Pub Food Guide NSW

Where to enjoy the best pub dining in NSW

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Making food with a passion There’s no doubt that over the last twenty years food has become more than a business focus for many hoteliers; it has actually become a passion.

Dining out has become a major reason people choose to visit their locals – with good quality, fresh produce featuring on menus from the Tweed to the Murray, usually at a price that won’t break the budget.

NSW hotels now serve almost three million meals each and every week.

From new takes on the humble burger and chips, right through to quality dining in fine restaurants, NSW hotels have it covered.

Just a quick glance through this Pub Food Guide will show you the broad range of quality food on offer – whether it’s fine dining at higher end establishments, like the Four in Hand at Paddington, or the 3 Weeds at Rozelle, or a succulent steak with chips at iconic pubs like the Coogee Bay Hotel at Coogee, the Burrawang Village Hotel or the Willow Tree Inn. From the Sydney CBD to regional NSW, we have come a long way from the toasted sandwiches in foil bags and the traditional meat pie that used to serve as “pub grub.”

Over the last two decades we have seen hotels move to provide the best value-for-dollar dining in the state – and the great thing is, there’s generally one in your local community on a corner somewhere.

So do yourself a favour, take your copy of the Pub Food Guide, get out there to your local and sample some of the best food Australia has to offer.

Scott Leach AHA (NSW) President www.ahansw.com.au

CONTENTS

Copyright Š Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited 2012 1 Darling Island Road, Pyrmont NSW 2009 The Sydney Morning Herald is a registered trademark of Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited

Introduction

6

2013 awards

8

Schooner awards

10

About this guide

11

Sydney & Surrounds

12

Sydney

14

Newcastle & Hunter Valley

63

Blue Mountains

77

Wollongong & Southern Highlands

81

Central Coast

87

Country NSW

90

The moral right of the author has been asserted

New England & North West

92

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Central NSW

96

General manager, Food & Wine, Fairfax Media Lisa Hudson Managing editor, Fairfax Books Robyn Carter Design and production manager, Fairfax Books Peter Schofield Production editor Matt Holden Production team Mark Carter, Lesley Conran, Theodore Ell, Robert Parkinson Reviewers Mark Abernethy, Rachel Alt, Cady Andersen, Calum Wilson Austin, Garry Baker, Roger Balch, Peter Bartlett, Jamie Berry, Karin Bishop, Andrea Black, Cara Boatswain, Rebecca Brown, Gayle Bryant, Tyron Butson, Jilea Carney, Emily Chantiri, Brenda Christian, James Cleland, Jasper Clifford-Smith, Stephanie Clifford-Smith, Andrew Clydesdale, Victoria Cosford, Laurence Coy, Perrie Croshaw, Jennie Curtin, David Dale, Lisa De Minaur, Brigid Delaney, Phoebe Doherty, Barbara Drury, Roderick Eime, Scott Ellis, Jan Forrester, Sarah Friggieri, Emma Gardiner, Stan Gorton, Carla Grossetti, Sophie Hansen, Jacqui Hayes, Bruce Holmes, Tessa Hoult, Saffron Howden, Briar Jensen, Linda Jones, Jim Kellar, Rebecca Lang, Alicia Larriera, David Latta, Keren Lavelle, Karen Lawson, Jennette Lees, Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan, Tatyana Leonov, Marc Llewellyn, Katrina Lobley, Christine Long, Alexandra Longstaff, Aviva Lowy, Luke Martin, Jack Marx, Jackie McMillan, Bronwyn McNulty, Annie Meacham, Jeanne Medlicott, Margaret Merten, Fran Molloy, Linda Moon, Jason Mountney, Kree Nash, Helen O’Neill, Ellie Parker, Alison Pickel, Helen Pitt, Alison Plummer, Sheriden Rhodes, Lisa Rockman, Christine Salins, John Saxby, Naomi Scesny, Annie Stevens, Liz Swanton, Sasha Tohme, Juan-Carlo Tomas, Rochelle Tubb, Rebecca Varidel, Rachel Visontay, Anastasia Vlastaras, Natasha Wallace, Sue Wallace, Kerry Warren, Scott Warren, Felicity Watson, Simon Webster, Sarah Woods.

