The Temperance Society

Summer Hill is a choice little suburb. The streets are clean, it has a decent skatepark and every second shop sells pizza. It's a shame there's only one pub and it's not very good.

Until the excellent One Penny Red opened in 2014 there wasn't anywhere else to drink besides the pub so when visiting the area, most evenings involved takeaway pasta, something red to swill from the wine shop and messing with the alphabetical order of a mate's record collection.

The Temperance Society is Summer Hill's newest spot for a drink and I welcome it with open arms. It's the perfect spot for a date when you don't like the chances of impressing at the pub but One Penny Red seems like too much too soon.

Also, there's an ancient copy of Trivial Pursuit on hand if the conversation dwindles and you're keen to parade your knowledge of The Two Ronnies. God help me if things ever get to this point.

Localism is strong in the food and drink department. Zonnebeke​ white ale from the Batch Brewing boys is the pick of four rotating taps also pouring Rocks Brewing Co, Ironbridge and Young Henrys. Gin from Rosebery's Archie Rose makes an appearance and drops from Distillery Botanica​ on the central coast feature in a few cocktails.

I'm a big fan of the "little myrtle" ($18) containing elderflower cordial and Botanica's lemon myrtle liqueur, purely because it tastes like a lemonade Icy Pole. It's a shame this local love doesn't translate to a ho-hum wine list that contains two NSW drops out of 25 bottles.

There's various boards with cheese and charcuterie and other snacky things. A coarse rabbit and quail terrine ($9) comes from Marrickville's Black Forest Smokehouse. It's fatty and delicious with green tomatoes and thickly sliced bread. Order some Hunter Valley cheddar ($9) and a cider with it for farmhouse fun times.

A cosy library area on the first level has a couple of armchairs, a few hundred books and an anthropomorphic dog statue that will forever haunt my dreams. Thankfully, you don't need to cast eyes upon it yourself as there's plenty of other nooks to sit in including a fair-sized courtyard, a couple of brightly lit private rooms and the main bar featuring a hotchpotch of gold-framed Victorian prints, vintage school-hall Sebel chairs and wallpaper, from the location's time as Muse Cafe, that really belongs in a Kings Cross nightclub.

In spite of such wallpaper, occasionally stumbling service and the frightening dog-man statue (seriously, it is messed up), The Temperance Society has its heart in the right place and is a welcome addition to the 2130 postcode. The more joints offering locals something other than pokies, Hahn Super Dry and schnitzel, the better.

THE LOW-DOWN
Go for… a quiet one after work.
Stay for… cheese and terrine.
Drink… a local craft beer.
And… this is another new bar pouring pot and pints instead of schooners. A Melbourne invasion is upon us, Sydney. Take up yardarms and fight.