The Carrington

Pooches in pubs. Is this a new thing? Not in the beer garden, but inside. At the bar. Like a person.

A month ago I caught a cavalier making a cheeky bid for a side of Sunday roast at The London in Paddington. At Wayward Brewing Company I spied a labrador making eyes at a French bulldog, and now, at The Carrington, there's a Jack Russell sniffing my leg.

"It's great being a dog-friendly pub," says The Carro's new co-owner Roger Gregg, a former Keystone Group manager who reopened in the Bourke Street boozer with longtime workmate Luke Butler in October. "We have little old ladies visit who can't look after a pet of their own any more, but will sit on a sherry at the bar and spend time with other people's dogs instead."

The Carrington has ditched the kitsch from its time under Drink'N'Dine​ (the hospitality group called last drinks at the pub in August 2014) and upped the brightness and greenery levels with blond wood, pastel cushions, and a shed load of hanging ferns.

The front bar is the kind of quietly humming place to watch a footy match you only half care about and the back room – aka "The Garden Bar" – looks like a north shore gazebo made for sipping on gin and juice and arguing about whose turn it is to book the tennis court.

Glebe Point Diner executive chef Alex Kearns has designed a menu that does a decent job to distance itself from the steak-and-stodge fare of surrounding hotels. Executed by head chef Jon Cowan, the ricotta gnocchi with sage, mushroom, parmesan and crushed amaretti ($23) is a big-flavoured standout, although perhaps better suited to Zitta 'Union Street' Shiraz ($13/$59) than the watermelon margarita ($35) we ordered.

No disrespect to the boozy pink pitcher, though, where Don Julio tequila gives teeth to watermelon juice, lime, soda and jalapenos. I'll certainly order another jug over summer and the panzanella salad ($15) of plump heirloom tomatoes will get a run again too.

I've missed the Carrington's hangover-slaying weekend breakfasts for a while now. The new owners have no plans to bring them back, but there is a Bloody Sophie ($16) with tequila and tomato juice on the short cocktail list, so hey, I guess that will have to do. And with the open door policy for pups, who knows? Maybe pet therapy is better for the next-day noggin than huevos rancheros anyway.

THE LOW-DOWN
Go for… a low-key place to watch the footy and have a chat.
Stay for… the chance to have a beer with a beagle.
Drink… the watermelon margarita.
And… shock, horror – there's no Carlton, New or VB on tap but you can pay $8 for a Stone and Wood schooner instead.