Time Out Food & Drink Awards 2023: Best Casual Drinking Venue Nominees

The Cricketers Arms is, arguably, Surry Hills’ – if not Sydney’s – most classic Aussie pub. The fact that they’ve hardly done a thing to the bottom floor and beer garden in decades is what’s given it its charm. As you enter, there’s a big bar in the centre of the room, with bar stools dotted around it – the kind of space you feel comfortable coming to on your own and pulling up a stool for a chat with the bartender. If you stop by enough times, that bartender – and the strangers next to you – will probably end up being your friends. That’s the type of place the Cricketers is. But what we love most about the Crix right now is its upstairs glow-up – while the ground-floor pub is untouched, the level 1 bistro has had a a French(ish) revolution. Instead of serving up its usual pub grub classics, it’s become ‘Chez Crix’. 

At Enmore Country Club, there are no midlife golfing crises or standoffish suburbanites allowed. Rather, this hole-in-the-wall boozer on Enmore Road is full of low, vibey light, flickering candles, cosy leather booths and a smattering of extremely exuberant bar staff in matching cream and brown cowboy-style shirts. Upon entering this particular country club, it’s pretty clear you’re in for a good time.

You know what goes hand in hand with a day of sun, sand and sea? An ice-cold beer and a damn good feed. Thankfully, we know a place. That spot is Harbord Hotel, the suburb’s main watering hole found a one-minute stroll from the beach. Built in 1928, the pub was formerly called the Harbord Beach Hotel – or the Harbord Hilton, to locals. (Why? Because Freshwater used to be called Harbord.) It was known for its buttercup-yellow exterior and red roof; a place where you could come with sand still on your legs for a schnitty and catch up with mates. In 2020, the beloved boozer was snapped up by real-estate professionals Glenn Piper and Lachlan Cottee, who reopened the pub in 2021 after a massive glow-up. Many were worried that the Hilton’s original charm would get lost along the way. We’re glad to report the spirit of this Freshie institution lives on.

In a city loaded with hidden gems – concealed in dark alleys and dingy basements, behind unmarked doors and unassuming shop windows – there are other venues that go for the opposite approach, sucking you in with a blast of bright lights and loud noises. The Dolphin Hotel is one of those. You can hear it coming from a dozen doors down on Crown Street. On a Saturday night, baselines blare from open windows, diners chatter cheerily from curbside tables, a giant banner strung from the first floor balcony reads: You Want a Pizza Me? This isn’t your standard Sydney pub. Walls wrinkle with off-white fabric, tables and chairs pop with black-on-white faux graffiti, daily specials are taped to arbitrary vertical surfaces. The place is positively sprawling, opening into a collection of distinct dining rooms and bar areas.

We spot the candy cane umbrellas first. Red and white striped, they stand tall out the front of Woolloomooloo’s historic Old Fitzroy Hotel. The three-storey brick and butter building looks well-worn yet strong – which makes sense when you consider the Old Fitz is around 150 years old. The pub is surrounded by leafy green trees, punters are out the front knocking back cold ones, and today it’s glowing in the spring sunshine. Just from the exterior, you can tell the old boozer has more character and charm than a new opening could dream of. Fun fact: The Old Fitzroy Hotel is the only remaining theatre pub in Australia. Locals have been coming here for decades to see some of the most interesting and cutting-edge theatre in the country.