The Best Places to Drink Near The Hut, by the Record
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Wednesday's open mic night has been running longer than most local bands have been alive, and that's the clue to what Chaplin's is. This Boscombe pub won the Great British Pub Awards' Best Community Pub in 2025, and it earns the tag: live music five nights a week, colourful décor, a garden heading toward wedding-venue status, and a crowd that treats the place less like a bar and more like a second living room.
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Rank 3. Anglesey Arms
British Pub
Sitting on the Goodwood Estate, this West Sussex pub draws walkers, golfers, and devoted regulars who rarely bother with the menu because they already know it cold. The kitchen runs British classics alongside modern bistro dishes and a run of small plates for grazers, while the bar keeps cask ales, lagers, and low-alcohol options. Cosy enough that staying for one more round barely feels like a decision.
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Rank 4. The Horse Guards Inn
British Pub
Oak beams, stripped floorboards, and a vegetable patch that shapes the menu: this South Downs gastropub changes its kitchen list daily based on what's growing, foraged, or sourced from nearby suppliers. The cooking is serious without the pub having forgotten it's a pub. Three en-suite rooms upstairs make it a reasonable excuse to stay the night and pretend you live somewhere quieter than you do.