Elder son, Matt. (Whoops, already done Matthew St in Crows Nest! #favouritechild?? LOL)
Such a range of houses around St Ives. Rundown bungalows strewn with rubbish, huge houses with manicured gardens, even old houses with horses in the adjoining paddock (2 horses on a block, probably about $1million per horse!)
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.
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!
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.
The Kauri Foreshore Hotel. Glebe, down near the fish markets.
Limited wine list, and only a few beers on tap. The Blackwattle Bay foreshore walk has been done really well. Gorgeous day in the sun for a walk… the company was better than the pub.
We deliberately sought out a dog friendly pub somewhere near the water this weekend as Sydney was set to experience a beautiful (record breaking) 26 degree winter’s day.
Dick’s is an iconic Balmain hotel, well known to Swans fans as a designated fan hotel showing every Swans game live. A very suburban hotel opposite The Exchange in Beattie St, it has a really clever canvas sound shell over the dog-friendly beer garden that contains the noise and keeps the neighbours happy.
A good range of beers and ciders on tap in the various bars.
The Hunters Hill Hotel… not really a local as it’s a bit more commercial and frequented by plenty of people who have traveled to this well known sports pub.
Recently renovated, it has a great kitchen that pumps out up-market pub grub all day, and huge screens for the folks who come to watch whatever live sport is on.
The Swanson Hotel holds only good memories for us… our nephew was married there a couple of years ago.
Located a bit away from Erko shops and strip, just near Erskinville Oval, comfortable downstairs bars with an open fire on a cold day, upstairs dining and footpath tables.
Good food menu, our trio of tapas went down very nicely! Lovely spot.
What a surprise to find, hidden from view, a quiet beer garden at the back of the the Horse and Jockey on busy Parramatta Road at Homebush.
We enjoyed a beer (Wild Yak Pacific Ale) and a NZ Sav Blanc (“South Island”) on a glorious Good Friday afternoon.
This part of Sydney – Homebush/Flemington/Strathfield – is extremely multicultural, so no surprise to find all of the shops open in the local strip shopping on this traditional public holiday; not just an Asian grocer but the supermarket, cafes and chemist.
Must remember this when we really need something on a (Christian) public holiday.
Located on Sydney’s Upper North Shore near Hornsby, the Blue Gum serves a huge area in this, Sydney’s least populated pub area. Only about half a dozen real “pubs” are to be found on this stretch of the Pacific Highway from North Sydney to Hornsby.
Typical pub fare, a popular spot on a weekend evening.
A hilly spot for a walk!
So, this weekend, we... 