They are the only ones on the list in the north east of England.

The Coachman Inn, at Snainton, and the Grapes Inn, at Great Habton, have been named in the listings for 10 Top Beer Spots – but neither landlord knew they had made the list until told them about it by the Malton & Pickering Mercury.

They were given the thumbs up in a regular feature produced in partnership with foodie website squaremeal.co.uk in the paper’s weekend listings section The Knowledge.

James Osborne, landlord at the Coachman, said: “I didn’t know anything about this at all but I’m very pleased we’re on the list.

“We’ve only been here two and a half years so it’s nice to know people think we’ve done well.

“We’ve more or less built this place up from zero and it’s now a thriving bar.”

“I don’t really know what the secret of our success is – we just believe in giving people what they want – respect, friendliness, good beer and good food.

“A lot of it is down to our staff who are excellent. They deserve a lot of credit for this.”

Adam Myers, who runs the Grapes with his partner Katie Martin, said: “It’s nice to be mentioned, though this is the first I’ve heard about it.

“We’ve been here just over four years and we just plough away really. We strive to do the best we can and not cut corners.

“Of course it’s great to be in the top 10 – we just believe in serving good food and good beer – it’s not rocket science we just stick to the basics.

“One of our regulars works for our brewers and he can’t fault our ale – that’s quite a nice compliment.”