This week, the Golden Owl Awards brought Vancouver's hospitality community together to salute the city's best food, drink, and social experiences for 2023.
The awards, which first took place back in 2004, aim to spotlight Vancouver's top dining, drinking, nightlife, and festival experiences.
Winners in over a dozen categories are chosen through a public vote.
The 2023 Golden Owl Awards were celebrated on Nov. 20 with an event at D/6 Lounge in Vancouver.
The evening event represents an opportunity for members of Vancouver's hospitality industry to get dressed up and mingle, while emphasizing the array of fun venues, restaurants, and bars the city has to offer.
Categories cover a broad spectrum of Vancouver experiences, from brunch to breweries, patios to pubs, and even the "subculture experience" of the year.
Among the winners are certainly some enduring crowd-pleasers in Vancouver, such as the Keefer Bar (Best Cocktail Experience), Café Medina (Best Brunch Experience), and Published on Main (Best Restaurant Experience), while newcomer Vault Vancouver scored the Awards' sole double win, taking both Nightclub of the Year and New Venue of the Year. And while many of the awards recognize nightlife, the Festival of the Year for 2023 went to Brewery & the Beast, which is an afternoon of food, drink, and live music every summer in Vancouver.
Of their win, Café Medina shared that their team was "overwhelmingly honoured and chuffed," adding: "No one knows how to throw a party like the hospitality industry — and we’re forever grateful to work and play alongside such an exciting bunch."
2023 Golden Owl Awards: Winners
- Best Pizza Experience: AJ's Brooklyn Pizza
- Best Brunch Experience: Café Medina
- Best Cocktail Experience: Keefer Bar
- Best Comedy Experience: The Comedy Ring
- Best Brewery Experience: 33 Acres Brewing
- Best Distillery Experience: Odd Society Spirits
- Best Food Truck Experience: Tacofino
- Best Hotel Lounge Experience: Lobby Lounge Pacific Rim
- Best Live Music Experience: Guilt & Co.
- Best Patio Experience: Tap & Barrel Bridges
- Best Pub Experience: Greta Bar YVR
- Best Restaurant Experience: Published on Main
- Best Subculture Experience: The Narrow Lounge
- Festival of the Year: Brewery & the Beast
- Nightclub of the Year: Vault Vancouver
- Manager of the Year: Justin Isidro, Kiss Tanto
- New Venue of the Year: Vault Vancouver
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