Woolwich Pier Hotel

Bar Bar Food Booze British Cocktails Eat & Drink Pub Bistro

Jackie McMillan
November 13, 2013

Perched on a balcony at the end of a peninsula my dining companion dubbed “the uvula of Sydney Harbour” I survey the view. The wide, comfortable verandah affords a view of the Iron Cove, Anzac and Sydney Harbour bridges; a vista only improved by fireworks (thanks to Sydney Opera House’s 40th Birthday). The upstairs theming feels post-Colonial, with wide bamboo ceiling fans, wall-mounted stag horns (a nice change from those ever-present plywood deer heads) and uber-comfortable leather safari chairs. They’ve eschewed most of the obvious renovated pub fare in favour of a more chic than shabby collection of British comfort food: from pot pies to Ploughman’s lunches; Cornish pasties to scones with clotted cream. The theme even carries through to antique plates. Excellent house-made Pickled Vegetables ($10) and Potted Crab ($14) keep me happy through Game, Set & Match ($30) – a jug of Chambord and Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Rum lengthened with fruit and lemonade. Tea-soaked raisins and a hint of Keen’s Curry Powder in the vinaigrette raise the Poached Chicken and Mango Salad ($18) beyond usual pub salads. Crisp Skinned Confit Duck Leg ($26) on Savoy cabbage with chestnuts and figs was let down by an oversweet jus – but don’t let that stop you from making your safari to the wilds of Woolwich.