For more than 130 years, the Bellevue has been serving cold beers to thirsty customers on Hargrave St. With its distinctive green tiles and white-painted frontage, it has a quintessential Sydney pub look and feel, and a dedicated local clientele to match. Pop in with mates to watch the footy or have a quality pub meal.
This seriously ornate corner pub built in 1914 fronts two busy roads — Flinders St and Moore Park Rd — but manages to find a clientele of locals and visitors who stream past on their way from Central station to the SCG and SFS. A 2020 makeover gave the pub a new look inside, with beautiful internal tiles and a lighter feel. There’s a small backpackers hostel upstairs.
When developers tried to turn this cherished pub into a rich person’s residence in 2018, the Paddington community decided not to stand for it. The residents rallied and this 1878 backstreet hotel was spared the dreaded fate of redevelopment. Much loved by the Sutherland St community, the pub has a comfortable, lived-in feel and oozes local atmosphere. It’s worth the leafy street walk to find it.
The Imperial, one of Paddo’s most historic pubs, has been in the hands of the Resch’s beer family for more than a century. Lately, some of the family heritage has been refocused at the pub with the installation of a micro-brewery on the ground floor that brews recipes from the Resch family history books. You can literally taste the tradition in the pipes.
This cavernous corner pub, built in 1875, is one the area’s oldest and remains one of its most atmospheric. Sit in the lofty public bar and imagine how generations of Paddington folk have used the space for almost 150 years. There are modernisations including a bustling leafy restaurant out the back, but the sense of history remains etched into the place.
This huge Moore Park Rd pub comes into its own on game days at the SCG and SFS, both handily located just across the road. Built in 1877, the Olympic was originally called the Adelaide Hotel but received its name change to celebrate the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. Call in on your way to the game for a cold beer and to soak up the atmosphere as visitors stream down from Oxford St to the sporting precinct.
Bar tsar Justin Hemmes has created one of Sydney’s most popular pubs at this thriving multi-storey venue. Go for chef Ben Greeno’s famed rotisserie chicken and chips or splash out on some of Greeno’s more inventive creations that include a striploin steak with spinach and mustard croquette. The front bar is always popular and affordable. The Paddington represents good times.
Paddo Inn started life in 1814. Let that sink in for a moment — it’s almost as old as Australia itself. For centuries known as the Paddington Inn, it’s shorter name represents its move into modern times. There’s a great cocktail selection, cold beers and wines, an endless stream of live music and community events that take place weekly, and generally a fabulous community feel, even after more than 200 years of operation. Amazing.
Perched above Five Ways, with views over the harbour and city, the 1888-dated Royal Hotel offers an outstanding location for whiling away lazy afternoons in the sun. The recently refurbished public bars are popular, but find a maze of different spaces for eating and drinking. Order lunch or snacks at the bar and enjoy a dash of Paddo pub heaven.
Located in the oldest part of Paddington, this cute-as-a-button hotel has been around since 1850. With its wrought-iron balcony and blooming hanging plants, it has a quaint terrace feel with footpath seating to watch the fashion crowd who shop nearby at The Intersection. On sunny afternoons, perched on a footpath seat, here is the place to be.
The Unicorn has always been a bit different. Although its heritage stretches back to the 1880s, it was rebuilt by the Tooth and Co brewery in 1941, hence its stately Art Deco facade. The Unicorn has set itself apart from Paddington’s other heritage hotels by going a bit rock’n’roll. Loud pub-rock music plays and the menu pays homage to the counter meals of the 80s via dishes such as schnitty, steak sandwiches and Jatz’n’dip.