Say hello to one of Sydney’s best pub crawls

Balmain has long held the title of Sydney’s pub capital for its historic brick buildings found on almost every street corner. It’s not unusual for a Saturday night in this Inner West locality to involve hopping from one public house to the other due their close succession and expansive offering of bevvies. That was the informal way of doing things, but now, Balmain has officially landed itself an epic pub crawl trail. 

The Inner West Council and the Balmain Rozelle district have teamed up to create the Balmain Rozelle Heritage Pub Trail. While there may not be a stupendous 55 pubs in the area like there used to be, a still-impressive 19 watering holes form the trail.

So, how does it work? Out of the front of each of the 19 pubs is a metal plaque in the sidewalk with a QR code that you can scan and log your journey. You can pop into one or two, but we reckon you should really make a night of it. And when we say there’s a pub for everyone, we really mean it. 

The itinerary starts with the pokie-free Merton Hotel before heading onto other live-music-loving venues like The Bridge Hotel, The Native Rose Hotel and The Garry Owen Hotel. You can party on at The Sackville who have DJs playing late into the night on Saturdays. The trail then meanders onto some sunny beer gardens like the ones found at Dick’s Hotel, The Balmain and East Village Hotel.

You’ve got the pubs holding onto their rustic charm like legendary Sunday roast-slinging Welcome Hotel, The Cricketers Balmain, The London Hotel and The Bald Rock Hotel, plus those that are heritage listed like The Riverview and Royal Oak Balmain.

And then you’ve got those fancying it up like The Dry Dock’s restaurant, which will be serving caviar and charcoaled goods, chef Manu Feildel’s (from My Kitchen Rules) new bistro up the top of the Red Lion Hotel will be offering punters a taste of fine French fare, and The Three Weeds will be pumping out their signature puffy bread at Totti’s. 

There are also some novel pubs that you have to tick off your list like the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party, Unity Hall Hotel, and The Cat and Fiddle Hotel where The Whitlams and The Waifs kicked off their music careers.

Though not technically a pub, you can add a bonus addition to your expedition by finishing up at White Bay Beer Co – Balmain’s very own brewery and supplier to many of the other pubs on the trail - and now the official beer of the Sydney Swans!

The Balmain Rozelle locality is a part of the 24 Hour Economy initiative from the NSW Government. The plan is to revive Sydney’s nightlife, and what better way to start than with a 20-stop booze fest. We’ll drink to that.