisse. The pear tarte tatin with gorgonzola ice cream suggests a kitchen that enjoys keeping you slightly off balance.
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Rank 4. The Silver Cup
Modern British Pub
A gastropub on the Harpenden common that has been pouring pints since the Victorian era, The Silver Cup pairs local ales with modern British cooking that takes seasonal produce seriously. The room is contemporary and relaxed, the kind of place where you can eat well without performing about it. Rooms are available if you'd rather not navigate the train home. It sits in the Top 50 Gastropubs list and is selected by the Michelin Guide.
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The white weatherboarded facade is hard to miss on the village green, and the low salvaged beams inside make it feel like the pub has been standing forever, because it more or less has. The Hoop is a proper Essex country gastropub: real fires, friendly but not sloppy service, and daily menus that lean French and Italian while keeping toad-in-the-hole firmly on the card. Wash it down with a local ale and nobody will judge you.
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Rank 6. Bull & Last
British Pub
The Scotch eggs here have a reputation serious enough to anchor a cookbook. Perched at the northern end of Highgate Road, the Bull & Last is a proper gastropub, landed in the Michelin Guide and on the Top 50 Gastropubs list, with a handful of boutique rooms upstairs if Hampstead Heath has done its work on you. The menu runs British pub classics with a continental lean, and the room feels bright without trying too hard about it.
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The team behind Anchor & Hope, the Waterloo gastropub that quietly set the template for London pub dining, brought this Victorian corner pub to Stoke Newington Church Street. Original panelling meets brick, the doors fold out onto a courtyard, and the kitchen sends out boldly flavoured, generously portioned food, the kind of cooking that makes a shared pie feel like the obvious choice. The deli near the exit is easy to miss and worth not missing.
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Rank 8. The Parakeet
Modern British Pub
A Victorian pub in Kentish Town that became one of London's more talked-about gastropubs without appearing to try very hard. The stained-glass windows and long bar stay resolutely pub-like, while the open kitchen behind them turns out wood-fired sharing plates drawn from regenerative farms. The team came up through Brat, and the fire-cooking instincts followed. Sunday roasts, good wine by the glass, and locals who drink without ordering food keep it honest.
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Rank 9. The Red Lion and Sun
Modern British Pub
The daily menu goes live online at 11am, which tells you something about how seriously this Highgate gastropub takes its kitchen. Produce comes from Highgate Butchers and a careful roster of suppliers, and the wine list has a reputation that pulls people in from well beyond N6. White walls and light wood give it a New England boathouse feel, and on Sundays the roasts fill every table by early afternoon. Ranked third in the Top 50 Gastropubs.
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The jet-black exterior marks this Newington Green gastropub from a distance, and the no-reservations policy means you either luck into a cosy booth or end up at a communal table getting absorbed into someone else's evening. Seasonal cocktails, natural wines, and well-kept ales cover the drinks side thoroughly, while the kitchen leans into the kind of confident, unfussy cooking that makes you order another round just to keep eating.