VINEALTO™
English
English More languages coming soon

← Back to the Guide

The Restaurant Guide for Wine Lovers

The Duncombe Arms

80/100
  • Ellastone, Staffordshire
  • Modern British gastropub
  • By the glass
  • premium
  • Beta
  • Assessed October 2026
What's this?

These are confidence labels. They show how sure we are that what we publish still reflects the restaurant's current practice. They are not a judgement on the restaurant; the wine and cooking are scored separately, out of 100.

  • Beta means assessed and scored, but we are still confirming some details (such as the current wine list) and the restaurant has not yet had the chance to correct any factual inaccuracy, so it is published with that caveat.
  • No label means a fully confirmed entry.
  • In development means not yet a review. It appears so you can see where coverage is coming.

Restaurants often change their menus. The date beside the label says when we last reviewed.

We assessed The Duncombe Arms in October 2026 and this review is based on the food menu and wine list at the time of the review. As menus and wine lists change, we name styles in order for the information to remain more useful as menus change. If things have slipped you can use the Vinealto Dining app including accessing an up to date reading using 'At the Table' from the wine list in front of you in the restaurant. How we assess

The Duncombe Arms is a Staffordshire dining pub with rooms whose kitchen cooks seasonal British dishes with some ambition. Its wine list is broad and thoughtfully bought, and the menu prints a glass chosen for every starter and main. It will suit anyone who likes to be guided plate by plate, and Bordeaux lovers drawn to the mature clarets in the cellar selection.

The full assessment of the wine programme, the pairings and how to get the best experience is for members. Make a free account to read five full entries.

Sign up free Subscribe for full access

More in Staffordshire

58/100 Beta

The Upper House

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

Modern British hotel restaurant

The Upper House is a family-run hotel restaurant at Barlaston serving a generous, seasonal all-day menu on the edge of Stoke-on-Trent. Its wine list is a considered, award-badged selection with genuine by-the-glass breadth and sound, oak-aware answers to the kitchen's cured-fish and spiced plates, let down only by an absent dessert-and-fortified corner. It will suit a relaxed diner who values a well-chosen glass and easy access over the depth of a specialist cellar.

  • By the glass
  • ££ (mains £14 to £19; glasses £6.50 to £12.50; bottles £27 to £90)
  • Assessed July 2026
Read the assessment

Back to the Guide