The Sydney Morning Herald 2013 Pub Food Guide - AHA NSW

Where to enjoy the best pub dining in NSW
The way Australia pays.

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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 fi ne 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 fi ne 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

Copyright © Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited 2012
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copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
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
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CONTENTS
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
New England & North West 92
Central NSW 96
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
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PROUD SPONSORS OF THE PUB FOOD GUIDE.

2013 AWARDS
8 9
8 9
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”.
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)
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.
Best Newcomer
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.
Best View
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 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
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 Value for Money
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 NSW Wine List
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.
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.

SCHOONER AWARDS
10 11
10 11
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
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
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
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.
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
Highly recommended
A good option
A Accommodation available
B Good beer selection
F Fine-dining option available
(but not reviewed)
V Good vegetarian options
VFM Value for money
W Good wine selection
Good NSW wine selection
Wheelchair access
AE American Express
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”.
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