The Carrington

Finding yourself in a pub in the morning generally means one of two things: you've had a very good night, or you're having a rather sorry day.

Less likely is you're there having breakfast. But here we are on a Sunday morning, ready to start the day at our local.

The Carrington is one of those Surry Hills breed of pubs that has become as much a destination for food as booze - the breed isn't exclusive to the inner city, of course, but they are numerous here, largely thanks to the minds behind a suite of revamped hotels, including The Norfolk, The Forresters and The Abercrombie, as well as The Carrington.

The pub is on that particularly picturesque bend of Bourke Street, just a few steps from its famed eponymous bakery. Later in the day the place is usually packed, drawing crowds for its Spanish-style pub food and cocktails with cheeky names (the signature sangria is a Single Mother).

The weekend breakfast was added last year, along the same ''Spanglish'' theme as the regular menu. And while any decent brekky spot in this area is normally easily detected by the line of under-caffeinated folk waiting outside, it's clear this one has remained a local secret.

Our morning meal is served in a back room with black walls and red tables but with enough natural light to feel AM-friendly. Baskets hold bottles of help-yourself HP sauce and Sriracha, and a well-stocked bar lurks in the corner.

For black pudding devotees, the morcilla and potato hash is a treat. Diced morcilla is fried until crispy, combined with golden cubes of potato and crunchy green beans, and topped with a breaded, fried soft-boiled duck egg that slices open to spill its marigold yolk over everything. We've also ordered an excellent empanada rancheros, a half-moon of flaky puff pastry filled with beans, ham hock and chorizo, sitting on a pale yellow pool of sweet creamed corn and topped with a fried egg, coriander and sliced red chilli.

For those at breakfast who haven't been to bed yet, the media noche (''midnight'' in Spanish, and a favourite on the pub's regular menu) is exactly what's needed: a double-decker toasted sandwich with three types of pork, including roasted and cured, held together by cheese. It's crunchy, salty, and fatty - grab one of those bottles of Sriracha and find a new favourite hangover cure.

At the more wholesome end of the menu is rainbow gachas. Gachas is a Spanish dish served in countless sweet and savoury forms, but our cheerful waitress tells us this version is a porridge made of rice, oats and other grains. It's topped with crunchy toasted walnuts and pecans; plump, sweet dried apricots; dates; and stewed rhubarb, and is crowned with a doughnut-like dumpling of fried milk. It's warm and nourishing but also makes us feel adventurous, with flavours and textures not usually associated with porridge.

As befits a pub, the breakfast menu offers drinks hard and soft. There's a mimosa made with cava, Spanish sparkling wine, and those who order the media noche might also choose a Bloody Mary, or a Bacon Caesar (bacon-infused vodka, clamato, spice mix ''and more''). We try the horchata, a non-dairy ''milk'' made from nuts or grains, with espresso added; it's a light, refreshing take on iced coffee.

We've discovered how to leave a pub with a spring in our step instead of a wobble.

Menu

Full Spanglish breakfast.

Recommended dishes

Morcilla and potato hash, rainbow gachas, horchata with coffee.

Rating

3.5 stars (out of five)