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The Swanson Hotel

Rachel Olding
Rachel Olding

A pub transformed: The public bar at the Swanson.
A pub transformed: The public bar at the Swanson.Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

Contemporary$$

Neighbourhood pubs are thickly carpeted across inner Sydney but this little gem caught Barhop's eye one quiet Tuesday evening.

The Kurrajong Hotel has always been a fairly run-of-the-mill pub on a quiet corner spot in Erskineville. The crowds are modest, the food is standard and the sounds of the TAB blare in the back corner.

But give it some new owners, a new name and more than just a lick of new paint and suddenly it's giving others in the neighbourhood a run for their money.

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Bartender Sophie Harkin mixes a cocktail.
Bartender Sophie Harkin mixes a cocktail.Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

The Balmain Pub Group, owners of the Riverview Hotel in Birchgrove and the Balmain Hotel, have given it an upmarket British West Indies makeover.

Downstairs, there is a shiny new tiled bar and a smattering of cow-hide stools and wicker chairs in front of a fireplace.

Upstairs, former hotel rooms have been transformed into a marble-topped cocktail bar and an elegant 80-seater restaurant that, frankly, knocked our socks off.

Cabernet sauvignon and bourbon form the basis of a Newtown sour.
Cabernet sauvignon and bourbon form the basis of a Newtown sour.Cole Bennetts/Getty Images
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Floral wallpaper and a navy paint job channel a proper English vibe, mirrored in the hearty British food such as Black Angus scotch fillet on an unusual but delicious bed of mushrooms, beetroot, cavalo nero and polenta ($28) and lively beef tartare with cornichons, aioli and sourdough ($16).

The roasted pork belly must be good because it was sold out. The next best is a generous serve of spaghetti with king prawns, chorizo, tomato and saffron ($26) and the winning dessert is the sticky toffee pudding ($13). Downstairs, it's a more casual menu of tapas, pizza and a good White Rabbit beer battered fish with mushy peas ($16).

"Pub cocktails" is usually an oxymoron that translates into something terrible containing Midori and grenadine. But here, bar man Edy Bourke plays around with classic ideas in some impressive drinks.

A spiced old fashioned (bourbon, whisky or rum with spice mix, $18) is well-balanced. An inner west maiden (Markers Mark bourbon, lime, mint, cucumber, $18) is a lighter and brighter take on a mint julep.

There is a standard selection of craft beer on tap and wines include rieslings from South Australia, New Zealand sauv blancs, and a well-priced Caparzo sangiovese from Tuscany ($8).

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Finding the gems in Sydney's crowded inner-city pub market can be an artform and there's good reason to add this one to your arsenal.

THE LOW-DOWN
YOU'LL LOVE IT IF …
you're after a quiet new local in the inner west.
YOU'LL HATE IT IF …
you want a rowdy pub with stacks of character.
GO FOR …
sticky toffee pudding, Spiced Old Fashioned, scotch fillet.

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Rachel OldingRachel Olding is a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in the United States.

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