Union Place Hotel

Geographically speaking, the Union Place Hotel is steps away from Jannali Station in South Sydney. Metaphorically, it takes you to another time and place entirely: downtown Chicago in the days of Al Capone. The design scheme is pub gone clubby Italian-American ‘red sauce’ joint, all terrazzo floors, exposed brick, tartan upholstery and leather booths.
 
The big, broad menu doesn’t mess around with classics like veal scallopini, pork and veal meatballs, eggplant parmigiana and Caesar and Caprese salads. If you arrive particularly hungry, the whopping 500-gram bistecca Fiorentina from Gympie in Queensland with rosemary roasted potatoes and red wine sauce should do the trick. Pizza is available both thin and in deep-dish pan style, staying true to the source of inspiration, and there are burgers, pastas and more substantial mains like oven-baked barramundi and slow-roasted lamb shank, too.
 
The festoon-lit, al fresco terrace is a prime spot to knock back an Espresso Martini or three from the tap. Also on tap? Pimms Cups and premium wines, in addition to a familiar line-up of beers, and the list of bottled vino – equal parts Aussie classics and New World Italian styles – is all available by the glass. If only Capone's drinking days had it so good.