Meet the finalists: Best New Site sponsored by Heineken UK

The accolade​ will be presented to the business that has best demonstrated how effectively trade has been built at a venue that has opened in the past 24 months and been trading for a minimum of six months.

BrewDog Waterloo

Within the newly redeveloped The Sidings in Waterloo Station, London, BrewDog Waterloo ​is made up of 27,500 sqft and claims to have “something for everyone”. 

Located beneath the station's rail platforms, the site features co-working spaces, a microbrewery, a slide, a GRIND café, duckpin bowling alleys, a podcast studio, meeting rooms, a retro ice-cream van and a ‘hidden’ cocktail bar run by mixologist Rich Woods, aka The Cocktail Guy. 

The venue typically has at least 30 different beers on offer while the food menu contains classic BrewDog dishes including wings and burgers, with vegan option also available.

Speaking ahead of the site’s opening in August last year, BrewDog ​CEO James Watt said: “This is our new flagship bar for London so we are making it a true destination.

“Record your own podcast, explore our hidden cocktail bar, or stoke some competition with a game of duckpin bowling or ping-pong. BrewDog Waterloo has something for everyone.”

Little Scarlet Door

Positioned on Greek Street in Soho, London, the Little Scarlet Door marked Little Door & Co’s​ first central London site when it opened last summer​.

While the company’s other venues are inspired by British house and dinner parties, the Little Scarlet Door took the brand, owned by Jamie Hazeel and Kamran Dehdashti, in a new direction and is based on the style of a New-York loft apartment.

The site boasts many quirky and ‘Instagrammable’ features, including a ‘shower’ area, a washing machine and a hidden snug.

Guests can also relax on sofas and play video games, watch the world go by from the ‘lounge’ area or enjoy some music downstairs.

Menus are printed on pots and pans and the site offers a variety of unique cocktails alongside wide-ranging sharing platters.

Regarding the sites opening last year, Dehdashti said: “If you think about the fact that we all live in many different houses and flats across the world, the possibilities are somewhat endless.”

The Mainwaring Arms

Cheshire Cat Pubs and Bars, owned by Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin, site The Mainwaring Arms is a charming country pub with plenty of character, cosy open fires and a cheeky homage to Dad’s Army.

A welcoming venue with plenty of quirks, great care has been taken to ensure each little detail in every corner of the site, which opened in 2021 and is the newest of the pubcos seven sites, oozes traditional pub values.

The pub sits on the Whitmore Estate in Cheshire and was first established in around 1850, named by the Cavanagh-Mainwaring family after their famous ancestor Admiral Rowland Mainwaring.

Additionally, in November last year, staff across the Cheshire Cat pubco, which was founded in 2010, took part in an ‘around the world in 80 days challenge​’.

The challenge saw the team walk the circumference of the earth twice during this time as both a team building exercise and an effort to raise money for charity, with the Mainwaring recognised as the best team in raising the most money. 

The Churchill Tree

Located in Cheshire’s affluent Alderley Park area, Cheshire Pub Company’s Churchill Tree site is a luxurious site with community pub values at its heart.

With lots of natural light, the venues dining room is a beautiful area to enjoy the pubs varied food and drink offering while the bar area is a cosy space with a big open fire where dogs are also welcome.

The flamboyant site hosts regular events and has put on some big-name comedians as well as occasions for the local community including bingo and disco nights.

Embracing its history, which includes being a family home during the 19th and 20th centuries as well as a place for Government gatherings and a British Red Cross hospital for wounded war heroes during WW2, the site boasts artwork and protected listed features throughout.

Additionally, the pub was named after a tree in its courtyard planted by Winston Churchill.

Heidi’s Bier Bar

Inspired by all things Nordic, REKOM’S Heidi’s Bier Bar, located on Mill Lane in the centre of Cardiff, is a wonderfully fun venue.

With plenty of Instagram opportunities throughout, including an authentic ski lift on the second floor, as well as ‘disco toilets’, shot skis, 4-litre beer towers party music and fake snow, the exciting apres-ski vibe is infectious.

Staff dress in authentic Tyrolean attire and even dance on the bar when the Heidi’s theme song plays, the walls are adorned with skis bought over from a resort in Denmark and the site frequently hosts live music and DJs.

The first Heidi’s Bier Bar opened in Denmark in 2004 and has since expanded to 8 locations, including one in Birmingham and most recently in Cardiff in March 2022.

The Boleyn Tavern

Remarkable pubs boasts a portfolio of six carefully restored sites across London with the Boleyn Tavern being the latest to open back in March 2021, following a period of closure in 2020 to conduct extensive restoration.

With traditional furnishing sourced the world over from London to Italy, the care, passion, dedication and attention to detail taken to craft this breath-taking site is truly remarkable, especially the large stained-glass ceiling window in the restaurant area.

Situated near the former West Ham Football Club grounds, as well as focusing on the architectural history of the site, the Boleyn Tavern has unique nods to its footballing history throughout, including beautiful and one-of-a-kind hand-painted murals of iconic player on mirrors in the dining area.

The company has worked hard to turn the Boleyn Tavern’s reputation around from a formerly football focused pub to a family venue and restored the site to its former Victorian-era glory.