LONDON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A traditional public house in a leafy rural corner of London has been named the Britain's Pub of the Year.
The Red Lion and Sun in Highgate made it a double by also winning the prestigious Best Wine Bar/Pub award in the 2018 John Smith's annual Great British Pubs Awards, known as "the Oscars of the pub industry".
The judges' citation described the privately-owned Red Lion and Sun has two beer gardens, wood burning fires, a daily changing menu, a great wine list and whisky galore, not to mention its exceptional food.
"Located in the leafy rural haven of Highgate Village, near Hampstead Heath in north London, this idyllic pub offers an extensive wine list that's a cut above the rest," the judges said.
Ed Bedington, editor of the licensing trade's daily newspaper, the Morning Advertiser, organisers of the awards, said: "The Red Lion and Sun is the kind of pub that many people would wish to have on their own doorstep."
The Phoenix Artist Club in central London's Covent Garden was judged the Best Live Entertainment Pub. The Two Brewers in London won the best LGBTQ pub of year award.
Another London pub, the Famous Three Kings in West Kensington, won the award for the Best Sports Pub of the year. With 10,000 different television channels it has become a magnet for London sports fans, said the judges.
Meanwhile, an inn in the university city of Oxford where customers are allowed to feed roaming pigs, goats and chickens, won the award for the best beer garden.