GLASGOW boasts one of the best bars in Scotland after Deoch an Doras triumphed at national awards.

The Partick bar was praised by Best Bar None judges for its high standards and great surroundings.

The pub, in Dumbarton Road, was named joint Best Bar winner, together with The Three Sisters in Edinburgh.

Blythswood Square Hotel also shared a top honour, with it named joint best hotel bar in Scotland.

The hotel shared the award with The Gilvenbank Hotel in Glenrothes.

Jeannie Kelly, manager of Deoch an Doras, said they were "absolutely delighted" and "over the moon" to win on their first time entering the pub in the awards.

She said: "We didn't for a minute think we would win at all.

"Everyone's delighted. I think the secret is down to a lot of hard work and we're privately owned so we have more scope to bring in changes."

She said the 18 to 20 people who worked at the pub all felt like they were part of a team and that made 'such a difference.'

She added: "I think customer service is the most important thing, you need to have great service.

"You've always got to be on the ball and have many sets of eyes in your head!"

The two Glasgow winners were chosen from 54 finalist venues taking part from across Scotland.

A total of 11 winning categories were announced on Thursday night at a ceremony in the Grand Central hotel in Glasgow.

Chairwoman of Best Bar None Scotland, Mandy Haeburn-Little, said: “It is a great honour to announce Deoch and Dorus as joint winner for best Pub and The Blythswood Square Hotel as joint winner for best Hotel Bar. Both venues have shown an excellent standard of practice and take great pride in their premises and surroundings.

“These awards are all about quality. Quality of experience when going out, quality of customer care and quality being applied to every aspect of a visit. We all want to enjoy going out, we all want to feel safe and we all want to know that family and friends are safe.

“In addition, BBN particularly looks at how premises support getting everyone home safely which matters a lot when we consider anyone who may be feeling vulnerable or who is unsure how to get home.

“Best Bar None has grown significantly in the past four years in Scotland and we are delighted that this brand of quality now attracts such support from the many core partners including Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Services. Scotland is really leading the way with the growth of this initiative. It is a real credit to the work that has been undertaken by the Scottish premises.

“The fact we had joint winners for two categories also reflects the fact, year on year the standard of entrants for the Awards just gets better and better”

There were eight Glasgow venues which were shortlisted as finalists: Deoch An Dorus (Pub), Allison Arms (shortlisted in two categories: Independent Pub and Best Public Health Initiative), Yates (Bar), Café Source Too (Independent Bar), The Blythswood (Hotel Bar), Campus (Night Club), QMU (Specialist Entertainment Venue) and The Shed (shortlisted in two categories: Best Use of Innovation and Newcomer).

Licensed premises that wish to join Best Bar None are assessed by trained, impartial assessors and applicants are scored according to national guidelines. A panel of judges assess the applications and confirm that all applications have met the required standard. Venues are awarded either a Gold, Silver or Bronze award and an overall winner is selected in each category and go forward to the National Awards.