Pub food

How it works

Do not sit at a table waiting for a waiter. Pubs nearly always work on a "line at the bar for drinks, order at the bar for food" basis: you go to the bar to ask for and pay for both. Food-oriented places often have numbers on the tables, or give you one to take to your table, and the meal is brought when it is ready.¹

Food in pubs ranges from potato chips and nuts, through basic pub food (normally with chips), to restaurant-standard meals; a few pubs even have Michelin stars. Pubs that specialize in food often have a separate eating area, and food service often stops well before the pub closes.¹ A gastropub is a smartened-up traditional pub with a selection of high-quality food, often at restaurant prices.¹

Dishes you may see

• Ploughman's lunch: a cold meal of bread, cheese and pickled onions, sometimes with ham, egg or apple, and particularly associated with pubs.²
• Fish and chips: battered, fried fish with chips, often considered the national dish.⁴
• Sunday roast: see our Sunday roast guide.

Many pubs are very old and have traditional names; read more in the pub guide.³

Food pubs we checked

Check before you go. These pubs' own websites, fetched on Oct 25, 2026, mention a Sunday roast or Sunday lunch. We do not list prices or serving times.