Over 400 industry and community leaders gathered at QT Canberra Tuesday night to honour the biggest and brightest names in Canberra hospitality at the 2026 AHA ACT Awards for Excellence.
The gala ceremony spanned 49 awards for the best pubs, hotels, bars and restaurants in the capital, finding an impressive collection of multi-gong winners.
Jamala Wildlife Lodge took home both Hotel of the Year (Accommodation) and Deluxe Hotel of the Year.
The District won both Best Burger and Best Family Friendly venue.
Lager House scored Best Parmi and Best Steak and shared the award for Best Draught Beer Quality with Bentspoke Brewing Co, which also picked up Best Steak Sandwich.
Bar Beirut walked away with the biggest swag, notably including top gong of Hotel of the Year (General). It also collected Best Vegetarian meal, under Halima Fouzia, who was dubbed Chef of the Year (General).
Further to these it won Best Unique Bar Experience and Best Cocktail List, while sharing Best Casual Dining Experience with The Dock Kingston.
Thousands of people voted for their favourite venue in second ever ‘People’s Choice’ award for the event, seeing the hotly contested honour handed to The Southern Pub.
AHA ACT general manager Chris Gatfield thanked venues and attendees, and used the occasion to touch on the issue of migration and the industry’s chronic worker shortage, before a crowd that included plenty of overseas-born people.
“Skilled migrants, international students, and working holiday makers make coffees, pour beers, cook steaks, turn over rooms, and run some of our best venues, serving tens of thousands of Canberrans and visitors to our city every day,” he said.
The prestigious Hall of Fame accolades went to ACT hospitality legends Yula Russell (Accommodation) and Laurence Kain (General), with Gatfield offering “their history of service and dedication to hospitality makes both very worthy inductees”.
FULL LIST OF AWARDS AND WINNERS
HEART OF THE COMMUNITY: WINNER – The Dock Kingston
BEST MARKETING ACTIVITY: WINNER – QT Canberra
BEST WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY PRACTICES: WINNER – BentSpoke Brewing Co.
BEST ENVIRONMENTAL/SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES: WINNER – Capital Brewing Co.
BEST CONFERENCE & EVENTS VENUE: WINNER – Hotel Realm
BEST NEW OR REDEVELOPED VENUE: WINNER – Lager House
BEST EVENT CONCEPT & DELIVERY: WINNER – Capital Brewing Co.
ENGINEER OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Robert Savoy Hyatt Hotel Canberra – A Park Hyatt Hotel
FINANCE TALENT OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Towshif Howlader QT Canberra
REVENUE/YIELD TALENT OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Yoshiko Minote Hyatt Hotel Canberra – A Park Hyatt Hotel
FOOD & BEVERAGE TALENT OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Sharath Singh Hyatt Hotel Canberra – A Park Hyatt Hotel
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Dylan Bathgate Med, Burbury Hotel & Apartments
BARTENDER OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Lukas Campbell Molly
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Lucas Wiggers Joe’s Bar, East Hotel
CONFERENCE & EVENTS TALENT OF THE YEAR: WINNER – May Liney Broadbean Catering, National Museum of Australia
ROOMS DIVISION TALENT OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Ecem Unal Hotel Realm
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Alex Seti East Hotel
HOUSEKEEPER OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Binda Budhathoki Avenue Hotel Canberra
HUMAN RESOURCES TALENT OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Melanie Collins BentSpoke Brewing Co.
SALES & MARKETING TALENT OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Natalie Graham QT Canberra
CHEF OF THE YEAR: WINNER – GENERAL DIVISION – Halima Fouzia Bar Beirut
WINNER – ACCOMMODATION DIVISION – Kyungin (Tommy) Park Med Burbury Hotel & Apartments
EMPLOYEE EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE: WINNER – Sayyed Ali Qasim Canberra Rex Hotel
INDUSTRY RISING STAR: WINNER – Riley Ferguson Highball
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Sebastian Nicinski Broadbean Catering, National Museum of Australia
BEST BAR PRESENTATION & SERVICE: WINNER – Molly
BEST UNIQUE BAR EXPERIENCE (Including rooftop, cocktail, lounge or themed bars): WINNER – Bar Beirut
BEST WINE LIST: WINNER – Louis Dining, Hotel Realm
BEST COCKTAIL LIST: WINNER – Bar Beirut
BEST FAMILY FRIENDLY: WINNER – The District
BEST LIVE ENTERTAINMENT VENUE: WINNER – King O’Malley’s
BEST SPORTING ENTERTAINMENT VENUE: WINNER – The Dock Kingston
BEST DRAUGHT BEER QUALITY: JOINT WINNERS – BentSpoke Brewing Co., Lager House
BEST HEALTH SPA & WELLNESS EXPERIENCE: WINNER – Hale Spa, Brassey Hotel
BEST CASUAL DINING EXPERIENCE: JOINT WINNERS – Bar Beirut, The Dock Kingston
BEST RESTAURANT: WINNER – Azuma Den, East Hotel
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Cave Restaurant, Jamala Wildlife Lodge
BEST STEAK: WINNER – Lager House
HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Lighthouse Pub
BEST BURGER: WINNER – The District
BEST PARMI: WINNER – Lager House
BEST STEAK SANDWICH: WINNER – BentSpoke Brewing Co.
BEST VEGETARIAN MEAL: WINNER – Bar Beirut
BEST CHIP: WINNER – Old Canberra Inn
BEST BUDGET STYLE ACCOMMODATION: WINNER – Forrest Hotel and Apartments
BEST APARTMENT STYLE ACCOMMODATION: WINNER – Avenue Hotel Canberra
MID-RANGE HOTEL OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Brassey Hotel
SUPERIOR HOTEL OF THE YEAR: WINNER – East Hotel
DELUXE HOTEL OF THE YEAR: WINNER – Jamala Wildlife Lodge
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD: WINNER – The Southern Pub
HOTEL OF THE YEAR: ACCOMMODATION DIVISION: WINNER – Jamala Wildlife Lodge
HOTEL OF THE YEAR: GENERAL DIVISION: WINNER – Bar Beirut
HALL OF FAME: ACCOMMODATION DIVISION INDUCTEE – Yula Russell Belconnen Way Hotel & Serviced Apartments
HALL OF FAME: GENERAL DIVISION INDUCTEE – Laurence Kain Capital Brewing Co.
