Popular country pub the Nag’s Head near Nantwich has made the Good Food Guide just a year after it was refurbished and reopened.
Market Operations Ltd bought the Nag’s Head in Haughton in 2022 just as it was about to be knocked down for housing.
And in just 12 months the grade II listed building has been transformed into a “wonderful utopia”, according to the Good Food Guide.
The new owners – who also run Alty Market in Altrincham, the Mackie Mayor Manchester, and Picturedrome Macclesfield – aim to turn the venue into one of the UK’s best pubs within three years.
Boss Jenny Thompson said: “When we took over Altrincham Market 10 years ago we celebrated two things: independent businesses and regional producers.
“Our strapline was, and remains, ‘passionately regional, fiercely independent’. We managed to transform that into one of the best Markets in the country.
“Since making a success of Altrincham, Mackie Mayor and Picturedrome we’ve had many imitators and we wanted to do something different, we didn’t just want to keep repeating ourselves.
“Our mission with the pub is simple – we want to make it one of the best pubs in the country within the next three years.
“The pub gives us the chance to do things that we can’t do in the other spaces, collaborating with ideas and inspiration that we get from other places, other people. We’re all united by our passion for food.”
The owners also pride themselves on using local – even “hyperlocal” – suppliers for its ingredients.
Jenny added: “We’ve always been passionate about using local suppliers, but only if they’re the best!
“75% of the food we use comes from growers and farmers within three miles of the pub. Pool Hall is home to both Jane’s Farm and Cinderwood Market Garden. They’re 2 miles away, next to Reaseheath Agricultural College.
“They grow and raise native breed cattle that are raised and slaughtered in an animal friendly, planet friendly way.
“We use Wholly Cow too, a supply of rare breed beef on Long Lane, the road shared with the pub. Dairy is from Peckforton just two miles away.”
The business has also bought a neighbour’s derelict barn to create an outdoor kitchen with a wood fired pizza oven, an outdoor charcoal grill and a bar for seasonal al-fresco dining.
And other plans included buying an adjacent field to create two nature ponds with 20 shepherd huts set in a wildflower meadow for “a little upmarket glamping”.
In The Good Food Guide, it describes the Nag’s Head:
“The influential reforming spirit of Altrincham Market and its offshoots – making the food hall cool again since 2014 – comes to the countryside in the group’s first rural outpost. Set in blowsily ravishing gardens and with a focus on community activities (including walks, garden parties and playgroups as well as the traditional imbibing of booze), the revival of the Nag’s Head comes close to being a ‘wonderful utopia’. With hops drying on the beams, cakes on the counter and a succession of good-looking spaces inside and out, it’s all ‘very charming’, though sharper service would be the icing on the buttermilk banana bread. Hits include a giant’s ‘snack’ of oozy cheese and mustard beignets (middles barely restrained by their feather-light shells) and simple, buttery mushrooms on sourdough toast. Occasional collaborations with kitchens from across the group’s refectories move things away from the pubby heartland of pies and sausages; perhaps a Mumma’s Fried Chicken plate with sweet crumbly cornbread and tangy hot sauce. On the trad side, haddock with crushed new potatoes and a poached egg ticks all the boxes, while desserts such as chocolate millefeuille with macerated strawberries – the pastry caramelised and flaky – show more-than-average thought. Drinks including ‘British and artisan wines, spirits and ciders’ mean that ‘it feels like a special occasion just going for a pint.”
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