
A gastropub or gastro pub is a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
that serves food of high quality, with a nearly equal emphasis on eating and drinking. The term was coined in the 1990s in the United Kingdom.
History
The term ''gastropub'' (derived from
gastronomy
Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between Human food, food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well ver ...
) was coined in 1991,
when David Eyre and Mike Belben took over The Eagle pub in
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England.
Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...
, London.
Traditionally, British pubs were drinking establishments and little emphasis was placed on the serving of food.
The growth of gastropubs influenced change in British dining and pub culture,
and has sometimes attracted criticism for potentially removing the character of traditional pubs.
"Pub grub" expanded to include British food items such as
steak and ale pie,
shepherd's pie
Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in French cuisine ''hachis Parmentier'', is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked, formerly also called Sanders or Saunders. The meat used may be either previously cooked or fre ...
,
fish and chips
Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of batter (cooking), battered and fried fish, served with French fries, chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, ...
,
bangers and mash
Bangers and mash or sausages and mash is a traditional British dish consisting of sausages and mashed potato. The dish is usually served with onion gravy, but may also include fried onions and peas.
This dish, even when cooked at home, may ...
,
Sunday roast
A Sunday roast or roast dinner is a British dish traditionally eaten on Sunday. It consists of roast meat, roast or mash potatoes, and accompaniments such as Yorkshire pudding, gravy, and may include condiments such as apple sauce, ...
,
ploughman's lunch, and
pasties
Pasties (singular pasty or pastie) are patches that cover a person's nipples and areolae, typically self-adhesive or affixed with adhesive. They are usually worn in pairs. They originated as part of burlesque shows, allowing dancers to perform ...
. In addition, dishes such as
hamburger
A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...
s,
chips
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...
,
lasagne
Lasagna (, ; ), also known by the plural form lasagne (), is a type of pasta, possibly one of the oldest types, made in very wide, flat sheets. In Italian cuisine it is made of stacked layers of pasta alternating with fillings such as ragù ...
and
chili con carne
Chili con carne ( ), often shortened to chili, is a spicy stew of Mexican origin containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), tomatoes, and often pinto beans or kidney beans. Other seasonings may includ ...
are now often served.
In August 2012, ''gastropub'' was added to ''Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary''.
In 1984, Spinnakers Brew Pub opened in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The first ever custom-built brewpub in Canada, it heralded a new wave of brewpubs and craft breweries in British Columbia that followed a major deregulation of the brewing industry in that province. Spinnakers served inventive cuisine, and Joseph Blake of ''Eat'' magazine claims it as the world's oldest gastropub. ''Difford's Guide'' credited David Eyre and Mike Belben with introducing the first gastropub to the U.K., when they took over the Eagle in Clerkenwell in 1991 and upgraded the standard food options to "restaurant quality".
Gastropubs became popular in the U.K. and U.S. in the 1990s and early 2000s.
See also
*
Brasserie
In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves dishes and other meals.
The word ''brasserie'' is French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing busine ...
*
List of public house topics
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Gastropubs
Restaurants by type
1990s neologisms