Hospitality heavyweights Barrelhouse Group have reopened The Observer Hotel in Sydney’s The Rocks as a classic English pub.

Mikey Enright and Julian Train from Barrelhouse Group (The Duke of Clarence, The Barber Shop and Hickson House Distilling Co.) have spent the past three-and-a-half years transforming the heritage-listed venue on George Street.

The result is a venue that evokes memories of a quintessential drinking house of years gone by, filled with lived-in charm, scotch eggs, whisky-drenched steaks, cask ale and Irish coffee cocktails.

For British-born Enright, who began his career in the hearty taverns of Northern England, the venue captures the kind of pub where a quick pint can turn into dinner with new or old friends.

“This is a proper locals’ pub at heart, there’s no pretense here, just genuine hospitality and wholesome British pub classics with a modern twist,” he said.

“This isn’t our first rodeo, we know what makes a pub feel truly authentic: It’s somewhere you walk in, meet people and have a laugh with friends, whether you’re settling into a cosy dining nook or sitting on the footpath watching the harbour with a pint or a classic cocktail, it’s built for everybody to feel at home.” 

Located through the doors of the building’s original, multi-storey facade, a grand oak public bar gives a great first impression. Seamlessly flowing from the original timber partitions lies a spacious dining room and lounge area, each of which have been decked out with an eclectic mix of antique furnishings, all sourced from the United Kingdom by British designer Sara Mathers and Sydney’s Tania Einberg.

“The building is actually three heritage sites stitched together – Waterman’s Arms, The Observer Tavern and an old car garage that’s now our sunny beer garden,” Train said. “The challenge was honouring each one’s history, while also giving the place a coherent flow.”

Bringing the comforting feel of a well-loved British pub to life is the new sun-drenched glass conservatory that brings the outdoors inside.

Upstairs is a seven-foot snooker table, dual dartboards and chess all taking up space in the three new parlour rooms.

Traditional English pints of double-fermented cask ale are hand-pumped from traditional beer taps that have been imported from the UK, with two cask ales brewed exclusively for The Observer Hotel.

That spirit carries through to the kitchen, with head chef Sam Bull (ex-Icebergs) putting his own spin on classic dishes.

“The aim is to execute British food better than the British,” Bull said. “We’ve swapped traditional mushy peas for a vibrant pea salad and we’re serving a roast with all the trimmings every day of the week, while on Sundays, we’ve gone all out with four different options.” 

Roasts are familiar territory for the team, who were among the first in Sydney to honour the custom at The Duke of Clarence, and which is personally close to Enright’s heart. 

The Observer Hotel’s menu goes beyond the usual pub classics too, by dipping into the British bakery for inspiration, with Hunter Valley scotch eggs, flaky Berkshire pork sausage rolls, Byron Bay gammon steaks finished with pineapple and whisky glaze, and a retro prawn cocktail.

When it comes to the steaks, there is a speciality dry-aged program that’s headlined by a whisky-drenched dry-aged ribeye – a by-product of the distilling process and a nod to Enright and Train’s spirits background.

Drawing on the team’s cocktail pedigree, the drinks list brings contemporary and classic cocktails into the pub, with frozen glassware and a strong spirits selection. 

Among them is the notoriously hard-to-master Irish coffee, along with a refreshing mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic spritzes. 

There is also a curated wine list of more than 70 bottles from the group’s neighbouring Barrelhouse Cellars, which traverses Australia’s wine regions before winding its way through a small selection of English whites rarely seen on Sydney lists.  

The Observer Hotel is located at 69 George St in The Rocks.