It all started in the Cribbs Causeway branch of Waterstones, where I picked up a PubStops map showing every pub and bar in Bristol. All 489 of them.

Rather than simply sticking it on the wall, my dad, my dog Daisy and I decided to make it our mission to visit every single one.

We called our little project Patch, Papa & Pup, and as we worked our way around Bristol, we'd add coloured stickers to the map to record which pubs we'd happily return to — and which ones we'd probably give a miss.

And so began a pub-rating obsession that is still going today.

Our first rating system was pretty simple: green for good, yellow for OK and red for bad.

That didn't last long.

The more pubs we visited, the more things we wanted to keep track of. Did it serve a good roast? Were there board games? Was it dog-friendly? Did it have something particularly quirky that made it worth remembering?

Before long, three colours had become an increasingly complicated collection of stickers covering the map.

It wasn't exactly scientific, but it was the first step towards thinking about pubs as more than simply "good" or "bad" — different pubs are good for different people, occasions and needs.

As it turns out, that idea would become pretty important years later.

After eventually visiting all 489 pubs on the Bristol map, it was time to retire the stickers.

Enter Microsoft Excel.

What started as a simple spreadsheet gradually became a proper pub-rating system, using different criteria and formulas to make comparing pubs a little more useful.

Admittedly, creating spreadsheets to analyse trips to the pub isn't the coolest hobby in the world.

But it meant I could start recording why one pub worked better than another, rather than simply deciding whether or not I liked it.

And that basic principle still sits behind how we review pubs today.

After finishing the Bristol map, I moved to Brighton and found myself with a whole new city of pubs to explore.

Naturally, I bought another map.

This time, though, the stickers stayed behind. I continued developing the spreadsheet and introduced a points-based system that could score and compare pubs more consistently.

My dad and Daisy continued joining me on the adventure and, over the years that followed, we gradually worked our way through Brighton and Hove's pubs.

What had started as a bit of fun in Bristol was becoming a surprisingly comprehensive way of assessing a pub.

Around 150 pubs into the Brighton map, the pandemic arrived and put the project rather abruptly on hold.

It also presented a problem: by the time pubs reopened, much of the information I'd collected was out of date.

So I used the downtime to rethink the system again.

The spreadsheets evolved into forms, apps and a much more detailed rating method that could be used in any pub — not just those printed on a particular map.

Once restrictions lifted, Dad, Daisy and I started making our way through Brighton's pubs again, eventually completing the lot in August 2022.

Over the years, those maps took me through more than 1,000 pubs and eventually into working on Off To The Local, where all those years of rating pubs became part of something much bigger.

But becoming a parent changed the question again.

It was no longer just: "Is this a good pub?"

It was: "Is this a good pub for us?"

Because a brilliant pub for a Friday night with your mates isn't necessarily a brilliant pub when you've got a pram, changing bag and six-month-old in tow.

And all those years spent figuring out how to assess pubs suddenly had a new purpose.

So, in a slightly unexpected way, Pubs With Pomme is the next chapter of something that started all those years ago with a map and a packet of coloured stickers.

Only the criteria have changed.

These days we're looking at things like changing facilities, highchairs, pram access, children's food, outdoor space and all the other little details that can make the difference between a relaxing family trip to the pub and one you'd rather forget.

We've taken everything learned from years of visiting and rating pubs and rebuilt it around the things that matter to us now as parents.

Because we're not looking for pubs that are just family-friendly.

We're trying to find the pubs that are right for your family.