Coogee Bay Hotel

The Coogee Bay Hotel was originally a school before it became a seaside-retreat in 1873. It still retains several heritage features (spot the cedar staircases, wooden finishings and the street-side verandah) plus all the embellishments you’d expect from an outstanding modern-day pub.

Look no further than the pub’s slick bar and restaurant, Marrah. It’s a step (or two) above classic pub fare, with a table service and a premium wine and cocktail offering. Better still, it’s open for breakfast so you can stop by for three meals of the day. The kitchen specialises in Mediterranean-style seafood dishes – you might find a salad of Queensland spanner crab, avocado and sorrel, or seared swordfish plated with eggplant purée, tomato vinaigrette and fried parsley. The whole menu is seasonal and designed to share.

If a modest fish and chips or panko-crumbed schnitzel is the order; the sprawling Garden Bar downstairs is where to find it. It's an enormous beer garden that's primed for a session year-round, with ample heating, coverage and beer to satisfy every kind of punter – local or otherwise.