The Unicorn Hotel

When The Unicorn Hotel changed hands in 2015, the new owners didn’t change the place much. The space isn’t plastered in white tiles or lined with Scandi furniture. Nor does it feature copper piping. There’s no cheffy bistro, reinterpreted cuisines or charcuterie board, either. For this, you can thank the crew at Mary’s and Young Henrys, who have turned old Paddington boozer into the place it was always meant to be, but better.

On the menu there are three kinds of steak, the most inexpensive of which is the “daily”. Plus, some fun throwbacks in the form of a corner-store meat pie and Jatz served with French-onion dip. But the hero of the menu is undoubtedly the Bannockburn bone-in chicken schnitzel, served straight up or as a parmie. You can also get a Mary’s burger with chips or a chunky vegetarian lasagne.

Across the board there's Young Henrys and a list of old-school pub beers. Perhaps the only thing that doesn’t fit the team’s nostalgic pub resurrection is the wine list – all Australian, natural heavy.