Three Sydney Pub Menus We’re Loving Right Now

Every day is a good day to go to one of Sydney’s best pubs. Schooeys with your mates, a few games of pool or trivia – there are many ways to play.

Recently, a few Sydney spots have cut through with pub grub that shines: rich, flavour-packed gravies, top-notch chippies and bone-in parmies. Plus, plenty of options for the meat-averse. Try these three.

The Duke, Enmore

The Enmore Road boozer has just revamped its menu, blending classic English pub fare with Aussie backyard favourites. Cob loaves stuffed with garlicky bitter greens are always first on our order, but chef John Hockey – head of pub kitchens at Odd Culture – has made sure there’s plenty for everyone.

Head in for fish-finger sangas, chicken parmies and steaks, or keep it snacky alongside your beers with dishes of golden potato gems doused in salt and vinegar, plump mushroom suppli and popcorn chicken.

A fixture in any great pub is a rotating specials board and you won’t want to miss The Duke’s. There’s $24 steak with garlic butter and chips on Tuesdays, $20 fish-finger sangas on Saturdays and $15 Bloody Marys on Sundays.

The Norfolk Hotel, Redfern

Everyone remembers a different era of the big 1921-built corner pub, most recently the House of Crabs days, The Norfolk House & Hotel, or the Public Hospitality era with cosy Spanish outfit La Salut in the sports bar. Now Solotel’s in charge, tasking Ricos Tacos’ Toby Wilson with developing a classic, no-nonsense pub grub menu.

“It’s like a mullet venue,” Wilson told Broadsheet in April when it reopened. “Pub food up the front, Ricos at the back.”

Find party pies stuffed with beef shin slow-cooked in VB and pork sausage rolls (with house-made pastry) sold by the inch. There are whopping bone-in chicken schnitties with gravy, a buttery potato rosti and a cheesy burger with fat beef rissoles.

For dessert, it’s the standout ice-cream sanga collab with two locals: Ciccone & Sons and Good Ways Deli. The combination of fior de latte gelato, sponge cake and Davidson’s plum jam is all wrapped up in chocolate and coconut. “You know that really snappy chocolate on Magnum? It’s like that. It has this really nice, crunchy chocolate snap.”

The Bat & Ball, Redfern

This schmicked-up pub soared into our hearts when it reopened in August last year, run by a new five-strong team of friends. On a recent revisit, a guy at the neighbouring table exclaimed, “I’ll tell ya what, I’ve never had a shit meal at this pub,” as his parmie was put down in front of him. Can confirm: chef Cam Votano does not miss.

Beyond the pub must-haves – chicken (or eggplant) schnitzel with mash, hefty steaks and a standout fish burger – there are snacky plates with a Euro bent, $1 oysters on Saturdays and a “ludicrously large” lasagne our Hot List editor can’t stop thinking about.

“I always want it. I always crave it. And whenever I eat a slice, it makes me dissociate so hard that I end up just gawking at my plate,” he writes. There’s the Whole Beast Butchery dry-aged beef ragu, a nutmeggy bechamel and a trio of cheeses with leopard spots on top. “I dare you to find another slice in Sydney of this quality, value, heft and girth.”

Plus, on Tuesday nights, all 500 cubic centimetres of it is just $17.

Additional reporting by Dan Cunningham.