Boot and Shoe Ackworth: Pontefract pub named among best in the country in Great British Pub Awards 2023

The Boot and Shoe in Ackworth has been named Admiral Taverns Pub of the Year 2023. A record number of pubs from across Great Britain entered this year’s awards and were put through two rigorous rounds of judging from industry professionals.

The winners of the Great British Pub Awards 2023 were announced at a ceremony at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on Tuesday.

Leeds venues the Hare and Hounds and Pinnacle Beer and Gin Hall were announced as finalists earlier this summer, but the Tingley boozer lost out on Best Pub Garden to a Dorchester pub, while Pinnacle failed to scoop the Best Pub to Watch Sport category.

But the family-run Boot and Shoe was crowned the best Admiral Taverns pub in the country, with judges praising “extensive investment” into its garden, an “impeccably-run” operation. Posting on Facebook, the pub’s team said they were “super proud” of the achievement.

The judges said: “The Boot and Shoe, a fantastic community pub in the village of Ackworth, Yorkshire, is a fantastic operation that caters for all elements of the surrounding community.

"This is a business that refuses to stand still, and the operator, Jamie Merrill, along with his family, continue to drive the operation forward, constantly looking for opportunities to grow.

"Merrill, who’s day job is as chief finance officer for Ossett Brewery, cheerfully admits to the fact the pub is something of a side hustle from his day-to-day work, but as side hustles go, this one is particularly impressive.”