Gold Winner Stillwell

Silver Winner Stubborn Goat Gastropub

Bronze Winner Bud the Spud

“Twenty sixteen was a lot of work, and was really, really rewarding,” says Stilwell’s Chris Reynolds. Between losing the tender for its waterfront beer garden, rebuilding a new, somehow better version of it on Spring Garden Road and keeping the Barrington Street bricks-and-mortar location packed, the three-year-old beer bar has maintained its status as your favourite, with your favourite beer selection and your favourite fries. “We have an insanely talented team. Everybody that works at Stillwelll behaves like they own Stillwell,” he says. “Our little Stillwell family is the reason for our success.” Also key? Keeping focus, Reynolds says, which is why Stillwell still pours 95 percent locally made brews, a decision they’re happy to see catching on. “Since opening we’ve seen a lot traditional pubs change their taps from 90 percent factory beer to 90 percent homemade beer. You don’t need to have a Molson-backed bar to be successful.”