After a long day of exploring Sydney, all hubby and I wanted was beer. We stumbled upon The Royal…read moreGeorge. The service was excellent! The bartender was super friendly and welcoming. He gave us recommendations and advice on the different beers on tap. We ordered a couple pints and grabbed a table. The food coming out of the kitchen looked great so we decided to stay for dinner. I ordered chicken tenders, hubby ordered a burger with fries. The food was simple and very tasty. Everything was seasoned and cooked well. Zero complaints! I would definitely go back if given the chance.

One of the funny things that seems to happen to me is that I stumble across pubs that I never…read morerealised existed, and this was the case here. I'm not sure how often I'd walked past it, but I'd literally thought that I have visted pretty much every pub in this part of Sydney. Well, it turned out that I hadn't. Still, this pub really wasn't all that great. It was nice, but not great.

Well, as far as Chatswood is concerned this place is okay. Then again there really isn't much to…read morechose from so I can't really complain. Sure, it's not that large, but it is large enough, though it does happen to be on the second floor. Actually, when I was here it was actually pretty crowded, so I did find it a little difficult finding a seat. However, there was a good selection of beers on tap, so I really can't complain all that much about it.

Lipstick on a Pig is what the Orchard Tavern's public bar should be called…read more And this ain't no Babe... Bloaty from Pizza Hog springs to mind. This used to be a rough and tumble, don't bring your real teeth with you, argy bargy worker pub back in the day --- and quite frankly nothing's changed. Well the decor has. Sure it looks nicer inside, but really they haven't attempted to shift the clientelle to their new look (I was in there after all ha!) The Orchard has large pointless areas, like their pool room which is about as sterile as Royal North Shore, Ward 3. They also have a large bank of TAB monitors which dominate the presence of the place. Hence they attract that unsavoury element by having them *in* rather than *adjacent to* the public bar. They do offer food, and it is generally quite good, but after half a dozen bowls of loudmouth soup, everything tastes good (even 3 month old Mrs Macs pies from 7-eleven or those nukeable cheeseburgers) so it's a little more difficult to gauge the restaurant. I'll let someone else give that a stab. In terms of the atmoshpere unless you are there to drink yourself stupid whilst punting on the tab; or getting a few cheapies in before heading somewhere else; I wouldn't bother going. If you are looking for a fun time, you'll probably find it elsewhere methinks. There's better places to chill in Chatswood, so why was I at the Orchard? Convenience, and post German beer hall, friendlier to the wallet and the liver, but ultimately I ended up somewhere else.

It seems as if Harris Street is the main street in Pyrmont, and where thing pretty much are…read morehappening, and it was when I was wandering along it that I came across this pub. Okay, I already knew this pub was here (because, as my Dad said, I know where all the pubs are - which is not quite true). Anyway, if found that it was quite a peaceful little pub with a nice (but really small) courtyard in the middle. You can eat in here, but only until around mid-afternoon when it become reserved for the smokers. The place was pretty quiet, and the staff really nice, and it is a place that I would return sometime if I was wandering past again.

Oh, for the days when pubs were built like fortresses! With…read morethick walls to keep the teetotallers out, and the drunks in. With thoughts only for practicality, and none for style. With many TVs for the sports, all the sports, all the time. The Dunkirk is across the road from the Quarrymans, which is more of a new-age craft beer pub, but doesn't have the grand old tradie feel of the 'Kirk, which has a giant bar, lots of function areas and bistro bits and bobs if you need some quiet time to call the missus so the rest of the boys won't hear, or to cry when your team gets knocked out of the World Cup, for example, *cough* South Africa *cough*. No frills, no pretence, just good, honest pubbery.

The end of my tram journey brought me to Parramatta Road and I knew that there would be a few pubs…read morealong here that I could explore. The first one, this one, I must admit was by far the best. They have three outdoor areas (though one of them is full of pokies, something that I find difficult to accept here because everywhere else I go seems to want to prevent people smoking and playing the pokies at the same time). What I admired the most was how friendly the staff were. I had a good old chat with the bartender about what constitutes the perfect head on a beer (regurgitating what I had learnt at the Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam), and then when the poker guys appeared, I had another great conversation with one of them about the city (since we have both moved from a place with a small town mentality to a place where we can remain anonymous if we choose to).

