By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
The 2017 Time Out Melbourne Pub Awards were held on Monday 15 May, celebrating the best pubs in the greater Melbourne area.
Carlton hotel The Lincoln was named Pub of the Year at the awards party, which was held at Foresters Bar and Dining.
“This is the new standard that Melbourne pubs should strive for, melding the old ways and the new to create a perfectly harmonious environment where the great Aussie pastimes of beer, banter and footy sit side by side with high quality dining that doesn't take itself too seriously,” said Emily Lloyd-Tait, Time Out Australia’s Food and Drink Editor.
Iain Ling of The Lincoln was thrilled with the accolade.
“It’s absolutely great news, it is a credit to all of our staff past and present for all the hard work they have put in. We have not changed anything per se in the last year but we have been sticking to our long term plan of evolving the venue and our product while making sure our service remains top notch and enjoyable for everyone.”
The People’s Choice award for best pub was won by craft beer institution The Local Taphouse – an award the venue won in 2014.
“The venue manager, Toby Martin, and his team work very hard to keep things fresh and maintain a consistently high standard of hospitality so an award that is voted on by the general public is a great – and deserved – reward for our whole team,” said director Steve Jeffares.
The People’s Choice for Best Regional Pub went to The Wandi Pub in Wandiligong, near Bright, and publicans Paddy Subacius and Tim Heuchan were ecstatic.
“For us here at Wandi Pub it was such a huge honour to be even nominated for such an award, let alone to win it. There were more people at the awards night than the population of our little town. So it’s a huge thing for us and our community – we couldn’t be happier. Tim and I have owned the pub now for 18 months and it has been our endeavour to improve it every day,” said Subacius.
Publicans of the Year, the only individual award, was claimed by Jessica McGrath, Mark Pratt and Billy the Pub Dog, of the Palace Hotel – winners of last year’s Best Pub award.
“It’s a very humbling experience. Definitely just gives us a bit of a push to keep doing what we are doing,” said McGrath. “Everyone was upset we forgot the dog though.”
The full list of winners is below.
- Best Pub Food: The Woodlands Hotel
- Best Beer List: The Alehouse Project
- Pub Revival Award: Garden State Hotel
- Best Entertainment: The Gasometer Hotel
- Best Sports Pub: Mt View Hotel
- Old School Pub Award: Labour In Vain
- Publican of the Year: Jessica McGrath, Mark Pratt and Billy the Pub Dog, Palace Hotel
- People’s Choice Best Pub: The Local Taphouse
- People’s Choice Best Regional Pub: The Wandi Pub
- Legend Award: The Tote
- Pub of the Year: The Lincoln