The best celebrity-owned pubs you have to visit - from Jeremy Clarkson to Ed Sheeran's boozers

Jeremy Clarkson expanded his farming empire and delved into the world of hospitality when he opened The Farmer's Dog in Burford, Oxfordshire. "We weren't allowed to have a restaurant on the site, but I still liked the idea of having a farming co-operative where all of the local farmers come together and we would pay proper money for their products, be they, pigs, cows, chickens," Jeremy said at the time.

While the pub has enjoyed relative success, just like farming, the former Top Gear presenter revealed that there are downsides to owning a pub. In June, Jeremy admitted to The Times that he was "done" with running businesses, saying: "I am not starting another business as long as I live. I don’t understand it and am not motivated by money. I just want a good craic."

"Of course there are good days. My pub's called the Farmer's Dog and on a visit last week I sat in the garden, in the sunshine, with a pint of my own beer, chowing down on a pizza made with dough from my own farm, and it was rural perfection."

The Fox and Pheasant is a 17th-century pub in Chelsea, which was bought and renovated by singer James Blunt. In an interview with the Evening Standard, James recalled that the pub, which had been his local, was struggling and looking for a new owner. "If this pub had gone, my street wouldn't have the same character. So many pubs in London are shutting now — making a profit is a struggle," James said in the interview.

"I enjoy having a pub too," he added. "I walk in here on a Chelsea game day and there are people from all walks of life. They look at me and go 'All right James, you're beautiful' and we all get on as equals."

The pub also received rave reviews from Queen Camilla's food critic son, Tom Parker Bowles. "It's the sort of place you can pop in for a swift half, or settle in for a proper old-fashioned session," he wrote in a review for the Daily Mail. "There may even be the occasional lock-in."

Far from the catwalk and the racetrack, Jodie Kidd is a big patron of pub culture. She's owned the Half Moon Inn in West Sussex for eight years. 

"But she been the passionate publican of this Sussex boozer for eight years now, and it's still going strong," food critic Tom Parker-Bowles writes of the pub.

Speaking to the Morning Advertiser in 2023, Jodie touched on the struggles of owning a pub, saying: "I have been campaigning for years about lowering beer tax because we have one of the highest beer taxes in the whole of Europe, seven times higher than some other countries.

"It's just a constant battle and there is going to have to be some major changes if we are going to lose the very scary statistic of 50 pubs a month closing their doors."

Unlike Jeremy Clarkson, Guy Ritchie is a veteran of sorts when it comes to pub ownership. In fact, he and his then-wife Madonna bought their local, The Punch Bowl, in 2008 – which Guy retained in the divorce then later sold.

Guy now owns another pub, The Lore of the Land, which is tucked away on Conway Street in Fitzrovia. With Gritchie Brewing Company beers on tap and impromptu performances from Cruz Beckham, this pub has all the makings of a legendary celebrity hangout.

Thespian-turned-pub-landlord Sir Ian Mckellen and his former partner, Sean Matthias, purchased The Grapes located in Limehouse Reach. The Grapes, built in 1720 is the site of an even older inn that was said to be visited by Charles Dickens, who was spending time with his godfather. The pub was later referenced in the opening chapter of his 1864 novel, Our Mutual Friend. "People come here to drink and talk, not to watch telly, play machines or listen to music," Ian said in an interview.

Like his former Top Gear co-star, James May also owns his own pub – The Royal Oak in Wiltshire. James, who is a keen admirer of art, agreed to display work produced by art students from the local college's art campus at The Royal Oak.

"A pub makes an excellent gallery and encourages an open and relaxed frame of mind for contemplating art."

 "A lot of celebrated artists – Van Gogh and Ruskin Spear spring to mind – ended up spending far too much time in pubs; it's more constructive that these promising young people should start their careers in one."

As well as featuring local art and locally sourced furniture, the pub is also stacked with the TV personality's own line of gins. James also famously has a 'no freebies' rule which means that even he and co-owner, Simon pay for their own food and drinks.

"I go there most weekends and pay full price for my food and drink (because we have a strict "no freebies" rule), which is what I did before I owned it. I just had to pay a huge lump sum to continue to enjoy the privilege," he wrote in an article for The Times.

In 2019, singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran swapped guitars for kegs when he teamed up with his manager Stuart Camp to open the restaurant in the heart of London. The pair named it after their wives, with 'blossom' being a nod to the singer's partner, Cherry Seaborn.

Appearing on the Table Manners podcast, Sheeran said: "It's really good beers and good things on the menu — what I would want in the bar, basically."

"It's had a rocky start as it opened two months before the pandemic...if you're looking to make a small fortune in the food industry you should start with a large fortune", Sheeran explained. "It's one of these things where, unless you're Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay and you have loads of restaurants, it's very difficult."