When I was living in Australia I became a bit of a regular at the Angel Hotel…read more Easily walkable from the ferry, this place is cozy in a Cheers kinda way. Walk in and everyone knows you name. Servers take time to know the customers and all patrons are friendly. Decor is great and love the hidden upstairs area. If you are in the area you should definitely make it a point to stop by!

Merivale is at the helm of this classic, boutique pub. Angel Place is a quaint building which has…read morebeen recently refurbished and features theatre style lights. The bistro menu is a bit limited-sandwiches, quick toasties, gourmet pies and salads only but the service is quick and friendly. The baked chilli ricotta salad roll is a must order. Enjoy a freshly made sandwich and a beer or a glass of wine for $9.50. They also have a range of cocktails which you can enjoy in the stylish and intimate lounge area upstairs. A generous cheese platter is complimentary with any bottle of wine.

This pub seems to be a bit of a contrast to the surrounding suburb, though it really isn't all that…read morebad. When I passed through it was actually rather quiet, and it certainly isn't one of those trendy inner city pubs. Basically they only have the standard beers on tap, but I still rather liked the place. The service was quiet good, and very helpful as well. They also have a nice dining area as well as a front bar, which is a bonus. It's a nice place for a quiet drink.

Pymble Hotel looks a little rough on the outside, but even more rough on the inside. If you're a…read moregirl, expect to have your bottom pinched, or at the very least be whistled at. The pub often has 40th and 50th birthday functions, reunions and work events, attracting an older clientele. Most locals refer to the pub as the "Pymbie", drawing in workmen for its cheap steaks and a beer or two. Upstairs houses functions and can hold over 100 people. Unfortunately the bistro closes relatively early in the evenings if you want a bite to eat. The food is good and there is plenty of entertainment from the standard pub trivia night to pool competitions and social events. I certainly wouldn't recommend this place for a big night out- it's usually quieter than a mouse.

I stayed across the street at the Kimpton, but the bar was expensive and had no vibe- so, I simply…read morewalked across the street the the Edinburgh Castle Pub, and it was like another country! It was a typical British pub, but in Australia. Many beers on tap, and a good menu to boot. I only had the nuts here, but I had several beers over the course of the times I came here. Bartenders were friendly and helpful, and let me try different beers. Great place to come by yourself and enjoy a cold one, or come with friends and have a blast! If you find the Kimpton too stodgy, head over here!

It was the first day of The Edinburgh Castle being open under new management so I had to check out…read morethis new vibe. New staff were enthusiastically welcoming which is lovely. But where are all the regulars? Beers available on tap are missing some absolute essentials, which may be why some regulars are also missing. But surely the lack of the essentials wouldn't put off all the regulars. So where are they? Why are they missing? I found the answer to that question as soon as I headed upstairs. Initially I was flooded with so much joy - new management has *not* repainted or remodelled what is a charmingly lit, niche space in the city for those of us who enjoy a quiet smoking area with our beverages. One of my favourite places to retreat in Sydney, and I'm certainly not alone in that. The walls of that special space have featured strongly in a particular online forum that values the fascinating history of these walls, and even the ceiling, with all it's wonderful textures and beautifully incidental markings. Each mark of wear is beautiful testimony to this being a well loved, quietly frequented secret room- This is the turret of the Castle. So where are all the regulars? This beloved space with it's wonderfully textured walls and priceless ambient vibe was entirely empty. Where's the guy who sits over there? And those three guys who take the table on the other side? What has happened to the one who sits in the corner reading? Or the blonde woman who has such a delightful laugh and who swishes her way through the room to her favourite table? Where are all the regulars? They are missing out on what could be considered a levelled up soundtrack to this little theatre above the streets of Sydney. So where are they? And then I saw it. I saw 'them' plastered all over the walls. The starkly fonted 'no smoking' signs; shockingly harsh interruptions to the gentle flow of this truly unique space. These signs are full stops. The end. The end of an era. So where are all the regulars? If anyone knows, please drop me a line and I'll come join you in whatever new place of solace you have found. I love the Castle, and I love this room I call The Turret. But that niche space, that quiet place to retreat.... it has gone. And so have the regulars.

