The interiors of British inns is as diverse as the external architecture. Some have remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years, others have been carefully restored to the original decor.

The predominant look of a typical British inn is a range of small tables with usually four simple chairs or small stools around each table. There is usually some form of fixed seating, around the edges of the room. We award an armchair symbol if an inn has a superior level of comfort. This might mean that the inn has a variety of armchairs and settees. It may also receive an award if the furniture is antique and worth a mention.
Many inns still feature 'Real Fires'. We list those establishments which take the time & trouble to fill a traditional open fireplace with either coal or timber. A real fire gives 'life' to a room particularly a roaring fire with wood crackling away and providing a comforting aroma.

Usually there are at least two rooms in each inn. The Bar is traditionally the male drinking domain with less seating and a more basic decoration. Pub Games such as Pool and Darts along with more traditional games such as Shove Ha'penny are normally found in the Bar. The Lounge is often decorated to a higher standard and is more comfortable surroundings for sitting in a group. The Lounge is normally the area where if the inn serves food, most people eat. Some inns will have a separate room which they call the restaurant although most still serve food in the lounge - sometimes from a less extensive menu. Some inns still retain smaller rooms from days gone by when there were rooms set aside for particular activities. These can be called 'the Snug', the 'Tap Room' and the 'Smoke Room'.

Many inns go further, creating seating from old milk churns or old beer barrels. These usually appear in country inns or inns which have remained unchanged for many years. Unfortunately, it is all too common for the big brewers to 're-furbish' an inn and give it an olde worlde look, with barrels and farm implements dotted around the room even if the pub is a 1960's ugly square box located in the middle of a huge housing estate. This type of pub is never likely to get a recommendation from us because Fat Badgers rarely venture into big housing estates so we're unlikely to know about them.

It's not just country cottage, thatched roof inns that we recommend, occasionally we come across a city centre inn with an interior that hasn't changed for many years which also serves good food or ales. Most of the inns we list in London, are of this type but we also recommend other city inns of character such as the only inn in Britain owned by the Church, the Cock & Bottle in Bradford with it's Victorian surroundings and the Coopers Tavern in the town of Burton on Trent, where the interior is unchanged and consequently could even be called a little grubby - however, the ales are superb.