This is one really cool pub. It's basically an historical building (I believe it is some sort of…read moreschool) that sits on top of a shopping centre, which makes me wonder if the shopping centre was built into the hill it was sitting on, or if they pulled it down, and then rebuilt it on the roof once the shopping centre was complete. Anyway, it does have this really nice charm about it, and quite a large (non-smoking) outdoor area. The staff were really friendly as well. There were a decent number of beers on tap, and three separate bars (though one of the was a restaurant, oh and four if you count the one outside). I've been here a couple of times, and wouldn't hesitate to come here again.

I went to the hotel few times already…read more Is a great place for lunch and drinks after work. During the week and specially in the summery days plenty of people after 5pm for cheap drink and nice food. The place is really big. Lots of seating outside and inside. has two outdoor areas where you can enjoy the sun on comfy couches. Once went for a farewell party on Thursday after work but finish paring around midnight. The place is famous for the Thursday dancing evening. One minus - very young Thursday night crowd but the music was great. Because the place is located in North Sydney I will be coming back for more good times here.

We came to Dicks awhile back in mid July. Food was amazing, outside area was gorgeous, wine was…read morelovely. Outside area is still amazing and drinks were pretty general, but the food has taken a complete nosedive. Featured is a snap of a $25 Miso Tofu salad that tried and tested a few months prior was literally nothing like it's predecessor (which was very elegantly plated with fresh ingredients and great flavours). It didn't look the same, taste the same, or even have the same ingredients as last time, and was a soggy, over salted waste of money. My partners burger was also super flavourless and made with freezer burned store bought patties. We wondered if this was due to a change over in the kitchen or new management - we'd heard it was up for sale in April. But when asking the bartender apparently there had been no sale and all the original people are still running the joint, which means there is zero excuse for the massive drop in food quality. Recommended for an afternoon beer or two but I wouldn't bother branching further than a bowl of fries until the kitchen sorts itself out. Super disappointing.

Okay, technically I knew where most of the pubs in Balmain were located, including this one,…read morehowever it was my intention to check each and every one of them out, and I have to say that this is by far my favourite, if only because of the beer garden. Actually the beer garden in massive, but most of it is non-smoking as well. Okay, technically it isn't a beer garden because it is all undercover, but it still have an awesome atmosphere. The other interesting thing is that I discovered that they actually allow you to bring dogs into the pub, which I have to admit is pretty cool, though they are only allowed in the smoking area. Still, it is a cool pub that allows dogs inside.

Really good pub food. Tasty and huge servings! Old school…read morepub atmosphere. Service can be busy but it's ok.

Nice Aussie hotel. Good for pub food and some beers with mates. The food was average, but it was…read morea lovely fun spot. The service has taken on the post Covid ways. Scan the QR and order your own. I miss interacting with wait staff otherwise this would have been a 4 star. I would say...amazing average pub food! Ok sir a quick night and a few beers!

They have happy hour but it's very unclear what the prices are and what's on it. It runs from 4-6p…read more The bartender said it's a gamble which ones come up. They were clear on beer though- the ones on either end- but I don't drink beer so I don't care. I ordered the Paraíso cocktail first, not on special, then a margarita, not on special also a glass of rosé wine also, not on special. The sign says- wine, beer, cocktails. The margarita was good but took 15 minutes, I think the one guy was newer and didn't know where things were. The staff was very pleasant but again, I only came because of happy hour and it being next door to my hotel.

Update 9 months later - went back for a specific night and ti see if anything had changed as the…read morelocations is convenient. This is the first time we have tried it again since the review below. Seems not much has changed and in fact has become more about what the manager wants rather than their patrons - you know, the people that put money in your POS. No real change to the wine list - dreadful options and very limited beer and alternate options downstairs. There is more upstairs but should I really have to walk upstairs every time I want to get a drink? The day we went, the sport on the TV is determined by what the manager wants to watch - even if the groups sitting in the area are all asking for a specific game. There was literally no one left sitting in front of the main screen, instead all huddled around a small screen inside. Broke up our group. Service rating down - this has NOTHING to do with the staff behind the bar who are delightful working the best they can with what they are given. This downgrade is purely a reflection of the service of the owners / managers and consideration of their patrons.