#trivia-night

#trivia-night

A lot of things come together for the perfect pour, including temperature and the cleanliness of lines. Bottom line? Yes, it's all better in Ireland. However, that's not to say there aren't some outstanding Irish pubs in the U.S., because there are.

My grandparents used to take me to the Sandford Arms across the road from their house in Leeds on a Saturday afternoon to play the jukebox and since I remember records like Boney M's Rivers of Babylon this must mean I was about four. My other grandparents, meanwhile, actually ran a pub in the city centre. Their days usually started with my grandad, who did not have the bonhomie of a natural landlord, groaning to my grandmother: You open up, Kath, I can't face it!

Early in my career, I was going through a difficult chapter in work and life. Having moved down to London from Glasgow, I felt socially untethered, unsure of where I belonged. I yearned to feel part of a gang like I'd done back home, but I had no clue about how to find one. A bruising experience of redundancy hadn't helped matters.

NIQ's exclusive PubTrack solution has published its rankings of British consumers' favourite pub operators in 2025. The lists are based on a range of metrics from last year, including overall satisfaction and value for money, the quality of drinks and service, and intentions to revisit and recommend. The feedback provides accurate insights into guests' engagement with Britain's best-known pub names, helping operators and suppliers understand brand sentiment and benchmark performance against their competitors.

It had been trailed for a few months ahead, and I'd sworn off it; the living nightmare that was Brexit was only a few months old and Wetherspoon's Tim Martin was one of its most gracelessly triumphant fuglemen. He could keep his (incredibly cheap) pints and his (superhumanly fast) nuggets. I didn't cave piecemeal as soon as I set eyes on the Royal Victoria Pavilion, renovated, now the world's largest Wetherspoon's, I was overswept by its charm.