Coventry venues celebrated at Best Bar None awards

A popular Caribbean-inspired bar and restaurant has been crowned overall winner at a Coventry awards ceremony recognising commitment to the highest standards in hospitality.

Turtle Bay in the city centre was named Overall Best Bar None winner as 11 venues across Coventry were presented with Best Bar None accreditation for 2024.

Best Bar None is an accreditation scheme supported by the Home Office and the drinks industry which aims to improve standards in licensed premises.

Venues seeking to receive the accreditation commit significant time and resources to achieve the standards required, demonstrating commitment to demanding excellence in safety, training, management and customer experience.

It’s the industry gold standard and is delivered in the city by Coventry Business Improvement District (BID) and Coventry City Council.

An awards ceremony was held at Drapers Hall to bring together venues and their teams around Coventry to celebrate their achievements and their work to improve safety and standards.

Venues to be recognised as Best Bar None accredited for this year include Club Heat, Turtle Bay, The Red Lion, The Four Provinces, hmv Empire, The Yard, and Mr Shenanigans.

Four of the city’s Wetherspoons venues were also accredited – The Flying Standard, The Spon Gate, The Earl of The City Arms, and Mercia.

Alongside Turtle Bay winning the Overall award, there were four category awards presented on the evening.

The Flying Standard and The Spon Gate won the Venue Management category, with Mr Shenanigans taking home the prize for Staff Training and Care.

The Yard won the Customer Experience and Community category, and the Red Lion collected the Customer Safety and Welfare award.

Hospitality venues heard from Joanne Glover, manager of Coventry BID, and Sylvia Oates, national coordinator of Best Bar None, with both recognising the dedication, time and effort put in by venues to achieve the coveted accreditation.

It also marked the last public event for neighbourhood inspector Simon Finney, who’s set to retire this year.

Inspector Finney gave a speech and received a round of applause in thanks for his support of businesses in the city centre.

The Yard provided the entertainment for the evening and Diageo provided welcome drinks for guests.

Joanne said the evening was a great opportunity for the hospitality sector in Coventry to join together and celebrate its successes.

“The awards ceremony at Drapers Hall marked the culmination of months of hard work from venues in the city to achieve what really is the gold standard in health, safety, safeguarding and wellbeing,” she added.

“We have a thriving hospitality community in Coventry that is dedicated to upholding high standards and contributing to a safer and vibrant city centre.

“We’d like to thank everyone who joined us on the evening to celebrate the venues who have gone above and beyond to achieve Best Bar None Accreditation for 2024.”

Cllr Abdul Salam Khan, cabinet member for policing and equalities and deputy leader of Coventry City Council, said: “This is an important event, because it is about recognising high standards across the hospitality sector, and I’m delighted about the efforts of businesses in putting safety at the heart of their services.

“Well done especially to those residents receiving accreditation.

“I’d also like to thank all agencies involved for their hard work in supporting local pubs and clubs.

“They do an excellent job and it all means that visitors – both local and new to the city – can enjoy a great experience in Coventry.”