We love visiting The Rocks, it’s such a character-filled part of Sydney and we have a new favourite watering hole in the suburb: The Observer Hotel.

First established in 1848 as the Observer Tavern, the venue closed down before the pandemic, becoming one of Sydney’s shuttered ‘ghost” pubs’.

The Barrelhouse Group has spent the past three-and-a-half years transforming the heritage-listed venue into a classic English pub.

And the team has done a fantastic job. From the moment you step through the front door it feels like you’ve walked into your local and immediately feel at home.

The greetings from the staff are warm and friendly and the space is gorgeous, filled with cosy nooks and eclectic antique furnishings.

We kicked off our visit with a cocktail at the grand oak public bar. The bartender recommended The Berry Merchant, with Hickson House Classic Dry, cherry heering, Lustau Fino Sherry, lemon peel and mixed berries. Delicious!

Next, we settled into the sun-drenched glass conservatory for dinner. Head chef Sam Bull (ex-Icebergs) is putting his own spin on classic British dishes. We started with our first-ever Scotch Egg, featuring a Hunter Valley egg, pork sausage meat, roasted garlic aïoli and petite salad. It was moist, flavour-packed and delicious.

We matched it with glasses of a sparkling wine from Pommery, made with English grapes, as you do when toasting a British boozer.

For our mains we chose the Steak and Onion Pie, made in house with a buttery puff top and shortcrust pastry base,
served with mashed potato and beer gravy. It was another flavourful classic and was well matched with a Mr Riggs Yacca
Tempranillo.

We are keen to return for the roast, which is served with all the trimmings at the pub every day of the week, while the chef goes all out on Sundays with four different options.

We’re also intrigued by the upcoming dry-aged steak program, which will be headlined by a whisky-drenched dry-aged ribeye – a by-product of the distilling process and a nod to the owners’ spirits background as the founders of Hickson Road Distillery.

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