Oxfordshire pub crowned UK Greene King Pub of the Year 2026

The 2026 Night of Excellence awards from Greene King Pub Partners included a major shock for one pub in Wallingford.

Attended by hundreds of licensees from across the UK who work with the hospitality sector group, as well as leaders from across the sector and the pub industry, the night saw 16 awards up for grabs.

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These range from ‘community pub of the year’ to ‘pub team of the year’, as well as the coveted overall ‘pub of the year’ award.

This year’s winner of the biggest prize of all was The Dolphin in St Mary’s Street, Wallingford.

The Dolphin pub team have applied to change their kitchen. (Image: The Dolphin)

The pub has been proudly run by the same family for more than 23 years, headed by landlady Emma Cox.

It is known as the heart of the community in the town, and has even been recognised by King Charles, who invited the team to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party later this year in recognition of their service to Wallingford.

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Ms Cox said the award left her ‘speechless’, as pubs up for the overall pub of the year award aren’t told in advance of their nomination.

“To say it was a surprise is an understatement,” the landlady said. “We’re absolutely flabbergasted.”

Although she wasn’t able to go to the award ceremony herself, Ms Cox’s parents, who are the pub’s previous landlords, accepted the award on the night on all of their behalf.

It’s the second accolade the pub has received from Greene King, after the team won Community Pub of the Year in the 2024 ceremony.

The Dolphin team celebrate the Community Pub of the Year award in 2024, with landlady Emma Cox centre, holding award (Image: Greene King)

A total of 11 Greene King pubs and seven licensees took home honours from the lavish ceremony and dinner held at the voco St John’s hotel in Solihull on Wednesday night, April 22.

This year, England World Cup winning legend Sir Geoff Hurst, who has made a beer in collaboration with Greene King, attended the awards.

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Dan Robinson, managing director of Greene King Pub Partners, said: “Congratulations to each award winner at this year’s Night of Excellence awards – the standard set by our partners continues to be exceptional.

“It’s a real privilege to partner with such passionate and professional pub operators across the UK, and evenings like this give us the opportunity to recognise our brilliant partners, the incredible pubs they run and the important impact they have on the communities they serve.”

Other winners included Tony Edwards and Iona Roberts, who were jointly presented the lifetime achievement award in recognition of their ‘outstanding’ pub The Five Bells in Henlow, Bedfordshire, and more than 40 years service each in the pub industry, and Gerard Flynn, the founder of True Pub Co., who won the multiple operator of the year award.