The Rocks area of Sydney steeped in history, so while on our tour of Sydney Sights & Landmarks, we decided to choose somewhere historic for a lunch break and as soon as I saw the Australian Hotel, I knew I wanted to eat there.
The Australian Hotel is such a distinctive triangular shaped building, with so many original features.
I just loved the look of this grand, old-style, Edwardian pub.
It was fabulous to see how beautifully maintained the building was; it added a real sense of history to the street.
Pizza and Burgers on the menu at The Australian Hotel
I took a look inside at the menu and had a quick peek at the food delivered to tables around us.
The lunch menu included a delicious range of gourmet pizza’s, salads and tasty looking burgers.
We took a seat at the outside tables and checked out the menu more carefully.
Usually, I would choose a salad, but after doing our walking tour through The Rocks, I wanted something more substantial.
We decided to order some pizza’s to share.
Trying to narrow down the order to just three was difficult! I wanted to try a slice of ALL of them.
We eventually settled on three large pizzas.
The first was the “Coat of Arms” pizza which was half Emu and half Pepper Kangaroo.
The additional toppings included red onion, bush tomato, capsicum and cranberries.
We also couldn’t go past the Roast Pork Belly with soused onion, fresh capsicum, apple and, best of all CRACKLING! YUM!
The final pizza was the Mediterranean Pizza which had a pesto and tomato sauce base, garlic chicken, kalamata olives Spanish onion and roasted eggplant topped with mozzarella cheese.
The beer choices at the Australian Hotel are extensive
After speaking with the bar tender, I discovered there were at least 100 beers on offer.
If you were staying in The Rocks area for a few days, you might want to pick up a beer passport.
The friendly staff stamp your passport each time you try each one of the beers.
I guess this is a popular game for the neighbouring YHA guests.
We also noticed a chalk drawing of the Australian Map on the wall near the bar.
Upon further investigation, we found that the map was a beer tasting challenge which ends in a complimentary Schaffer’s Lager.
Sightseeing is beautiful thirsty work, so Brett & I decided to share a tasting paddle of beers to rehydrate ourselves.
There were quite a few beers Brett hadn’t seen before, so he chose a selection of these for our paddle.
The Australian was an excellent choice for lunch, really casual environment with delicious food, friendly staff and plenty of authentic atmosphere about the place.
Oh, I had a quick read of the history behind the Australian Hotel and found:
- It was first licensed in 1832.
- At that time it was located on George Street.
- When the plague epidemic hit Sydney in 1900, they condemned the building.
- A new home for the Australian Hotel was found in Cumberland St.
Do you like knowing the history behind an area you visit? Would you be more likely to stop at The Australian Hotel for lunch or would you choose a regular cafe?
