Royal Albert Hotel is a very local, very chill spot in Surry Hills. It's the kind of place you…read morewander into without much planning and grab a drink because... it's there. We were doing luandry accross the street so we just dropped in. Service is fine -- nothing to rave about, nothing to complain about. The vibe is casual and unpretentious, which works if you're in the neighborhood and not looking for anything fancy. That said, the name definitely does some heavy lifting here. "Royal Albert" sounds grand; the experience is more "friendly local pub." Still, it's an easygoing place that does the job.

Stopped into the Royal Albert Hotel bar in Surry Hills and it was clearly a local favorite--busy…read morewith regulars and a fun, energetic atmosphere. They were running trivia games while we were there, which added to the overall vibe and made it feel like a true neighborhood spot. The ambiance is great: a cool, old-school bar with friendly local staff, and you definitely get the sense that people know each other here. Solid selection of beer, wine, and cocktails/mixed drinks. My husband ordered a Guinness, which was a good choice. Unfortunately, my margarita was underwhelming and honestly wasn't that great, which knocked the experience down a bit. Overall, it's a good place to hang out for the atmosphere--just keep your cocktail expectations reasonable

Keg and Brew, located in Surrey Hills is a pub that has a variety of beers on tap as well as other…read morealcoholic beverages (wine, ciders, etc.). My partner had been wanting to check out a pub during our time in Sydney and I found Keg and Brew close to our hotel. How to order drinks and food can get quite confusing if you are a foreigner. The first floor of the pub is a bar and the second floor is where you pick up your food you order from the bar. Everything is completely self serviced. Unclear of the process my husband and I sat down at one of the tables on the first floor. We then realized that people were ordering from the bar and we asked staff regarding how the process worked. They told us to order with them where we would pick up our food on the 2nd floor. After ordering, we actually decided to relocate to the 2nd floor without realizing we needed to pick up our drinks from the first floor bar where we ordered them. After a bit of confusion, we were able to get our food and drinks. I opted for the steak special (added some mashed potatoes on the side) and a red wine. My husband opted for the chicken parmesan and a beer. After a bit of confusion at first, the food was actually quite delicious. We enjoyed our items as we enjoyed our beer and wine after a long day. Overall, a confusing start to the night but it ended up where both of us left satisfied.

great food and drinks for good prices! the on tap cocktail was delicious and the Mac and cheese…read moreballs and nachos were great sides. The rooftop was an awesome place to sit. Went here around lunchtime, not very packed. Cant wait to try dinner!

Fun bar in Sydney head up the stairs to the semi open rooftop bar. Good food and drinks.read more

In spite of the name, this is actually not a hotel. Hotel has a double meaning in Australia as I…read morehave learned. It can be a place of lodging, but also many pubs use it as well as it relates to past liquor laws. Using the term "hotel" as a way to skirt liquor licensing regulations. Strawberry Hills is a nice Aussie pub just down the street from Central Railway Station. It looks a little divey on the outside, but the 2nd floor interior is quite nice and stylish and even has free Wi-Fi. This is a good spot to get a drink and quality pub food at a reasonable price in Sydney. If you are dining upstairs, you order your food and drinks at the counter. If you are dining in, the staff then brings the food to your table when it is ready. While they do have a wine menu, there isn't one for the large assortment of beers and cider on tap. If you are not sure what to order, I would list the types of beer and cider that you like to find one that suits you. As for the food, there is a regular menu consisting of pub food and a late night menu of different pizzas. The pricing here is quite reasonable as most mains (name for entree in Australia) are under $20. Had a Sunday night dinner here and opted for the slow cooked lamb shoulder ($18) with a pint of Bulmers cider ($7). I chose lamb because it is harder to find this meat on menus in the US, whereas in Australia it seems to be a standard offering. The lamb was terrific as the meat was fall off the bone tender. There was a bit of fat and gristle on the lamb, but I was okay with this since this helped to accentuate the meat's flavor. The accompanying roasted vegetables and red wine jus were also delicious and complimented the lamb. As for the cider, it was my first time trying Bulmers and I really liked it. It has a very crisp and refreshing taste that paired well with my meal. Enjoyed my meal at Strawberry Hills. The food and drinks here are good and value for your money. I like the ambiance of this pub too as it is modern, yet is casual enough to be a local drinking hole that you frequent regularly.

