Leeds has been crowned Britain’s beer garden capital, after two city pubs took the top two spots in a new national ranking of the country’s best outdoor drinking and dining spaces.
Myrtle Tavern in Leeds has been named the UK’s highest-ranked beer garden, scoring an impressive 94.8 out of 100, while the Kirkstall Bridge Inn came a close second with 94.6.
The two Leeds pubs beat dozens of finalists from across the country to claim the top positions.
The ranking, conducted by Crown Pavilions, analysed the 2026 Great British Pub Awards Best Pub Garden finalists, assessing pubs on factors including garden quality and usability, public reputation, review scores, independent recognition and available evidence of outdoor features.
The two Leeds pubs were separated by just 0.2 points. Both venues achieved the maximum available score for garden quality and usability, as well as full marks for independent recognition and garden evidence, highlighting the growing importance of outdoor space in the overall pub experience.
Myrtle Tavern’s position was further supported by its strong customer reputation, with the Leeds pub recording a 4.5 Google rating and 4.8 Tripadvisor rating. Kirkstall Bridge Inn also scored highly with customers, recording a 4.6 Google rating alongside a significantly larger pool of customer reviews.
According to Luke Dejahang, Co-Founder of Crown Pavilions, this is a trend that is increasingly crossing over from hospitality into residential garden design: “The best beer gardens are no longer simply somewhere to sit when the tables inside are full. They’re designed as destinations.
“That’s exactly the way we’re seeing homeowners approach their gardens too, creating outdoor spaces with a purpose, rather than simply putting furniture on a patio.”
To create the ranking, Crown Pavilions analysed the 89 finalists supplied in the research dataset for the Great British Pub Awards 2026.
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