This historic hotel has stood like a sentinel on Millers Point for more than a century, and although it spent time as a boarded-up beauty, inspiring a million “if I bought that building…” dreams, now the cladding has come off. Underneath, the old girl has been restored to her former glory, giving northern city workers another outpost for beers and burgers that is prettier than most.
There’s not a lot of space inside Hotel Palisade's ground-floor Public House, but they make the most of what they have with high-top tables in the front bar and moss-green banquettes in the parlour room behind.
The main bar does a good trade until about 8pm when the crush dissipates and you can get comfortable with a pint of well-poured Guinness, or perhaps a little Nick and Nora glass of Champagne. Little vintage touches like the crystal glassware add a sense of occasion to your session here, and in an unlikely turn of events, it’s the smokers who get the best seats in the house – the little side walkway has a handful of seats and some killer city views.
We’re the first to say that pub cocktails should be approached with caution, but they do surprisingly good work here. A Lychee Lauper mixes vodka, lychee, citrus and pepperberry syrup, while the Espresso Martini comes on tap. Prefer a brew? You can raise a full or half pint of tap beer from favourites like Young Henrys, James Squire, and Stone and Wood. Feeling fancy? Pop a bottle of real-deal French Champagne or sip on locally-leaning wine available by the glass.
If the seaside air has you craving seafood, order rounds of Sydney rock oysters with finger lime caviar, sesame-glazed fish tacos, and crispy calamari with wasabi kewpie. For something heartier, there's a solid line-up of burgers, salads and classic pub grub, including a beer-battered barramundi with hot chips or a chicken schnitty, which you can upgrade to a parmi for an extra three buckeroos.
On levels four and five, you'll find Henry Dean, the dazzling split-level cocktail bar and lounge at Hotel Palisade. This place serves up a feast for the eyes, boasting almost 360-degree vistas of Sydney Harbour, the city skyline, the beginnings of the Parramatta River and even Barangaroo below.
While they do serve food, this is the sort of place you come to clink glasses with someone. The cocktails on the menu are unique (no same-old faces) and reasonably priced, ranging from $18 for a Mini Martini to $25 for a Coffee Culture (Campari with coffee, Ron Zacapa 23 rum, Cinzano 1757 and cacao). Bar snacks come in the form of salted anchovy fillets, marinated olives and roasted spiced nuts. You can also line your stomach with seafood ragu, a whole roasted chicken, or the market fish with tomato bisque.
There’s still an eight-room hotel in the building, on the levels between the pub and the cocktail lounge. So if you’re a lucky visitor to Sydneytown, you can spend a magical evening on top of the world before taking the elevator down to your bed. That’s what we’d call a very good night.