Printed and bound in Australia by Inprint Fairfax edition ISBN 978-1-921486-56-2 Contact sales@goodguides.com.au for advertising or sponsorship inquiries across Good Guides/Fairfax Books print and mobile properties

Riverina & Outback

103

Murray

108

North Coast

114

South Coast

126

Snowy Mountains & Capital Country

134

5 of the best Individual service

39

Value for money

51

Family friendly

84

Chips

85

Burgers

100

Memorable single dishes

133

Index

140

6

6

INTRODUCTION Welcome to the third edition of The Sydney Morning Herald Pub Food Guide. Our team of 95 reviewers has scoured the highways and byways of NSW looking for the best pub food on offer. We visited more than 500 pubs and have ended up with about 400 entries.

As with last year, we’ve kept to our strict rule of only including pubs that score more than 12/20, which means that just being in the Guide is evidence of better-than-average pub food.

This is the year that a British pub was awarded two Michelin stars for the first time. There are now 13 pubs in Britain with the coveted Michelin awards.

This has been reflected in our own experiences: while there are fewer one schooner winners than in previous years, the number of two and three schooner winners has increased, stark evidence of how far we’ve come from that pie sweltering in the warmer.

Other trends we have noticed this year have included more locally sourced produce, an emphasis on food providence, and a greater selection of boutique beers as that sector goes from strength to strength.

This also seems to be the year that cider awoke from a 25-year coma and conquered the world. Personally, I think fruit and alcohol should be kept in separate glasses, but each to their own.

It only remains for me to (a) book in to Weight Watchers, (b) thank our sponsors Destination NSW, the Australian Hotels Association (NSW), and Eftpos, and (c) wish you all happy eating in 2013.

As ever, if you have any suggestions for next year’s Guide or just want to get in touch, please email us on goodpubfoodguide@gmail. com or leave a comment on our Facebook page.

Cheers!

KEITH AUSTIN EDITOR

Celebrating made easy with eftpos.

PROUD SPONSORS OF THE PUB FOOD GUIDE.

8

8

2013 AWARDS eftpos Best Overall Pub

The Imperial Hotel Paddington (page 38) This is what a pub should be. And it’s not just the food. There’s a real bid to engage the local community through outings, events, tastings and the like. The service is ultra-friendly and professional, and the fit-out smart but understated.

Destination NSW Best Country Pub

Patonga Beach Hotel Patonga (page 88) Eating seafood flavoured with fine sauce on the patio at Patonga Beach Hotel, with an excellent view of boats and fishing tackle on a sandy beach and yachts anchored beyond in Brisk Bay, is a totally memorable dining experience.

Best City Pub

The Imperial Hotel Paddington (page 38) There’s nothing overly flash at The Imperial. It’s just quietly excellent at what it does – and that’s quality, perfectly cooked food at prices that won’t break the bank. Whether it’s the steak sandwich, the petite eye fillet or a piece of soft, tasty fish with great vegies, it’s a winner all the way.

AHA (NSW) Best Pub Chef

Mitchell Davis at Landmark Hotel, Eastwood (page 40) When he was head chef at the Duck Inn Pub and Kitchen in Chippendale, Mitchell Davis put it on the foodie map with his up-market, seasonal pub grub. Now Davis has done it again at Landmark Hotel in Eastwood, where our reviewer raved about his “small but perfectly formed menu”.

9

Best Service (individual)

James Jooste at the AB Hotel, Glebe (page 14) The AB’s menu is gigantic but James has eaten it all. He knows what’s good and what isn’t and will alter your selection to make sure the balance of different dishes is right. They have lots of beers on tap, and he’ll take you through an impromptu tasting; same with the wines.

He’s a friendly, happy, can’t-do-enoughfor-you chap who will restore your belief in service.

Best Service (team)

Best Dessert

The Australian Heritage Hotel The Rocks (page 16) The pavlova here is a tottering, creamy stack topped off with a cherry, standing tall above a passionfruit coulis and flanked by a couple of slabs of rocky road. Even the waiter was impressed (it was the first time he’d seen this addition to the menu), and passing patrons exclaimed “Oh my god, what’s that?” and “That’s amazing!”

