Its new logo is a union jack, which might tell you that The Toxteth now bills itself as a British style gastro-pub, but it has been a much loved local watering hole for almost as long as Glebe can remember. So it’s exciting to see this stalwart with a new makeover. Dressed up by the team that brought us Lo-Fi (Darlinghurst) and The Standard and events such as Go Font Ur Self * and Self Est., these guys have had some practice at making cool and they’ve done it again, taking another step in their aim of bringing out the artistic side of the inner city suburbs.

The bright, breezy courtyard is brilliant and a great place to try out the $10 Mussel Pots or the Sliders (which come presented on a tiered cake plate). But the most talked about new aspect of this old favourite is The Tate, the upstairs art space that will be used by emerging local artists as a studio and rent-free gallery space to showcase their work. Curators Marty Routledge and Christopher Loutfy are working closely with faculty members of the COFA, SCA, UNSW and Enmore TAFE to handpick emerging talent . The exhibition program is jam-packed and rotates regularly with weekly openings. Since opening a couple of weeks ago, The Tate has already featured the work of artists and tattooists Cory Ohrman and Edgil Pagaduan in Bold Will Hold and Jamaican/Australian artist Robin Clare in Dancing Words. It might be British themed and inspired, but there’s something decidedly NY about the ethos here.

There’s raw brick, a touch of taxidermy, the obligatory Monday night pub trivia and now you can throw art into the bargain as well. And don’t worry, the bottle shop is still functional and they haven’t lost all the pool tables.

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Updated: August 27th, 2018

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