Pubs and restaurants across the capital have been recognised for best practice in the Edinburgh Best Bar None awards.
This year’s awards, presented at Tynecastle Park on November 6, saw 46 businesses receive gold, silver and bronze accreditation for their work to support a safe night out.
The event also saw the introduction of The Edinburgh Award, which seeks to recognise premises which may not have won their category but demonstrate long-term commitment and improvement through the Best Bar None awards process.
This year’s recipient was The Terrace, which has consistently won the Best Bar None Gold award for the last four years. It has firmly established itself as a community hub and focus for local best practice, working closely with the Police and Licensing Standards Officers to embody the values of the Best Bar None scheme.
Other winners were the Marriot Hotel in the Hotel Bar category, Brewhemia in the Pub category, Atik in the Nightclub category, and Hemma in the Independent Bar category.
For the first time in Edinburgh, the Specialist Entertainment Venue category award was shared by the Gorgie Suite at Heart of Midlothian Football Club and the Edinburgh Corn Exchange.
Best Bar None is a national accreditation and award scheme aiming to raise standards among licensed venues, recognising positive management that is helping to facilitate safe and enjoyable nights out for the public.
Councillor Norman Work, convener of Edinburgh Licencing Board convener, said: “Best Bar None is an extremely valuable scheme, giving well-deserved recognition to the many licensed premises that strive to improve the experience for people in Edinburgh.
“This year’s scores for participating venues were higher than ever before, demonstrating the efforts by participating venues to facilitate a safe and welcoming atmosphere for everyone.”
Best Bar None was first launched in Leith in 2011 and extended to cover the whole of Edinburgh in 2016. It is a joint initiative between the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Licensing Board, Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the Scottish Business Resilience Centre and the city’s licence holders.
The scheme is sponsored by Diageo, Heineken, Tennent’s, Chivas Brothers, Pernod Ricard and Edrington-Beam Suntory. Heart of Midlothian Football Club also provided support.