When Peter Tate and the Malouf brothers of the Royal Hotels Group (Royal Oak Hotel, Gregory Hills Hotel) bought the historic Bellevue Hotel (affectionately known as “The Bellie” to locals), they understood that they were buying a part of history.

The Paddington pub was built in 1880; it’s had a number of spruce-ups over the years, but the focus of its latest refurb wasn’t to reinvent it. Tate and the Maloufs wanted to pay tribute to the pub and its history. So there were only minor touch-ups, and regulars of the Bellevue will be happy to find the front bar going strong and the downstairs sports lounge still catering to punters wanting to watch the game.

Upstairs, the focus is on dining at the in-house restaurant, Brigitte’s, which includes an expansive outdoor terrace and a 30-person restaurant and bar, providing both formal and casual dining options for guests. There they can eat bangers and mash or corned beef with horseradish, as well as a few new additions, such as the pulled-chilli-pork lettuce cups and the salmon poke bowl with edamame and miso dressing. The crumbed lamb cutlets – which were on the menu at the Bellevue when Tate was younger – are back too, and better than ever.