The Erko

There’s been a pub on the corner of Erskineville Road and Septimus Street since 1882. Much more recently, the site’s name was changed from The Erskineville Hotel to what everyone had always called it anyway – The Erko.

With the name change came a new direction. There’s still a parma and a steak on the menu, but the real attraction here is the authentic American barbeque. Pork collar, baby-back ribs and buffalo wings spend six hours in the compact smoker on the outside deck, followed by another six of barbequing. As you’d expect, the resulting meat slabs are crimson, soft as a milk bun and incredibly juicy. The menu is rounded out with burgers, nachos and smaller nibbles.

Inside there are comfortable Chesterfields to sink into, plenty of chairs, a table for shooting pool and a side room filled with flatscreens for game days. In other words, business as usual for a pub.

Nowhere is this truer than at the bar, where VB and Carlton Draught are still popular pours, alongside upstart brands such as Stone & Wood. The food might be on-trend, but the unpretentious, living-room vibe makes this Solotel-run venue a proper pub, through and through.