Last week the paper announced the finalists for the coveted Gazette Pub of the Year 2109 award - and in just six days over 200 votes have been submitted by our readers.
The incredible response is in addition to the 400 nominations that were received from the paper’s readers for the first round of the competition - where the paper asked readers to tell us why they loved their local.
Competition has been fierce, and it is down to the number of wonderful pubs that can be founded nestled in the valleys, villages and towns across the region.
A full list of the shortlisted pubs appear at the bottom of this article, along with details of how to vote, and over the next six weeks we’ll be looking at each pub in detail.
This week we visit The Falcon Steakhouse in Wotton under Edge.
Nestled in the heart of the charming country town at the gateway to the Cotswolds, the pub prides itself in being a traditional pub with a steakhouse serving restaurant quality food.
In fact one arm of Andrew Starling’s business serves an impressive range of steaks from his family’s farm up the hill, while the other provides the best local beers available to a loyal and ever-growing core of customers.
Readers have told the paper that this boozer, which was taken over by landlord Andrew around seven years ago gets their vote because staff are so welcoming - and the food is delicious.
“The service, atmosphere and food are perfect,” one reader told the Gazette.
“It might be down to the chef, but we also like the fact that the beef is local - you know where the meat has actually come from.”
The meat comes from the farm in Ozleworth - minutes up the road, where herds are kept in a low stress environment with safety, comfort and humane handling all carefully monitored.
And the staff has been getting a similar thumbs up from happy customers as those who nominated the popular inn described them as ‘attentive and really so friendly’.
“Although it was pretty busy while we were in there, we never felt ignored,” another reader told the Gazette.
“We enjoyed the bustling atmosphere, it really was brilliant.”
The pub has previously be recognised as an award winner in 2015, when Andrew said “I think we offer something that nobody else offers.
“We keep everything local – from the ales to the food – and have a great team of friendly and knowledgeable staff.
“We knew exactly the kind of customer we wanted in The Falcon and we based the whole pub around that customer.
“Now we’ve created a place with a great atmosphere which offers a brilliant range of drinks and restaurant quality food under the same roof.”
If you would like to vote for The Falcon Steakhouse, or any of the other five pubs that have been nominated then you can do so by emailing news@gazetteseries.co.uk.
The following rules apply:
- Only one vote will be accepted per email address
- Readers can only vote for the six shortlisted pubs
- Voting will remain open until midnight Sunday, March 24 - all votes received after that time will not be accepted
- All six runners up will receive certificates.
- Landlords, managers and staff are also free to vote for their own pubs
The pub with the most votes will be crowned Pub of the Year at the end of March, and be presented with our coveted trophy and certificate, as well as a special prize.
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