By Andy Young
The winners of the third annual Time Out Melbourne Pub Awards have been named in a night which awarded the city’s best pub food, beer list and the Pub of the Year.
The Palace Hotel in South Melbourne was named as Melbourne’s best pub in the award-night which was held at Beer DeLuxe in Federation Square.
“The Palace ticks every box – craft beer, sports, welcoming atmosphere, and the best Buffalo wings in Melbourne,” said Fred Siggins, Time Out Melbourne’s pubs editor.
“It’s just an impossible pub to fault. They even have a friendly pooch.”
The Palace also took out the award for Best Sports Pub, while its trio of friendly owners Jessica McGrath, Mark Pratt and Billy the Pub Dog were runners-up in the Publican of the Year award.
The winners of that award were Kieran Yewdall and Michael Shaughnessy, publicans of the Catfish in Fitzroy, in a repeat of their victory in the same category last year.
The People’s Choice award, which is nominated and voted on by Time Out readers, went to St Kilda venue, the Grosvenor. The Best Beer List also went to St Kilda, with the Local Taphouse coming out on top in one of the night’s most hotly contested categories.
Time Out’s Legend Award, which goes to a pub that has indelibly shaped Melbourne’s drinking culture, was awarded to the Retreat, Brunswick, for its longstanding commitment to live music and being a welcoming place to all comers.
The full list of winners:
Best Pub Food
- Lamaro’s Bodega WINNER
- Marquis of Lorne HIGHLY COMMENDED
Best Beer List
- The Local Taphouse WINNER
- Junction Beer Hall and Wine Room HIGHLY COMMENDED
Pub Revival Award
- The Crafty Squire WINNER
- Fitzroy Town Hall Hotel HIGHLY COMMENDED
Best Live Music Pub
- The Bendigo WINNER
- The Wesley Anne HIGHLY COMMENDED
Best Sports Pub
- The Palace Hotel, South Melbourne WINNER
- The Great Northern HIGHLY COMMENDED
Publican of the Year
- Kieran Yewdall and Michael Shaughnessy, the Catfish WINNERS
- Jessica McGrath, Mark Pratt and Billy the Pub Dog, the Palace Hotel, South Melbourne HIGHLY COMMENDED
People’s Choice
- The Grosvenor
Old School Pub Award
- Railway Club Hotel
Legend Award
- The Retreat, Brunswick
Pub of the Year
- The Palace Hotel, South Melbourne