Best Use of Local Produce

The Clarendon Hotel Newcastle (page 66) The warm, friendly and professional staff here go out of their way to make you feel welcome. They’re fantastic with kids and they appear to have had excellent training.

Eltham Hotel Eltham (page 117) Chef Graeme Stockdale uses Bangalow pork, Coopers Shoot tomatoes, local macadamias, cheese from Nimbin, greens from Booyong, free-range poultry from Bangalow and Alstonville. He’s got a vegie patch, too … and kitchen scraps go to the publican’s chickens.

Best Newcomer

Best Value for Money

Le Pub Sydney (page 40) You must try the collet d’agneau (lamb neck to you and me) and the awardwinning boeuf burguignon pie, but this is a menu that calls for immediate plans to go back and try something else. Well, everything else. The service is spot-on, too – one of the young staff even went out into the mean streets of the CBD looking for a takeway coffee for us. Add a sexy French-style makeover, and this former dungeon looks like a stayer.

Forest Lodge Hotel Forest Lodge (page 30) Most things on the menu are between $10 and $15: you don’t see that anywhere knocking out such quality food. When you add the daily specials and produce-driven choices, this is one great all-round menu. The specials are fantastic, including a knockout pork belly roast on Sundays for $15. And $5 corn dogs are great fun, too.

Best View

The Imperial Hotel Paddington (page 38) This isn’t just a NSW wine list, it’s the NSW wine list. A great collection of purely local wines – and the hotel goes a step further by holding regular wine tastings and weekend wine markets.

The Lennox Hotel Lennox Head (page 121) This is a corker: a spacious balcony overlooking Seven Mile Beach. Pine trees, waves, sand and horizon as far as the eye can see.

Best NSW Wine List

Rekorderlig Cider Best Beer Garden

Gol Gol Hotel Gol Gol (page 110) Sitting and eating in such a wellappointed place with such expansive, lush lawns opening out onto the banks of the Murray River is a delight. And lunch with a view of an old paddleboat on a river run? Truly spectacular.

Best Family Friendly

Taren Point Hotel Taren Point (page 57) The kids’ menu here offers small versions of the adult food that don’t involve frozen chicken nuggets. The show bag with colouring-in and stickers is brilliant, and the playroom can be seen from most indoor parts of the pub. There’s face painting, balloon sculpture … even a tiny petting zoo.

Best Pizza

The Centennial Hotel Woollahra (page 22) The Centennial has long set the standard for pub pizza with a wood-fire oven, thin crusts and imaginative toppings that stay true to Naples principles. The standout is the lamb (barbecued separately) with eggplant and rocket (lovingly draped after the base emerges from the oven).

Best Burger

Australian Youth Hotel Glebe (page 16) This burger takes you to places no one has been. It’s got it all: soft buns with the perfect squish-to-strength ratio, beautifully seasoned meat cooked medium rare, melted cheese, crispy bacon, tomato, cos lettuce, beetroot and mustard mayo.

Best Steak

The Commercial Hotel (Gerry’s) Millthorpe (page 96) The Tasmanian rib-eye here is a thick chunk of meat that’s beautifully charred on the outside and blushing medium-rare pink inside. It has a downside, though: it may spoil you for all future steaks.

9

10 10

SCHOONER AWARDS The Carrington Surry Hills Carrington Place Carrington The Cessnock Hotel Cessnock Gol Gol Hotel Gol Gol Harts Pub The Rocks The Imperial Hotel Paddington Le Pub Sydney Patonga Beach Hotel Patonga Smithtown Riverview Hotel Smithtown Welcome Hotel Rozelle Woolwich Pier Hotel Woolwich

