The Good Pub Guide probably provides the widest choice.
A fat, packed volume from Ebury Press that isn't cheap at around
£15, it covers over 5,000 pubs. The guide combines main entries
and 'lucky dips' - establishments that have been recommended but
haven't been fully checked out. Symbols pick out highlights like
exceptional food or wine, while a detailed entry gives a description
of the pub, a good feel for the food available (including prices)
and useful details like the attitude to children and the opening
hours.
About the only thing wrong with The Good Pub Guide is the
directions. If I had a pound for each time I've got lost following
these brisk and rarely illuminating remarks I'd be able to go
to pub more frequently than I do. Still, the maps are good and
it's invariably worth the search. Take, for example, The Good
Pub Guide's unspoilt pub of the year, the Harrow at Steep (Hampshire).
Finding this place is a treasure hunt in its own right, but you've
only got to see the remarkably old fashioned rooms, or taste the
huge bowls of soup and mind-blowing meatloaf to know that it was
all worthwhile.