Busy Friday night - lady up front tells us it'll be 10-15 minutes and to just wait out front. 20…read moreminutes later, a group walks through the front door and is sat instantly. We walk up to ask what the deal is, staff member shrugs their shoulders and tells us something will open soon. Alright. Also, none of the three tables outside had someone come by the entire time we were there. A patron had to walk in to find a staff member, who appeared bothered. Don't waste your time, organization at this place is non-existent.

This is another one of those pubs that I accidentally discovered, though that seems to be one of…read morethe things with me, accidentally discovering pubs. However, if you end up wandering around as much as I do, then it sort of goes without saying. Well, this pub actually wasn't too bad, though being a Friday it was certainly pretty packed when I turned up, to the point that it was literally impossible to find a seat. Still, there were some nice beers on tap, so that certainly counts for something.

Aurora Hotel looks unassuming from the outside - just like your regular pub in Surry Hills. In many…read moreways, it is your regular pub, but it's much bigger than it looks. Three storeys, with the gamblers on level one, the eaters and loungers on level two, and the smokers and loungers on level three (the roof top bar). We came in for a light lunch and it wasn't too bad for pub fare. We ordered a beef burger on Turkish with chips on the side and were pretty satisfied with that. They have a few $10 cocktails on offer during happy hour, so it's not a bad place to begin your night.

Such hate and discrimination because of the colour of your shirt. Sitting quietly in a small group…read moreenjoying ourself, then be asked to move on because of some of our shirts (high-vis, as we work in a trade job) is total hate for us. We were doing nothing wrong and not causing any trouble for staff or other patrons, buts asked to move/leave because of the work shirts some members of the gruop had on. Upon questioning this direction from staff, security was in strucred to eject me from the premise. Hate and discrimination comes in many forms.

I finished uni and couldn't get a job. You know, that old story. That old chestnut. That old water…read morechestnut. That old chest made out of nuts. Well, I took the first job that I was offered. The advertisement said, 'Sports Marketing.' Okay, sounds good. My degree is in Sports Management, perfect. I rocked up to my first day on the job/training day. "What? I'm selling raffle tickets? I'm one of those guys who sits outside shopping centres and banks and sells raffle tickets? How is that Sports Marketing?" The guy explained it to me, we sell tickets for clients such as Manly Sea Eagles and Surf Lifesavers. They are sports, and the raffle tickets are marketing. Sports Marketing. "Oh my God!" Or "OMG!" if you're born post 1990. The most demoralising, depressing six days of my life! I walked into the Evening Star Hotel on the sixth afternoon of my Raffle career and bought a schooner of Pale Ale. I sat in the corner, weighing up my life. Was this where I wanted to be? Feeling like a tool, trying to sell raffle tickets for a company that celebrated hitting the quota by banging a giant gong in the meeting room? A company where high fives, not only were allowed, but feverishly encouraged and almost mandatory. Is this who I was? "Hell no!" Amidst the soft lighting and comfortable interiors of the Evening Star, the soft soundtrack of the pokie machines in the other room. The open plan bar, the friendly, but disinterested bar tender, the second beer in my hand, drinking alone. I called up the "Sports Marketing" company and I quit, six days was all I could take. The following day I, out of spite, wrote a disgruntled letter to seek.com to complain about their lies involving the calling of themselves, 'sports marketing.' Their listing was taken down and it reappeared a few months later as a vague, sales and marketing role. But who knows, were it not for the sweet calming atmosphere of the Evening Star, perhaps I'd be high fiving sales agents to this very day.

The problem with having a lot of pubs in such a small area is that many of them seem to merge into…read moreone, at least the ones that don't really stand out - such as this one. It isn't a bad pub, but it really isn't one of the best, especially with all of the competition in such a short area. I've been here a couple of times and it has always been fairly quiet - which is a good thing - and the staff were pretty nice as well. The beers are generally the standard you would expect in most pubs - no craft beers. The also have a poker night on Wednesday nights for those who are into those tournaments.

This really wasn't one of my favourite Surry Hills pubs, but then again with the number to choose…read morefrom as I have mentioned a number of times, the bar has been set pretty high. Still, it was a rather pleasant, and quiet, place to grab a drink, particularly since it was a Friday night when I passed through here. Like a lot of the pubs down here, there were some pretty nice beers on tap, and the staff were nice as well, however it really wasn't a favourite.

I'm on the fence about this one. I may need to try again to say which way that experience pushes…read moreme. There were seven of us for lunch today. There was not an abnormal wait to get our food. I had a delicious Cesar salad. Those who ordered a favorite kale with fig salad complained there was excessive dressing today compared to other days. The decor is a bit bi-polar. The front of the pub is your typical dark area with small tables. I much preferred the back that was filled with large communal tables and lots of light. The staff member who took our order at the bar then delivered our order. He complained of how busy it was and seemed annoyed. He could use some hospitality training.

