Four Pub Menus We’re Loving Right Now

Arguably, 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. But springtime and that extra sunny hour make it even sweeter.

We’re still into these three pub menus – with bone-in chicken schnitties, whopping serves of lasagne and cheesy cob loaves – but here are another four we’re digging too, all with plenty of options for the meat-averse.

Public House Petersham

This inner west boozer is a favourite for families and partiers with its wraparound verandah upstairs, undercover beer garden and a multi-use carpark, which has been known to close to make way for outside hangs – like the Dine Out carpark party with PSGO. The pub has just undergone a revamp. There’s now more space for kids to play, a new backbar and fresh furniture in the beer garden.

All that’s in service of tip-top grub: woodfired pizzas, a healthy line-up of pub classics and sweet finishers. Opt for a herbed-up flatbread, ready to tear up and drag through locally made burrata or top with garlicky tiger prawns. Thin-based pizzas are topped with mortadella and pistachios, or spicy rounds of pep.

Save space for the serve of deep-fried tiramisu ice-cream, soaked in caramel sauce with mascarpone on the side.

The Dry Dock, Balmain

Balmain’s oldest continuously trading watering hole is a winner. And nearly two years ago, it reopened with new owners, a mega refurb and classic Euro bistro plates.

The just-launched spring menu adds a fresh touch to a dining room that shines in winter (with its cosy sandstone corners and roaring fireplaces). Fried zucchini flowers – the forever favourite –are here served with a one-two cheese punch: plump with citrusy buffalo ricotta, under a shower of comté. Follow the flowers with the zucchini itself, shaved into ribbons to dress up herby, buttery handmade spaghetti. The seasonal main is a serve of Goulburn Valley rainbow trout, kissed by the Josper grill and supported by a happy mess of greens: chard, olives and herbs.

The best meals often have plenty of sides. Here, that could mean bright, dressed new-season broccolini or cheesy cauliflower gratin.

Hunters Hill Hotel

This locals’ go-to is 100 years old, and now under the command of the Gallagher family – who’ve been locals themselves for decades. With their era comes room for 800 across spaces upstairs and downstairs, indoor and outdoor – plus a schmicked-up interior by Squillace Architects and a new kitchen heroing a lava rock grill.

What to order? On Monday, you want the $22 steak and Tuesday, the $22 Guinness steak pie. But on any day, you’ll be well looked after with options like barramundi ceviche and tuna poke bowls, chook straight from that red-hot grill (with golden spuds, herby salad and whipped garlic) and whopping parmies. Plus, plenty for anyone meat-averse.

The Dolphin, Surry Hills

The Dolly is a Crown Street classic with an always-strong menu. It’s less parmies and burgers, more pizzas (from a Mesiano wood oven burning ironbark from the Blue Mountains), pasta and mains (like golden pork saltimbocca and scotch minute or Wagyu rump steaks with fries. You can also keep it Italian and snacky with the top end of the menu: house-baked focaccia with whipped ricotta and olives, super-fresh tuna crudo or a simple, perfect plate of calamari Sant’ Andrea, which has been a stalwart on the menu.

Head in soon for springtime pizza special The Racket, where sunny yellow slices of squash meet pork sausage, cime di rappe, cheese and chilli.

Additional reporting by Jasmine Crittenden.