What's Trending Now: Pub Grub that's Posh

Pub Grub that's Posh

Purveyors of down-home, downright sinful staples like juicy burgers, and terrines of macaroni and cheese in truffle oil. Led by a few lumberjack-like chefs and proprietors, the movement spread to every neighborhood with a hankering for food that was familiar, informal and imaginative.

Au Cheval | Chicago, U.S.A.

Known for their sublime messiness, the double and single cheeseburgers served here, featuring tender, juicy beef glazed in melted cheese, can be festooned with bacon and an egg in a combination that has been hailed as a “transformational burger experience.” Indeed the editors of The Burger Guide voted the American classic the best burger in the world.

Dandelion | Philadelphia, U.S.A.

Dubbed a “cozy drinking den” by Food & Wine magazine, Dandelion features English-style furnishings — club chairs upholstered in plaid and a bar lit by globe lanterns imprinted “Mans Best Friend” — and a refined version of the menu you’d find at a country pub, replete with Welsh rarebit, fish and chips, and liver parfait. Located near Rittenhouse Square, it occupies an opulent building and serves beer in half and imperial pints, including Bombardier from Britain.

Freemasons at Wiswell | Lancashire, U.K.

Local ingredients combined with bold global flavors is the recipe that has won this Lancashire gastropub high praise for the last five years. Situated on a village square where you’d expect Miss Marple to turn up for tea, Freemasons gives a home to a blockbuster like the butter-poached lobster tail with crispy claw wontons.