Historic Cremorne Pub The Cherry Tree Hotel Reopens This Winter

Cremorne’s historic Cherry Tree Hotel has lived many lives since it started pouring pints close to 170 years ago. It was a working-class hub at the turn of the 20th century, popular with workers from the nearby Rosella tomato sauce factory; a hive of local criminal activity in the 1980s, when notorious pimp and drug dealer Dennis “Mr Death” Allen made it his headquarters; and was once co-owned by Aussie rules legend Ron Barassi. After changing hands once again in December 2025, the beloved corner pub is undergoing a pretty major renovation, with plans to reopen in June.

Chef Daniel Hilton (The Graham Hotel, The Leveson, The Wayside Inn) and his business partner Keith Gallacher (former manager at the Railway Club Hotel and The Graham Hotel) are leading the revamp, which started as a facelift but quickly grew in scope.

“We initially set out to just renovate the toilets, clean the place up a bit then reopen,” Gallacher says. “But every time we fixed one thing, we’d find something else that needed attention. It’s such an old building that we weren’t willing to ignore the structural stuff, so we’ve ended up redoing most of the interior.”

The new, more spacious art deco-style design by Studio Y draws inspiration from the pub’s earlier years, maintaining the bones of the building. A second window now opens onto Balmain Street, bringing in more natural light, while the popular al fresco area on the footpath remains.

“Admittedly, I think it might be a bit of a surprise to some of the regulars when they first step back in here,” Gallacher says. “We’re really conscious of keeping the soul of the pub intact – it’s such an important space for so many people and we want it to feel the same, just with a fresh look.”

The Cherry Tree has always poured beers from local and independent brewers, and Hilton and Gallacher say that will stay a core focus, with Victorian labels like Bodriggy, Co-Conspirators, Stomping Ground, Jetty Road and Venom on rotation. 

Food will be “classic pub fare, done with care”, according to Hilton. “We aren’t trying to make the pub something it’s not. We want the food to reflect what people want here. We’re just going to make sure we nail the basics.” Expect parmas, burgers, roasts and – Hilton’s specialty, after his tenure at the then woodfire-focused Wayside Inn – steaks done in classic style, with mushroom or pepper sauce and mash. As well as the pub staples, Hilton is excited about a dry-aged pork cotoletta with charred wombok slaw and burnt butter caper sauce, and a Welsh rarebit croquette with malt vinegar mayo and pickled mustard seeds. Most of the cuts come via local supplier Flinders & Co.

“We’ve got great relationships with some excellent local farms and suppliers, so we want to keep things simple to highlight what they do,” Hilton says.

“When we took on the pub, we also took on the social media accounts,” Gallacher says. “So we’ve heard all the feedback from the regulars and the locals, and taken everything on board. The most important thing for us is to keep the soul of the pub intact and make sure we set it up for success in the long term.”

The Cherry Tree Hotel reopens in mid-June.