About Us | Sawday's

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How we find and choose our pubs

Our pubs are not uniform and you’ll find everything from a tiny rural ‘front room’ serving only a couple of ales to some (small) chain-run but excellently swish outfits. And a lot of lovely places in between. We’ve visited every one of them and written about them honestly. We look for:

  • Character. We like pubs and inns to be as quirky and individual as they please. We seek differences, not similarities
  • Food that’s prepared from scratch. Whether it’s a simple sandwich, freshly-battered fish or a perfect risotto. We like ‘specials’ on a blackboard and a small menu.
  • Some interesting real ales at the bar. Preferably from a local brewery - it’s fun to try curious new brews.
  • Warm, affable staff. Those who know their job inside out and are contagiously enthusiastic.
  • Atmosphere. The opposite of the whole place going quiet when you walk in and you’re not a local.
  • Big roaring fires on cold days. The smell of wood smoke is irresistible when combined with the smell of beer.
  • A great variety of punters. There’s something poignant about being in a pub where everybody seems to rub along happily, whether it’s the just-popped-in group of walkers, the old boy at the bar nursing his pint, or families with children in tow. Good pubs are ageless and classless.
  • A proper ‘local’. It’s no accident that every British TV soap revolves around a pub. We have much to celebrate in each of our different counties and really good pubs let you know exactly where you are by showing off all that is best about their patch - from the food they can source locally to beer brewed down the road.
  • Dogs. They seem to add a certain upbeat wagginess to the general hubbub. Not all our pubs are dog-friendly but we’ve made it clear which of them are.

If anything less than special has crept in while we weren't looking or if you know a pub we should have here, tell us about it on pubs@sawdays.co.uk.