A Formerly Derelict, Grand Old Pub on a Clifftop South of Sydney Has Been Beautifully Refurbished

“If you talk to locals that knew this place in the ’70s and ’80s, they can’t stop speaking highly of it,” says Michael Heslin, general manager of The Imperial at Clifton, and a proud local.

Once a vital venue for the Clifton community in the 1900s, The Imperial was the local drinking hole for miners and rail workers in the area, which is between Sydney and Wollongong. After the pub closed in the early 2000s, the building stood alone atop a dramatic cliff facing the vast and endless sea.
Now the Imperial has reopened as a destination dining venue and event space.

The Shellharbour Workers Club took over the then-dilapidated venue in 2015 and has overseen five years of careful and considerate refurbishments that have helped reinstate and reuse original elements of the interior.

“It was their [the club’s] way of giving back to the community of Illawarra. They’ve [used] their money and given this back to the people as a gift,” Heslin tells Broadsheet.

And give back they did – a meal at the Imperial is like dining in a living museum. Nods to the building’s rich heritage abound in each space. Ninety per cent of the original tiles from the old bar still line the walls, with the rest specially sourced to match. Many of the original window frames and walls have been restored, while dilapidated joists have been reused as decor to line the front of the bar and door frames.
The star of the venue is the main dining space on the ground floor, from which diners can overlook the seemingly infinite sea through a glass wall.

“We’ve got the original wood fireplace working here so we’ll be cranking that up in the winter to make it nice and cosy,” says Heslin.

Lamps from old lighthouses light the main foyer. Black and white photographs of The Imperial and pictures taken prior to renovations adorn the walls, offering glimpses of the pub’s dynamic history, as well as the complexities of the extreme renovation.

In the old parlour, where women used to gather before they were allowed in public bars in the 1950s, decayed newspaper cuttings from the South Coast Times and the Daily Telegraph, dating back to 1911, are framed behind glass on the room’s original brick wall.

“They found the papers lying underneath the floorboards when they first came into the building. We found more newspapers in the skirting boards – they used the papers to pack the boards,” says Heslin. These have now been salvaged and framed in the basement.

The club commissioned south coast artist Simon Thomas to paint a couple of murals. One of them, by a staircase, is of a photograph taken in 1961 featuring a group of people including the Imperial’s former licensee, Jack Hargrave.

Every nook of the building has been beautifully restored, with ample indoor and outdoor seating.
“If you walk from the basement through to the ground floor and right up to level one, it gets lighter as you come up,” says Heslin. A large circular ring set into the roof brings natural light to the top floor. “It was the architect’s interpretation of climbing outside of a mine.”

The serene backyard overlooking the ocean was once a pit for heated quoit championships, which would attract crowds of hundreds. A balcony on the top level facing the Illawarra escarpment has been constructed to look like a balcony that was once attached to the building.

“As you walk through the building and really take it all in, you’ll realise that they got it right with the restorations … they really got every last piece of it right,” says Heslin. “It was really derelict when we bought it.”

The venue’s menu – which takes in breakfast, lunch and dinner – is by head chef Michael Munro (ex-Mary’s).

Taste your way through the NSW’s south coast via ingredients like oysters from the Sapphire Coast, steamed mussels from Jervis Bay, chargrilled Angus beef from the Riverina, yellowfin tuna tartare from the waters of Ulladulla and finger limes from Heartwood Farm in Gerringong. Along with plenty of seafood, there’s a solid selection of pub classics such as fish’n’chips and chicken schnitzels.

Almost everything is made in-house. Focaccia is baked in the kitchen, complemented by house-made butter. Rhubarb jam is freshly made for breakfast and also goes into the Rhubarb Daiquiri and The GG, a chocolate ice-cream bar constructed in-house, dipped in milk chocolate, malted milk crumb and salted caramel. There are plenty of vegan and gluten-free options.

A number of dishes offer a more interactive experience. Avocado arrives in a mortar with a pestle to smash into guacamole at your own pleasure. And turn your espresso into an Espresso Imperial by pouring your own chocolate shot with DIY chocolate dust to finish.

The fun isn’t confined to the pub’s walls. Guests can catch a ride on The Imperial Express shuttle, which takes you on a coastal-hop from Helensburgh to Thirroul. Gourmet picnic hampers can be booked directly through The Imperial to be enjoyed at any of the 10 stops.

The Imperial at Clifton
315 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Clifton
(02) 4207 3192

Hours:
Sun to Thu 7am–10pm
Fri & Sat 7am–midnight

theimperialclifton.com.au
@theimperialclifton