14 / 20 How we score Pub dining $ $$$ KB Lager kitsch. RSL chic. World Series Cricket retro.
I’m not sure what we’re calling it, exactly, but next-generation operators decking out old pubs and bars with Australiana is one of the better hospitality trends of the past nine years. Paddington’s Unicorn Hotel was a pioneer of the form, relaunched in 2015 and sporting cast iron cockatoos, native flora and beautiful white swans made from old black car tyres. It was also home to the greatest schnitzel NSW has ever known, featuring wing-attached chicken breast, butter-forward mash and fat-enhanced gravy.
The Oxford Street boozer’s lease changed hands a couple of months ago, which was a bloody shame because great pub food is hard to find. Pubs with great food, sure. Refurbished hotels from Newport to the Nepean know their way around a prawn spaghetti.
But Australian pub food as a strict set of standards (schnitzel, battered seafood, a Sunday roast special) too often takes the form of cut-price produce cooked by chefs who aren’t paid enough to care. The job description might as well read, “Just defrost some chips, discount a parma, and get punters through the door to play Queen of the Nile”. Redfern, at least, has The Bat & Ball.
If you’ve ever walked to the Sydney Cricket Ground from Cleveland Street, you may have found yourself at the pub on the corner of South Dowling. You may also recall it didn’t have much going for it except for beer and a functioning roof. In Au.
