MORE than 60 nominations for 18 different establishments have been received in our search for the city’s Festive Pub of the Year.

The closing date has now passed and our Retailer of the Year committee met this week to discuss the merits of each entry.

Next week we will announce the winner and the two runners up.

The judges will be swayed by the standard of the Christmas dinner menu; the variety of festive drinks on offer; the pub’s Christmas decorations and the festive spirit on show in the bar itself.

Committee chairman Roma Mills said: “This competition is all about giving our pubs the recognition they deserve. The response has been fantastic so we are delighted.”

Review editor Martin Buhagiar added: “The recession has seen businesses everywhere struggle, but pubs in particular have had a difficult year. We hope our Festive Pub of the Year competition has raised the profile of those nominated and has also led to some people heading back to their local to check how festive their pub is before entering them in our compeititon.”

The nominated pubs are:

King William IV, Sandridge Road.

The White Lion, Sopwell Lane.

The Boot, Market Place.

The Portland Arms, Portland Street.

The Gate, Bricket Wood.

Slug and Lettuce, Victoria Street.

The Speckled Hen, Hatfield Road.

The Garibaldi, Albert Street.

Verulam Arms, Lower Dagnall Street.

The Green Dragon, Waterside, London Colney.

The Peahen, London Road.

The Plough, Tyttenhanger Green.

O'Neills, Victoria Street.

Cross Keys, London Road.

White Hart Hotel, London Road.

Fleur De Lys, Market Place.

Mokoko, Verulam Road.

Horn Reborn, Victoria Street.

The Swan, Whethampstead.