Now, this was one awesome pub. Well, at first it didn't seem to be the case, particularly when I…read morewandered into the front bar and it basically looked like your typical sports bar, however, when I made my way out the back I discovered an awesome beer garden. In fact more than that, there were some great other bars in this establishment, as well as a gallery. Oh, and the paintings on the walls outside were pretty awesome. This was one great pub.

Heard good things about this place so I came here for their $10 Lunch special on Monday's and…read moreTuesdays. You can get a burger with fries ranging from cheeseburger, vegan burger, to fried chicken burger and a few others. The fit out is pretty cool, large outdoor area and chill vibe and staff. Food came out rather quick, I thought $10 was a great deal so I ordered a fried chicken burger and Bushwick burger. Bushwick burger is beef, cheese, onion, pickle, lettuce, tomato sauce, on an nyc style. Hold up, what's an NYC style bun? I've spent a lot of time in New York City and have never heard of such a thing...NYC style pizza sure. NYC style bun? This is some faux BS trying to win customers in an attempt to seem more authentic methinks... Anyway, the fried chicken burger was great, definitely up there with the best in Sydney, comparable to Mary's, Pub Life (prior to the new one,) and Pinbone. The Bushwick burger on the other hand was OK. It seriously just tasted like a Whopper from Hungry Jack's. Not a bad thing...but nothing special either, because if I wanted an imitation of something I would have just gone to the original. Will have to come back to try the cheeseburger. Chicken is 4.5/5 Bushwick is 3/5

Did not stay here, but friends had a good-sized party in the bar/semi-private gathering areas that…read morewas quite nice. The bar itself was not large but handled our party well, food (bar food, obviously) was solid, and drinks were pretty good.

Well, this is another one of those pubs that I found to be pretty cool, though not surprisingly if…read moreyou land up here are the wrong time (usually a Thursday or Friday night) then you might find it really difficult to find a place to sit down. Then again, that is probably a pretty good thing for the pub. The bouncers weren't too bad, but then again they seem to be getting better in Sydney, or at least the further out you go. I did quite like the pub, though it might be best to avoid the crowds.

My friends and I came here on St Patty's Day after the races. We knew every Irish pub would be…read morepacked, but our friend was like, "We'll go to Porterhouse, nobody knows about it." We hopped in a cab and was unpleasantly surprised to see a long que outside. So we waited and it only took about 20 minutes. Got in and there were green hats and drunken Irish and Australians everywhere. It was great! I ordered a cider and my friends got Guinness. We drank and chatted and had good fun. After a few drinks, I started to get a bit hungry. I was happy to see that they had curry chips on the menu. I went up to the food station and asked for curry chips and potato wedges. Sadly there was $20 maximum credit card charge, but the lady pointed me to the ATM. Was a bit drunk and it took me a while, but I got cash and ordered the food. Don't know if I was just drunk, but those curry chips were AMAZING! Overall a great Irish pub.

I'm usually not the biggest fan of Irish Pubs as most of the Irish Pubs where I hail from, South…read moreFlorida, seem to be mostly faux or fake Irish with huge flat screens blaring out reruns of American NFL football games and have rather unauthentic cheap, less than flavorful gimmicky Irish foods. So, I found the Porterhouse Hotel a real delight. The Irish Aussie or just Aussie crowds that gather here are friendly, engaging and just sort of a joy to be with. They also have a WiFi though it isn't all that good and limits you to 30 minutes a day, but the beers are great, kept at the correct temperatures and served with a full pour. Though maybe a matter of personal taste, I really loved their Kilkenney draught. It's also a spacious establishment with a really great down to earth sandstone/brick décor, an atrium dining area enhanced with a seemingly out of character but adding to the charm chandelier. There is also an outside porch with tables and chairs, kind of nice to sit at since faces an off street having little traffic. Most important to me however was their food. They have complete finger food, lunch and dinner menu items; all of which I found to not only be delicious but reasonable in price, particularly their Chicken Schnitzel priced at 14AU$, their Kilkenney battered fish 18AU$, or Guinness Pie 18AU$. You place your order and pay at a counter, they give you a number to display on your selected table, then serve the food right from the kitchen. I also found the staff, particularly the bartenders to be friendly, polite and always seeming to have the time to give you a smile, say a kind word or two, and sort of make you feel comfortable and welcomed.