Which are NSW’s best pubs and hospitality venues?

A short-list of NSW’s best pubs and hospitality venues has been released by the Australian Hotels Association of New South Wales (AHA NSW).

The Awards for Excellence will be held on 31 October at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, with a list that includes 529 finalists across 46 categories.

Along with the record number of categories comes a new Disability Inclusion and Access Award category.

There are 19 venues battling it out for the title of Metropolitan Hotel of the Year, these include The Light Brigade, The Riley and Coogee Bay Hotel from Sydney’s Inner and Eastern Suburbs. Also on the list are North-West favourites The Fiddler and last year’s winner The Duke of Dural.

Willowdale Hotel which opened in May is the newcomer on the list.

As for the regional venues, the Regional Hotel of the Year will be chosen from 18 finalists: Settlers Inn and Tacking Point Tavern from Port Macquarie; Nags Head Hotel, The Prince of Merewether, Huntlee Tavern and The George Tavern from the Hunter, and Central Hotel Shellharbour and The Warilla Hotel which are both further south.

“The AHA NSW Awards for Excellence is an opportunity to recognise excellence and innovation in the NSW hotel industry,” John Whelan, CEO of AHA NSW said.

“The introduction of this category last year proved incredibly popular because people are extremely passionate about their local pub. With this award the public decides the winner, so I encourage everyone who loves their local to vote and play a role in letting all of NSW know their pub is the best in the state.”

You can find the full list of finalists at www.ahaawardsnsw.com.au.

You can vote for the People’s Choice Award at www.ahaawardsnsw.com.au/peoples-choice.

Jonathan Jackson, 20^th September 2023