A BARBICAN restaurant has been nominated for an award for being one of the top employers in the country.

The Glassblowing House is has been short-listed as in the Best Independent Restaurant Employer and Best Employer in Hospitality in England & Wales as part of the Best Employers in Hospitality awards.

Ed Steven, managing director of the city eaterie, said the award aims to highlight an employer's efforts to create excellent work places and staff training.

"Great service was what we were originally after but, as we began investing more in our staff recruitment, training and retention programmes, we saw an increase in performance.

It's great that the hard work has been successful and an honour to be recognised against some strong competition; it does show that smaller businesses can compete and even beat industry giants," he said.

The restaurant will find out if it has been successful at an awards ceremony to be held on June 21.