Forum topic: Pub of the Year - yet again!

Local campaigners for traditional beer and pubs have selected the Little Green Dragon in Winchmore Hill as their Pub of the Year.

Richard Reeve shows off the certificate from CAMRA Enfield & Barnet for Pub of the Year

Easter Monday afternoon was a scene of celebration at the Little Green Dragon micropub on Green Lanes in Winchmore Hill. Customers were overflowing onto the pavement outside to watch Etcetera Morris performing traditional dances, mostly of Cotswolds origin, while inside the packed bar they were entertained by local two-piece - or on this occasion three-piece - band That Blue Patch.

But the highlight was the presentation to the pub's owner, Richard Reeve, of the Pub of the Year Award by the Enfield & Barnet Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). The winner is selected based on reports by CAMRA members about the quality and range of cask-conditioned beers ("real ales") on sale, but also on the overall feel of a pub and its contribution to the community.

Winning the local award means that the LGD is also in with a chance of winning for the second time the Greater London Pub of the Year award organised by all CAMRA branches in the capital.

"We are pleased to announce that the Branch Pub of the Year is the Little Green Dragon in Winchmore Hill. Congratulations to Richard and his team and we wish them the best of luck as our representative in the London POTY.

"Branch members who surveyed the pub were particularly impressed with their promotion and the quality of real ale, their sympathy with CAMRA's aims and the overall sense of community it engenders."

Announcement on the CAMRA Enfield & Barnet website

Commenting on the award, owner Richard Reeve, who created the micropub from a vacant shop in 2017, said:

"We are obviously delighted to have won Enfield & Barnet Pub of the Year every year that we have been eligible since we opened. But we couldn't do it without our great team of staff, our fantastic regulars and all the incredible micro-breweries that supply us with beer!"

Etcetera Morris braved the weather and danced on the pavement in front of the Little Green Dragon

So what did Richard mean by "every year that we have been eligible"?

The LGD was launched too late in the year to win the 2017 award, but in 2018, after less than a year in operation, it won both Enfield & Barnet and Greater London competitions, following this up by wins in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and now 2024. So what went wrong in 2023?

After five straight wins by Richard and his team, the CAMRA branch decided it was time to change the competition rules to give other pubs a chance, so now last year's winner is no longer allowed to enter this year's competition. So they were disqualified last year (when there was a good chance they would have won yet again), but back again in 2024.

Celebrating the bank holiday in the Little Green Dragon, with musical accompaniment by That Blue Patch

That means that other pubs will be in for a chance next year, and as it happens the Gipsy Queen, owned by the company that took over the Fox in Palmers Green a few weeks ago, has also won a CAMRA award, this time from its North London branch. So there's a nice challenge for the new team behind the Fox - see if you can equal the Little Green Dragon's win in its first year.

Coming up on 13th April is Dragon Deuce - a beer festival held in conjunction with Vicars Moor Lawn Tennis Club and featuring ales from the New River Brewery (based in Hoddesdon) and Beerblefish (Walthamstow).