Eight fabulous venues are this year squaring off for the coveted title, with the winner being crowned at Belfast’s Crowne Plaza Hotel on June 9.

Tickets for the big night are selling fast so anyone hoping to grab a spot at the biggest night in NI hospitality should get their skates on and book HERE.

The sensational shortlisted venues are:

As for the big night itself, it includes a feast of top entertainment, and promises to be bigger and better than ever, with past winners licking their lips at the prospect of a return and the possibility that they could again be among the winners of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious hospitality awards.

Hosting the event will be Sarah Travers and The Blame Game’s own Tim McGarry, while entertainment will be provided by Super group Spring Break who toured recently in the United Kingdom as back up to Cher.

So join 500 of Northern Ireland’s top hoteliers, publicans, caterers, and restaurateurs at hospitality’s biggest night of the year and book your place HERE.

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The restaurant space will close until March 31 to allow the network of local trade businesses employed by Ulster Stores to complete the refurbishment works and once complete the restaurant will employ an additional 10 staff.

The latest project will bring the total investment to £1.5m for The White House Portrush over the last three years, with work taking place in various stages to minimise disruption to customers.

The most recent completion last year launched a new art deco feel and design for the first-floor womenswear department in-store.

Supporting local, the design team is led by Alan Irwin of Montgomery Irwin Architects in Coleraine while the building contract is awarded to Ballymena firm Elmwood Construction. Well-known local man Simon Clarke has also provided a consultancy role on operations and new menus.

Ulster Stores owner Neville Moore said: “This is another exciting development for the White House, where the restaurant transformation promises an unrecognisable dining space.

“We’ve been working hard behind the scenes and are excited for our customers, visitors and staff to experience a beautiful new setting which will embrace the original character, charm and familiarity that people love about the White House.

“Renovations will provide an entirely new design and layout for Trocadero Restaurant which will help us to better cater for our customers’ needs, enhancing our current offering to another level in terms of appearance, quality of food and service through providing a larger restaurant space and state of the art kitchen facilities.”

The 10 new restaurant jobs bring the overall payroll to more than 300 across the group’s four stores at the White House Portrush, Moores of Coleraine, Clares Llandudno and de Gruchy St Helier.

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Emergency services s were called to the scene at the Dungloe Bar on Waterloo Street at around 6am and at one stage seven fire engines and 26 firefighters from Northland and Crescent Link fire stations in Derry and from Strabane fire station were in attendance.

A spokesman said: “Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two hose reels and one jet to extinguish the fire. The incident was dealt with by 9.58am and the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.”

Assistant group commander Kevin McLaughlin said the blaze was discovered by cleaning staff when they turned up for work yesterday morning. Mr McLaughlin said the fire started in the ground floor kitchen. He told BBC Radio Foyle most of the damage was to the rear of the building.

“It started on the ground floor but penetrated up to the first and second floor. There is quite a bit of damage but, given the age of the building and the levels of compartmentation you would find in older buildings, I think our crews did well to minimise the damage to the area,” Mr McLaughlin said.

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Glen Wheeler, who has been running 28 at the Hollow in the bar’s basement for the past 18 months, said that while he does not have a firm date for when Glen at the Hollow will officially open it will be at some point in the new year.

He says it will be a level up from his current offering at 28, with the emphasis on fine dining as part of a tasting menu.

“We have 28 at the Hollow which is in the basement of Blake’s, but then above the bar there is a space over two floors and we are going to do 30 or 35 covers max,” Glen said.

“It will be everything I ever dreamed of or trained for, it’s my dream restaurant.

“I could open it now but it’s not exactly where I want it as far as the interior and a few other things go.

“All in good time, once I’m able to get enough staff and a team built for upstairs then it will allow me to do exactly what I want.

“It will be more fine dining and it will be a set thirteen or fourteen course tasting menu. Smaller numbers and just really good food hopefully.”

Speaking about the success of 28 at the Hollow, which recently picked up a Grub Club award, he added: “We’ve had a really good year, normally come September, October and early November it does dip quite a bit but this year it has held up rightly thankfully.

“It was a challenging year because we’re coming out of all the lockdowns and everything that came with that, but the last six or seven months have been really enjoyable.

“We’re finding it so hard to get chefs, we’ve been crying out the last while trying to get people in and we just can’t get them.

“If there is anyone out there looking to get into the industry I’d welcome them in with open arms to come in and spend a few days and get a feel for it.”

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Belfast City Council signed off on the proposal by the London-based FTSE-listed firm to redevelop the Arthur Square restaurant.

The listed Mayfair Building, located between Victoria Square shopping complex and Cornmarket was recently used by Google and shoe retailer Hotter but has been vacant since October 2020.

The company went public in September 2021 and now has a market capitalisation of around £35 million.

Earlier this month, Tortilla Mexican Grill told investors it is facing a full-year hit of more than £2 million from soaring protein and energy costs.

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