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 Albion Hotel at Parramatta is one of those pubs that has a few different characters, depending on the time and day. It’s not on a really busy road so doesn’t get a lot of passing trade, but it does have a bit of a reputation and is well known to many.
Of an evening, particularly a Friday or Saturday night, it’s a busy pub with large groups of people drinking and eating. Sunday afternoon it’s a musician in the courtyard.
Early on a Saturday arvo, however, before the reserved (for the evening) tables are all taken, it’s pretty quiet with a few locals having a brew.
For a hotel to not only survive but to thrive when it’s located in a quiet side street, out of site from the main road, says that this local is doing something right.
The 3 Weeds at Rozelle started its life in 1881 as the Rose, Shamrock & Thistle but it was always known as the 3 Weeds. This local icon has a great selection of beers on tap as well as both fine dining and a bistro offering both contemporary and traditional pub food.
Cathedral ceilings, a sandstone fireplace and traditional pub meals… top spot!
There’s a number of well known pubs in The Rocks that are the tourist “go to” pubs – The Orient down in the guts of the Rocks on George St, The Glenmore with its beautiful rooftop views of the harbour, The Fortune of War with its gorgeous original overhead bar…
But none of these are anything like a Local.
Harts, on the other hand, is a bit away from the rest of the Rocks.
Settle in and enjoy a Local Brew from the , listen to some great music in a lovely little beer garden… just watch your head as you walk up the back steps… don’t bang your head on the low hanging branch of the tree at the top of the stairs as you walk in from the street!
We went for a walk around the area and deliberately picked streets we’d never walked before. We tripped over some interesting excavations in Windmill St, walked through what you can at the YMCA and returned to the area via the new Wynyard Walk which connects Barangaroo to Wynyard station.
Pretty well done.
The Bald Rock Hotel is an historic pub in the suburb of Rozelle, down near White Bay in the shadow of the Anzac Bridge in the Inner West of Sydney.
Wikipedia says that Bald Rock was originally a suburb within Balmain.
The hotel was built in 1876 and was a lot closer to the harbour when first built; subsequent landfill means it’s now a bit further from the water.
The Bald Rock is sandstone inside and out and is heritage-listed.
It retains much character and is a favourite of locals in an area that used to have a pub on nearly every corner but has in this last generation become more gentrified and where community gardens and parks now flourish.
So, our last weekend in Sydney for the year and, perfect timing (luck, not design) we finished walking all the water west of the Harbour Bridge.
The iconic Bay Run at Drummoyne was the perfect place to finish up, too. A 7 km loop, it’s one of Sydney’s most well known and well used walkin/running/riding/training/fitness loops.
And so ends the year. Now, on to 2017 and a year of drinking in local hotels! Woohoo!
An early morning ride along the Alexandria Canal from Tempe to Alexandria.
Enjoyed breakfast at The Grounds cafe.
Not really what could be described as a scenic ride… it is along a canal and beside an airport after all, but still, a bit of blue on the map to fill in, and breaking at an institution such as The Grounds… well, any excuse will do!
