We were in Melbourne for the final weekend of the year. The Flying Duck Hotel at Prahran is a lovely little local, well away from the busy-ness of Chapel St, it’s a local pub, restaurant, dining room, lounge and beer garden all rolled into one. Lovely.
The Dudley at Paddington is a busy local between Paddington and Rushcutters Bay.
BUSY on Christmas Eve, but each year we always go a park at Rushcutters Bay right next to the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia where we picnic and wander among the boats before they start the Sydney to Hobart.
An internet search suggests The Royal is a Paddington favourite. It’s a heritage pub situated at Five Ways, a fascinating and we imagine a $$$ area of Paddington, just up the hill from Rushcutters Bay.
A great area to go for a walk.
It’s a neighbourhood local where you can grab a drink and a seat in one of the different rooms, balcony or rooftop with views of the harbour.
Shared plates, pub classics and contemporary dishes.
Somewhere to return!
Back to Balmain… again! The Royal Oak is less than 200m from last week”s Sir William Wallace and a pub from much earlier in the year, The Dry Dock, emphasising just how many pubs there are in Balmain! And to think 90% of them are closed from the heady 1800s and early 1900s.
The Royal Oak has been done very nicely. Modern but with a real old world charm about it.
Go there.
The aim of this year was to visit a local pub each week.
The Sir William Wallace hotel at Birchgrove is possibly the most local hotel we’ve been to this year.
After parking right out the front in a very residential area, away from the busy-ness of Balmain, Rozelle and other areas of Birchgrove, we walked in to The Wally to find a very traditional, pretty much unrenovated (heritage listed, built in 1879), tiled wall pub, heavy with timber and regulars.
Free pool on Sundays has possibly swelled the numbers from 7 to 10!
Fortunately, we sat beside the window, not in the seats that had to be vacated at 5 o’clock on Sunday for two regulars who have “their” table!
All in all, a terrific, old world pub full of period character.
The Grand National Hotel at Paddington is in a fascinating residential area among the backstreets of Paddington where there’s a surprising number of bars and pubs. One of these is the iconic Grand National Hotel, which has been kicking around Paddo for ages.
“The Nash” sits outside the Sydney CBD lockout zone so is a pretty busy pub of a weekend evening
The venue is interesting. The walls are painted with faded pastels, and there’s are booths like an old milk bar.
Best of all, your dog is more than welcome. Before we’d even ordered a drink, the bar staff brought over a water bowl for our dog. No pups in the bistro, but that’s understandable.
Paddo’s a great place for a wander… narrow streets, interesting architecture and a few examples of real community like the honesty box for the home made jams and the hoses that have gone waaay over the top with their Christmas decorations!
The Shakespeare Hotel (affectionately known as “The Shakey” by locals) is a Surry Hills institution. The building has remained practically unchanged since doors were opened in 1879, making it a rare time capsule of old-school pub culture. Inside you’ll find locals who have been coming in for 50 years drinking happily alongside the new generation of young professionals enjoying Surry Hills’ gentrification of the last decade or so.
Old world public bar with lots of timber, old tyles on the wall (inside and out) private areas for function hire, good food and cold beer.
A little hard to get to at the moment… the light rail is heading straight up Devonshire Street so a lot of roads are closed, but it’s worth a trip… terrific.
This is the second London Hotel we’ve been to this year.
Paddington. Tiny houses (mind you, some 3 and 4 stories!), dunny lanes and some beautifully restored homes.
Delightful. We’ll be back for another walk.
Not a local… more a local that’s a meeting place with a huge bistro trade that caters for large groups and children’s parties!
Nevertheless, has to be someone’s local I guess… and in this part of \Sydney, pubs are pretty few and far between.
How good is an inner city pub with a sign out the fron proudly displaying “no pokies”.
The Merton at Rozelle. A stone’s throw from the city near the ANZAC Bridge.
Gorgeous old world feel. Lovely open area out the back.
Mind you, just how the hell does the council allow steps like these??
So, this weekend, we... 