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 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??
Iconic local at… Balmain!
Terrific little pub with half a dozen bookable areas for a drink with friends; some under cover, others enjoying the sunshine outside.
Dog friendly… lovely!
Robyn’s relatives used to live around here, and after talking to an aunt in Melbourne we were able to locate the original house.
Heading over to Mollymook for a few days of leave, we headed south via the roundabout way through Goulburn.
We were really surprised! A town like Goulburn… such a working town, we thought there’d be a plethora of pubs to call in and have a drink at.
Not the case. We did, however, find a lovely little pub down near the railway station.
The Coolavin, complete with a small museum of railway memorabilia and a nice little garden out the back.
Annandale. Go for a walk and you easily get the sense of what used to be. On just about every single corner is what could have been a former hotel.
Historically, suburbs like Annandale, before the gentrification, were very working class, and very much like Balmain or Rozelle, hotels proliferated.
The Victoria Hotel in Young St Annandale is a great little local tucked away amongst houses just off the main drag. Cold beer, great food and while the beer garden’s not leafy, it’s a good space to enjoy any time of the year.
I’ve driven and run (City to Surf) countless times past the Sheaf Hotel at Double Bay and in all those 50+ years had no idea it led a double life.
From the front it’s a typical hotel… heavy brick two story art Ecco facade with public and gaming bars at the front, but walk through the breezeway (past some fantastic music memorabilia) and there’s another world out the back.
The beer garden is warm and inviting with Sunday arvo music, heaters and plenty of shelter from rain and sun.
VERY dog friendly. Fab afternoon.
So, this weekend, we... 