Our Story
It all started when…
It all started, as the best stories often do, with a single pub, a spark of inspiration, and a belief that hospitality should feel like coming home, just with better wine and a cracking roast.
The Little and Large Pub Company was founded by Manu Bhatt a passionate industry professional who’d spent his career in every corner of hospitality. He has seen it all, the good and the bad, and decided it was time to do things differently.
From One Pub to a Vision
The first chapter opened with The Queens Head in Dorking a beautiful, slightly rough-around-the-edges pub with a big garden, and plenty of potential. The goal was simple but ambitious: take everything, strip away the nonsense, and build a pub that did the little things well proper food, real warmth, excellent drinks, and a genuine welcome.
Manu invested not just in refurbishing the space but in building a culture one of respect, creativity, hard work, and pride. From the kitchen team making everything from scratch with seasonal ingredients, to the bartenders crafting drinks with a smile, every detail mattered.
Word got around. The Queens Head became a local institution. And soon, the team had caught the bug not for expansion, but for growing with purpose.
A Pub Company With a Personality
Next came The Running Horses in Mickleham a listed coaching inn nestled in the Surrey Hills. With its roaring fires, ancient beams, and beautiful rooms, it offered a whole new challenge: marrying tradition with modern hospitality, and doing justice to a building with centuries of stories to tell.
Closely followed by The Talbot in Brockley, a neighbourhood spot in London, Local craft beers, hand made cocktails and daily changing menus.
And then came The Leicester Arms in Penshurst a country inn with rooms, a view of Penshurst, and the kind of charm you couldn’t fake if you tried. Here, the team doubled down on their vision: a place where locals and travellers alike could eat well, sleep deeply, and feel looked after.
Each site had its own character. There was no cookie-cutter model, no corporate playbook. What linked them all was a shared belief in thoughtful service, seasonal food, and community spirit. Every site was run with autonomy, with talented chefs and general managers trusted to shape the story but with the support and structure of a company that cared.
People First, Always
Behind the scenes, the company built strong foundations. From world-class training and career development programmes to initiatives that put wellbeing and creativity at the centre, The Little and Large Pub Company became a place people wanted to work.
From just Manu to a growing company employing dozens of chefs, bartenders, housekeepers, managers, and more every success came back to people. Those who made beds with care. Those who served the Sunday roasts. Those who kept the lights on after service ended.
Where We Are Now
Today, The Little and Large Pub Company continues to grow not just in number of pubs, but in ambition. With a new vision to bring affordable luxury to countryside hospitality, a strong pipeline of events, pop-ups, and community initiatives, and a plan to put its pubs on the map as destinations in their own right, the story is only just beginning.
But the values haven’t changed.
We still believe in:
Little touches that show we care.
Large-hearted hospitality that feels personal.
And the kind of experience that makes you want to return, not just for the food or the wine, but for the people.
Because in the end, it’s never just about the pubs.
It’s about how you make people feel when they’re in them.