baroosh

Reading matter

Guides worth your time.

Everything we know about drinking well in England, written down properly.

A quiet pub garden on a Sunday afternoon in early spring, dappled light through oak trees
Sunday pubs

Where to drink on a Sunday afternoon in England

Sunday afternoon drinking in England is its own category - not evening drinking, not post-match drinking, but the specific pleasure of a Sunday afternoon stretched unhurriedly into evening.

12 April 2026

A row of craft beer keg taps in a modern taproom, lit by industrial pendant lights
Craft beer

Craft beer in English market towns

Craft beer in English market towns is not what craft beer was in London in 2012. It is something calmer, more integrated, and in many ways more interesting.

8 April 2026

A traditional English pub bar counter with handpumps and a row of glasses
Guides

A visitor's guide to English pub etiquette

English pub etiquette is not complicated, but it is specific, and knowing it makes the difference between a pleasant evening and an obviously foreign one.

5 April 2026

A gastropub dining room with wooden tables set for lunch, a chalk specials board visible on the wall
Gastropubs

The quiet rise of the English gastropub

The gastropub was first a rescue operation and later a revolution, and the argument about whether it improved or corrupted the English pub is not yet settled.

29 March 2026

A bartender at work, carefully measuring a spirit into a mixing glass by amber light
Cocktail bars

How to find a good cocktail bar outside London

The cocktail bar outside London has had to work harder to earn its audience, and that effort tends to show in the glass.

22 March 2026

A dog lying contentedly under a pub table, a lead loosely attached to the table leg
Dog friendly

Dog-friendly pubs worth the drive

The best dog-friendly pub is one where the arrival of your dog does not require any announcement, explanation, or apology - it is simply assumed.

15 March 2026

A pub screen showing live football, a packed room of drinkers watching intently
Sport pubs

Where to watch live sport in a proper pub

Live sport is best in a pub where most of the people watching have a genuine stake in the result, and where the screen is incidental to the atmosphere rather than the reason for it.

8 March 2026

A perfectly pulled pint of real ale in a low-lit English pub, condensation on the glass
Real ale

The real ale guide to English market towns

The finest real ale in England is found not in specialist craft bars but in the market-town pubs that have been maintaining their cellars since before the craft beer movement was born.

1 March 2026