Three New Sydney Pub Menus We’re Loving Right Now

It’s easy to lose track of the city’s pub scene at the moment. Venues changing hands, refurbs and no shortage of new menus to hook into. For now, we’re focusing on food. Here are the best new pub menus to get steak au poivre, Roman pinsa and outstanding $15 specials. 

Harry’s, Surry Hills

The team behind two of the Australia’s best steak restaurants has given Hotel Harry’s a refresh. The Federation Free-style pub now feels super aligned with the rest of the Point Group’s stable, thanks mainly to an impressive new first-floor bistro and menu by culinary director Joel Bickford and executive chef Danny Corbett. 

They’ve covered every base with a French Rotisol rotisserie, a woodfired parrilla grill and an imported Marana Forni pizza oven. The result is effectively three pub menus in one – with some pretty unbelievable specials on the card. Pizza Mondays, schnitzel and parmi Tuesdays, burger Wednesdays (all $15) and a Sunday roast ($25).

What to order: the rotisserie banquet for two ($35) with a choice of Bannockburn chook or Bangalow pork. Plus, garlic-caper butter, ’nduja pangrattato, roast potatoes, fried brussels sprouts and roast chicken jus. 

The Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington 

The Captain Cook hotel in Paddington (not The Rocks) wasn’t necessarily the first pub you’d reach for in the suburb. But it might be soon. With Bird & Bear now at the helm, the old pokies room has been ripped out, with Joe’s Kitchen sliding in like a slab of Roman pinsa into a hot oven. Airy, pliable slices are the specialty here – topped with Italian sausage, tomato, stracciatella, pesto and hot honey; or silverbeet, garlic confit, eggplant and taleggio. 

There’s also an Italian-ish menu in the bistro with pub classics (burgers, schnitzels et al). For the best of both worlds, it’s gotta be the porchetta pizza sandwich jammed with shaved fennel, rocket, pickles and salsa verde. 

What to order: the Farmer pinsa at Joe’s ($25) or the porchetta pizza sandwich in the bistro ($26). 

The Cricketer’s Arms, Surry Hills

While many things have changed in the inner-city pub scene, some things have pretty much stayed the same. Yes, the Crix is still the home of the monthly Shoop party, weekly live jazz and one of the best examples of a Sydney pub landing the plane with Frenchie pub food. 

But instead of two distinct food offerings (refined upstairs, casual down), Chez Crix has streamlined things with a single menu across both floors. As the pub prescribes, you can now choose your mode. A dozen oysters with a pâté on Fitzroy Street? Steak au poivre and a Grifter pale ale at the public bar with a side of jazz? Or proper table service upstairs? Look out for rotating “plats du jour” highlighting the season’s best produce. 

What to order: a personal happy meal of oysters ($6 each) and a cheeseburger with frites ($26).