Leeds pub The Highland Laddie on the 'amazing shock' of being named Britain's best boozer by The Good Food Guide
The co-owner of a Leeds pub has spoke of his and the team’s delight after being voted the best boozer in Britain just months after opening.
Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton took over the lease of The Highland Laddie at the start of the year as it was set to close and reopened to much fanfare in April, with esteemed reviewers and visitors praising the traditional feel and phenomenal menu.
On Wednesday it was confirmed that the Good Food Guide had named it the Best Pub In Britain and unsurprisingly the two cosy rooms that make up the venue have been “absolutely rammed” with people toasting their achievement and the immense job they’ve done ever since opening.
Sam said that receiving the news, which he has kept secret since finding out mid-October, was “an amazing shock to say the least” but that he had had his eyes on the accolade.
He said: “We expected to get in the top 100 on account of what we’re doing and our place in the food-led category. But didn’t expect to win the whole thing. I nearly fell over.
“The Highland’s always been an institution - a bit like The Grove and The Templar. These places have always been there and people use them but I think they forget about them. But obviously this has put us right back on the map.”
The 100-year-old pub on Cavendish Street has been a favourite among many over the decades, including staff from the Yorkshire Evening Post and our sister title the Yorkshire Post, where Sam worked briefly in the early 2000s.
He said: “It’s had loads of people coming through. It’s always been a transient pub. It’s one of those places where you get people who are going to stay in hotels for business trips and people going shopping and from all sorts of places. Not just the local area. And that’s where it gets a real sense of a city community.
“You’ve got to treat everyone the same. A lot these country pubs are beautiful but they’re destination pubs. You might see the odd farmer, but that’s it.”
The couple were not searching for a new venture but were determined to take over the reins after seeing that the landlords had made it available online. Sam said: “I thought ‘I can’t let that go’.
“We met the agent who said they’d had loads of applications from pub people but the landlord was pretty keen that it wouldn’t work as a pub. I said ‘no offence but I kind of know what I’m doing and I know the pub. And this is what I’m going to do with it’.
“The agent was saying that they’d had some great applications from convenience stores and vape shops and I was like ‘you can’t let this building do that. No chance’.”
Unsurprisingly, the landlords are now “made up” with the decision to hand the lease over to Sam and Nicole.
Sam said that he thinks The Highland Laddie has been such a welcome success due to its veer away from the growing trend of gastro-style pubs in recent years and focus on traditional pub charm with a great selection of food options.
He said: “What’s really nice is having people popping their heads round and nipping in for a pint and an oyster or a sausage roll. That’s what it’s about. That sort of custom is more than welcome and since the news we’ve seen a massive uplift in that. People trying to find a nook or cranny to have a little chat with their friends.
“I think the industry has been plagued by this term ‘gastro pub’. They’re clutching at trying to get customers into the pubs when really all they need to concentrate on is making it a warm, welcoming environment for people. And that’s warmth from the staff and the hospitality, not from having bloody arancini on the menu. It’s just daft.”
He continued: “I think especially after coming out of lockdown people realised that they appreciate home comforts. They don’t want the wool pulled over their eyes.
“I think people are a lot more wise with how they want to spend and pubs and restaurants have a job to do now. They can’t just expect them to walk through the door.”
The Victorian, red-brick pub is inconspicuously placed between Kirkstall Road and Burley Road amid a selection of high-rise student blocks, but Sam said that the student population are less inclined to head for a social pint nowadays.
He said: “A friend of mine sent me a picture of Saturday day time at The Skyrack and it was empty. That never used to happen. Now all they get is Otley Run and those little pockets of them going in.
“It used to be a great place for sport but they don’t go in anymore. Culture’s changed for students so you can’t target them I don’t think. They’re more interested in fried chicken and bubble tea.”
Sam and Nicole also own the hugely well acclaimed Empire Café on Fish Street in the city centre, which encouraged people to check out their new venture.
He said: “I think because we had the reputation at Empire there were people who wanted to check us out. There was about but also because it was a pub reopening. You don’t hear about that, do you? It’s always stories about pubs closing.”
The unwelcome trend of pubs closing, with closures currently averaging one per day in 2025, was a matter referenced as the Good Food Guide celebrated “the nation’s thriving appetite for genuine pubs with proper food and proper beer”.
Sam said that he and Nicole have no plans to expand further but would be inclined if the right building became available, saying: “Empire was a heritage building as well and if something else like that came up then maybe we’d look at it.”