A very small surprise

About 7 or 8 years ago I travelled to Suffolk to spend a weekend with friends in Bury St Edmunds. My friends had only recently moved to the town and had been busy getting the house in order so had not really had a chance to explore. The saturday evening we decided to go out for a meal and to visit a few of the pubs in the town centre. My friend worked at the local NHS hospital and had been told that wherever else we went that evening we must be sure to visit a particular pub.

When I arrived a little later than expected thanks to the traffic on the A14 I was hoping for a nice cup of tea but within minutes we were in a Taxi heading for the centre of town, on the way my friend explained that we had to visit a certain pub but she could not explain why other than to say it had been recommended and that it was “different”. I wondered what this meant, was there some sort of wierd live show, something about the architecture perhaps? I was certainly intrigued.

Getting out of the taxi in the centre of town the driver pointed across the square as the direction we should take and off we went. As the pub came into view it didn’t look particularly special, although the frontage looked rather narrow it was a corner building so presumably went back a bit. As we got closer it became clear just how small the frontage was, intrigued we opened the door and stepped inside and were immediately in front of the bar which started perhaps 3 feet or so from the door, there were about 8 or 9 patrons in the pub and with the entry of our group of three the place was pretty much packed out. we had arrived at “The Nutshell” which according to the poster was “The smallest pub in Britain”

This title is disputed by a few other contenders but apparently they have outside seating for punters where the Nutshell has none, only the inside area. We stayed for a couple of drinks and then moved on for a meal at a nearby restaurant and the rest of the evening is now a bit of a blur but I will always remember my weekend trip to Bury St Edmunds and visit to the Nutshell. If you ever visit the town make sure you visit the smallest pub in britain.

Now I am keeping my eye out for a pub to lease myself but I think I would like something with a bit more room and certainly more space behind the counter!

The Rise Of The Gastropub in the United Kingdom

Old fashioned pub parlours have become significantly reduced as a result of the smoking bans in the uk, as gastropubs see considerably increasing popularity over their more traditional pub counterparts.

So what essentially is a Gastropub? The Gastropub is basically a public house but one that specialises in high-end food and drink. TV chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White have been involved in supporting the phenomenon by opening their own and there are numerous books detailing gastropub style recipes packing out the cookery sections in bookshops across the country and online, featuring fashionable, classier takes on traditional recipe favourites.

The overall look and feel of the pub sees a complete makeover as well. Out go inexpertly upholstered seats in favour of leather dining chairs, all designed to fit in with the aesthetic feel of the pub, right down to every last thread and embellishment in some cases. Out are the tattered, archaic sofas and benches, with more regal styled dining chairs often taking pride of place.

Whilst a wholly new institution, the Gastropubs  still refer back to the historical heritage they have developed from. This rise in popularity has also been supported by some institutional benchmarks such as The Michelin Guide. Now celebrating its 1st centenary year, the 2011 guide has included more pubs in its list of recommendations than at any other time in its history and also issued more of its coveted “stars” to British eateries than ever before – 143 in total.

Many signs are pointing to a significant shift in the UK’s citizens favour towards one of its most important social institutions, and what they expect to see when they get there. Whilst there will always be a place for the traditional, spit n’ sawdust public house, more and more public houses are taking a decidedly more modern approach, and doing rather well as a result. Running a pub has always been a popular business option and forward looking pub companies have modern development and support programmes for prospective landlords looking for a pub to lease.