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Overall winners NW1, from left, Sarayuth Khunnakhot, Boontida Kingsubmanee, licensee David Curchin and Juliana Lobo |
NW1 is named the borough’s best bar as readers pick lockside lounge to scoop Camden New Journal award
LICENSEES are used to showing their punters a good time, but last week they showed them a new trick – how to party!
They were united in a bid to win the borough’s most highly sought after prizes from the Best Bar None team.
For a few frenzied weeks a panel made up of Camden Council’s licensing officers, the police and the fire brigade, have been hard at work whittling down the entrants to this year’s Best Bar None awards scheme, an initiative that aims to reward well-run venues for making the borough safer.
And the panel, the licensees and their staff were in the mood to let their hair down as they settled in for a three-course dinner and after-supper dance-off last Wednesday at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in Holborn.
While 28 venues won accreditation this year and were each awarded Best Bar None status, there could only be three winners for Best Bar, Best Pub and Best Club. And, of course, there was the hard-fought battle between the three finalists to take home the biggest prize of Overall Winner.
This year also saw the introduction of a new award – The Camden New Journal Readers’ Choice.
As the event’s media partner, the New Journal asked you to vote for your favourite venue from the accredited list – and more than 500 flooded our office with emails and letters praising local landlords.
The Readers’ Choice award went to the Lockside Lounge in the Stables Market.
Best Pub award went to husband and wife team Anne and Finbarr Desmond who have been at the helm of the Newton Arms in Newton Street, Holborn, for 24 years.
Explaining their success, they said: “You look out for your customers, especially with the no-smoking ban – we never had trouble with our neighbours until the ban. Now we have canopies and signs to stop the noise going up and we took away the chairs outside on the weekend. It’s a fantastic achievement.”
Best Club award went to The End, also in Holborn. Dee Shennan, who went from being cloakroom attendant to managing the club, was on hand to collect their award.
She said The End, which is due to close its doors for the last time in January, has enjoyed an era of success and the evening’s prize was part of a satisfying swansong.
But the night belonged to NW1 in Parkway, winner of both Best Bar and the Overall Winner of 2008.
David Curchin has been the licensee at the Camden Town bar since 2004 and, although teetotal, he thought the win was enough cause to celebrate and had his first drink in 20 years.
“I’m gobsmacked,” he said.
Police licensing chief Sgt Bob Dear managed to find a few more words, and, praising NW1, said: “It’s the best venue – there’s been no crime there in the last two years. They’ve done everything perfectly.”
Councillor Don Williams, Camden Council’s licensing chief, paid tribute to the venues that won accreditation as well as those that tried and failed.
“This programme helps to identify people who are doing well and gives them the impetus to do well next year,” he said, “while the ones who didn’t make accreditation will learn from the feedback.”
Camden’s Ann Brennan, who organised the awards scheme, said: “Tonight was about recognising our great venues and we’ve achieved that without a doubt.”
The Best Bar None
Overall Winner:
NW1, Parkway, NW1
Best Pub:
The Newton Arms, Newton Street, WC2
Best Club:
The End
West Central Street, WC1
Best Bar:
NW1
CNJ Readers’ Award:
Lockside Lounge
Stables Market, NW1
Runners-up:
AKA, Lock 17, Lock Tavern, The Knights Templar, Jongleurs and KOKO. |
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