Pub of the Year

Branch Pub of the Year 2024, the White Lion in Oak St

The Branch organises a Pub of the Year competition every year, with the selection process happening between roughly October and March.

The winner goes through to the Norfolk Pub of the Year competition, and further rounds if successful.

Current Pubs of the Year

Branch Pub of the Year 2024 – The White Lion, Oak St, Norwich
The White Lion is a three-roomed pub with a main bar to the front, with six handpumps, a back room with seating and a room with a bar billiards table and more seating to the side. There’s a small patio garden off the games room. Beers are from local breweries, especially Mr Winter’s, Tindall’s, Bull of the Woods, and also good independent breweries across the UK such as Nene Valley, Ossett and Roosters.
The beer selection is augmented by a good range of real cider and perry – the pub has been crowned East Anglian Cider Pub of the Year twice!
This is the second year in a row the pub has been voted Branch Pub of the Year.

District Pub of the Year 2024 – The Ploughshare, Beeston
The Ploughshare is a community-owned and run pub, which reopened in May 2019 after extensive refurbishment throughout by the community, including new wood burners, a brand new bar, fonts and handpumps.
It has a comfortable bar with inglenook fireplace and log burner, a separate dining room with an additional small room off the bar that doubles as a café during the day. Additionally there is another room off the end of the bar that houses a small shop providing day to day essentials.
The three beers on sale usually include at least one from the local Beeston Brewery.

Previous winners:

  • 2023 White Lion, Oak St. (also Norfolk Pub of the Year) District Cock, Dereham – more details here.
  • 2022 Kings Head, Magdalen St. (also Norfolk Pub of the Year, East Anglian Pub of the Year, and National Finalist) District: Red Lion Hotel, Cromer
  • 2021 no award due to the pandemic
  • 2020 Hop In, North Walsham. City: Fat Cat, West End St.
  • 2019 Leopard, Bull Close Rd. (also Norfolk Pub of the Year)
  • 2018 Fat Cat Brewery Tap (now The Brewery Tap), Lawson Rd.
  • 2017 Kings Head, Magdalen St.
  • 2016 Fat Cat Brewery Tap, Lawson Rd.
  • 2015 Beehive, Leopold Rd.
  • 2014 Fat Cat, West End St.
  • 2013 Locks Inn, Geldeston (now in East Norfolk Branch)
  • 2012 Fat Cat, West End St.

If you know the winners prior to 2012, please let us know, as we don’t have records going back that far! (Or at least we probably do, in back issues of Norfolk Nips, but as of now we haven’t had time to do the research!).