Australian Youth Hotel Glebe Bago Tavern Wauchope Bangalow Hotel Bangalow Boyles Sutherland Hotel Sutherland Briars Historic Inn Bowral Burrawang Village Hotel Burrawang The Burwood Inn Merewether The Commercial Hotel (Gerry’s) Millthorpe Denman Hotel Denman The East Village Hotel Darlinghurst The Entrance Hotel The Entrance Gladstone Hotel Newbridge Grand National Hotel Paddington Great Southern Hotel Haymarket Harrigan’s Irish Pub Pokolbin Jack Duggans Irish Pub Bathurst Jamberoo Pub Jamberoo Longueville Hotel Lane Cove The Oriental Hotel Springwood Oxford Hotel Bathurst The Paddington Arms Paddington The Palace Hotel Broken Hill Potters Hotel and Brewery Nulkaba Rocksia Hotel Arncliffe Royal Albert Hotel Surry Hills Royal Hotel Queanbeyan Queanbeyan Sutton Forest Inn Sutton Forest Top Pub Uralla Town Green Inn Port Macquarie Walcha Road Hotel Walcha Road The Willow Tree Inn Willow Tree The Woolpack Hotel Redfern

About this guide The Alexandra Hotel Leura The Australia Hotel Cessnock Bangor Tavern Bangor The Bank Hotel Newtown The Bellbird Hotel Bellbird Blue Gum Hotel Waitara Buckland Hotel Alexandria Bushrangers Bar & Brasserie Largs Camden Hotel Camden Camden Valley Inn Camden Park The Carlisle Castle Hotel Newtown The Centennial Hotel Woollahra The Coopers Hotel Newtown The Courthouse Hotel Howlong Donnybrook Hotel Lithgow East Village Balmain Balmain East Elanora Hotel East Gosford Farmers Arms Hotel (Kelly’s) Tocumwal The Glenmore Hotel The Rocks Hotel Canobolas Orange Hotel Gosford Gosford Imperial Hotel Bowral The Lakes Hotel Rosebery The Lennox Hotel Lennox Head Lone Pine Tavern Rooty Hill The Norfolk Surry Hills Parkview Hotel Alexandria Riverview Hotel Balmain Rose of Australia Erskineville The Roundabout Inn Gloucester The Royal Federal Branxton Royal Oak Hotel Cessnock Star Hotel Macksville Taralga Hotel Taralga White Bull Hotel Armidale Yamba Shores Tavern Yamba

Reviews are listed alphabetically in regions and sub-regions: Sydney & Surrounds (includes Newcastle & the Hunter Valley, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong & Southern Highlands), Country NSW (includes New England & North West, Central NSW, Riverina & Outback and Murray), North Coast, South Coast, and Snowy Mountains & Capital Country.

How we review Every hotel has been visited in the past few months by at least one reviewer. We are independent, unbiased and always pay our way and remain anonymous. We did not review any fine-dining restaurants – that’s the province of our sister publication the Good Food Guide – but we have included the symbol F to let you know the option is available. We visited many more hotels than are in this book – the final arbiter of inclusion being “would we recommend it to a friend?”

If not, it hasn’t been included. We visited 504 hotels to publish almost 400 reviews.

Accuracy While we make every effort to ensure that the information in the Pub Food Guide is correct when we go to press, chefs move, menus are revamped and opening hours change. This is beyond our control.

11 11 Ratings We score the hotels out of 20 to give you a more useful idea of their merits. The score comprises 12 points for food, 3 points for service, 3 points for ambience, with an extra 2 points possible for a sprinkling of magic.

Places scoring 12 or less have not been included.

12.5 = Not bad 13 = A cut above 14 = Pretty good 15 = Pretty darn good 16 =

Raise a glass of the good stuff

17 =

Plenty of “wow” factor

18 and above =

Gastro-tastic

Feedback We welcome your recommendations and comments. Email us at goodpubfoodguide@ gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook at “Good Pub Food Guide”.

Thank you to our major sponsor

Thank you to our supporting sponsors

Details The details at the end of the reviews include the bar/restaurant opening times, the price range of entrees and main courses and which credit cards are accepted.

Symbols Best in its class

A B

Highly recommended A good option Accommodation available Good beer selection

F Fine-dining option available

(but not reviewed)

V

Good vegetarian options

MC

MasterCard

VFM

Value for money

V

Visa

Good wine selection

DC

Diners Club

W

Good NSW wine selection

Wheelchair access

AE

American Express

Electronic Funds Transfer ATM Automatic Teller Machine