This pub was actually quite nice. In fact, I had walked past it quite a few times as I was…read morewandering around Redfern and I finally managed to drop in for a drink. It was rather charming and nice, and actually felt rather old school. In fact, I'd probably go as far as suggest that it is actually an old man's pub and a rather nice one at that.

Castle livin'! This hotel is located in the Redfern…read moredistrict of Sydney, just a block from the train station, and one stop from the Central Business District of Sydney. It's an old hotel, with a pub and a bottle shop on the bottom floor! Score! The pub itself offers food- burgers, fish & chips, fries, beer and liquor! They've got the old-timey beer tap with lots of local and harder-to-find beers on tap. There's TAP live horse racing going on here, and slot machines in the back. The bottle shop offers even more harder-to-find beers, and slabs of ales and lagers too! The hotel itself was a bit on the run down side, but comfortable and safe. My only complaint was that they failed to offer soap and shampoo. I tried to wash up with what turned out to be powdered laundry detergent, and it kinda burned. There's no lift to the top floor, and it's 44 stairs up there. The room was outfitted with cable television, and a small bar refrigerator for drinks. There was a public restroom, with showers and a bathtub that I'd hope that nobody'd even think of using. The shared kitchen had a plug-in oven, with silverware and plates, as well as a shared fridge with some foodstuff in there.

Sweeney's, should be renamed Smelly's. Upon entering, your nostrils are greeted with a vommy mix of…read moresawdust and spew, and don't you just love that. This is a bar that's all about levels. Entry Level is outside for the durry munchers. You'll see 2 tables worth sucking back on darts, whilst they talk about everything and nothing. They'll give you a "don't judge us" glance as you head inside. Ground Level is your standard mug punters. Pokies and Flat screens combine with VB and New to churn out the usual grumpy chatter, "ripoff that was a try, ref needs to go to specsavers", and my personal favourite - you charge $7 for a schooey of veebs? Level 1 is for "we are out of that beer at the moment" and mediocre Thai-meets-Burgers fare. The fact that the staff are clearly running a Thai restaurant but offer other options, should be the dead giveaway that you aren't going to enjoy your meal. Level 2 is for the not-quite-hipsters-but-weally-wannabe. They have the bottom half sorted - skinny jeans, and tiny shoes, but they've neglected up-top. T-shirts and standard dress shirts appear where we expect too tight buttoned-all-the-way-to-the-top tailored fits, and beards... where the heck are the too-ginger beards? Level 3, or is that 3.5, involves a split space. A random side room with beer quotes and a telly that looks like it was never really intended to be a room, and then the rooftop. A small, super-packed space chock-a-block with backpackers looking for a cheap beer or 10 before heading back to who knows where, with who knows whom. Smelly's is situated between work and the train station, so it is almost impossible to avoid at times, however if I was a smarter man, I'd make sure to avoid it each and every time... something about the place just lures me in sometimes though... gotta be sawdust and spew... gotta be.

Reasonably priced drinks in the CBD. Convenient to Town Hall and Darling Harbour areas. Roof top…read moreopen air deck is particularly nice on a clear day but is soon over run with smokers. Also features a pretty good Thai kitchen on the 2nd level. Great place to sit on the ground floor with your drinks and watch the parade of characters going in and out. Friendly staff. Good prices. Alciohol. Sweeney's knows what it is and doesn't try and be anything but, which is somewhat refreshing.

My wife and I stopped in here at the end of a long trip to Australia. Having been here in NSW a…read moreweek we realized we should have stopped in earlier. The bar is bigger than it looks from the front, there is a patio out back, there is a large indoor back room, and it seems like a good local joint. The beer is cold, and the staff is friendly.

Sadly I had to give one of my fave pubs a 4 as I go to a venue for the experience not have to…read morecollect my meal from a buzzer alerting me to collect it. Additionally have other tables go off I may as well be in a bingo hall. No staff to offer water at table, self serve water. Again a great old pub but to go trendy with its pub classic burger and chips served on a cutting board and small fryer basket went out years ago as a fad. Stick to good table service, plates and friendly floor staff.

Terrible service Meals ordered at same time using app on table but served separately over 45…read moreminutes after first order received. Staff too busy talking to each other to care about customers Don't recommend for meals

When I was in Sydney recently I decided to check out a random suburb (as I usually do) and Double…read moreBay drew the short straw. Anyway, this was a nice little pub a short walk from the ferry terminal (which I knew about beforehand, so was one of the reasons that I went to Double Bay) and it wasn't what I expected. When I think of the Eastern Suburbs, especially near the habour, I tend to think rich and exclusive, however this pub was nothing of the sort. It was nicer than your typical suburban pub, but it was pretty relaxed. There was a nice beer garden out the back, and the staff were pretty friendly as well. Definitely a pub that I would visit again.

Oh, the Lord Wolseley Hotel, you stalwart Ultimo institution. May you live for another hundred…read moreyears, keeping up mysterious old traditions, boozing up old men and backpackers. As a former Ultimo local - and representative authority on all things Ultimo, AND all things related to the former NSW Government Printing Office - the Lord Wolseley has at times been the focal point of my world, both social and academic. What a mad, crazy thing to say about a pub. That's probably not very helpful for YOU, is it, since you want to know about the pub itself. Right. The Lord Wolseley has a great history. Built in 1881, the Woz was the drinking hole of the infamous Sydney crim Neddy Smith, and company ... and also the favoured pub for the letterpress printers at the NSW Government Printing Office. At five minutes to 1pm on a weekday, the publican would line the bar with 30 cold schooners, and at 1 minute past 1, the printers would rush in. 5 minutes later they were all heading back to the bar for a second shout. In recent years the Lord Wolseley has changed hands a fair bit. For a while we were worried it would close down. It is now owned by TV mogul Errol Sullivan, who has allegedly promised to keep it as a "good old pub" and not ritz the place up. His sons might be running it, and they might be twins. (For probably inaccurate details on Errol Sullivan's hilarious party, bringing in the change of ownership, see http://penultimo.tumblr.com/post/13470430184/errolwolseley) The reason the Lord Wolseley has changed very little is that it's on a small bar licence (or something like that) and it's heritage listed. It's also a little off the beaten track, so not attractive to developers and the big-bar owners of Sydney. What to expect? It's a bit run down, and rather narrow. You can drink outside in the village green, if you behave yourself. The drink price is average, and you might get some raised eyebrows if you try to order a fancy cocktail or an upmarket wine. There are plenty of old locals milling around, happy to engage you in conversation or tell you what a wanker you're being. Oh yes -- one of the best things about the Lord Wolseley is that it HAS NO POKIES. Ok, I think I need to repeat that. THIS PUB HAS NO POKIES. Wait! I'm sort of wrong. Technically the Woz has pokies, but they are decommissioned and turned off, shoved into a room in the basement. It makes me grin whenever I see those dead machines - they look like dead daleks. Victory to the Dr! The kitchen at the Woz has in the past been pretty dire - very greasy stuff with a bit of a Thai twist. But with the new ownership, things may change in the back, we shall see...

Despite this being one of those hidden pubs, when I arrived here one saturday afternoon it was…read moreliterally bursting at the seams. In fact it was pretty difficult actually finding a place to sit down (though I did eventually find one in the corner). While I would say that the patrons had even spilt out onto the road, there were a number of barrels out the front where they would consume their beers and chat with their mates. As a pub it is actually really nice, and has quite a lot of character. There is even a really nice restaurant out the back. Okay, it is pretty small (and really crowded when I was there), but it is still one of those pubs that I would definitely want to visit again.