Fortune of War
Historic pub
Sydney's oldest hotel by its first licence: a pub has stood here since 1828, built by a former convict, with the current building from 1921 and live music most nights.
📍 137 George Street, The Rocks NSW 2000
Pubs and beer bars: 4 bars
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Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel
Brewpub
Sydney's oldest continuously licensed hotel, open since 1841 in convict-quarried sandstone. It is home to Australia's oldest pub brewery.
📍 19 Kent Street, The Rocks NSW 2000
Hero of Waterloo
Historic pub
A heritage-listed sandstone pub built by convicts in the 1840s, with fireplaces, live bands at weekends and cellar tours with dark stories.
📍 81 Lower Fort Street, Millers Point NSW 2000
Young Henrys
Brewery taproom
The Newtown brewery founded in 2012, home of the Newtowner pale ale, with a taproom open daily and brewery tours at weekends.
📍 Wilford Street, Newtown NSW 2042
Map: pubs and beer bars
Tap a pin for the bar. Numbers match the list.
Your questions
What are the best pubs in Sydney?
Start with Fortune of War, Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, Hero of Waterloo and Young Henrys. Our full list has 4 bars.
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Who wrote this guide
This guide is written by the team at M.AD Agency. We run Cocktail Week, the ten-day cocktail festival held town by town across the UK and Ireland. Now we're bringing it to Australia. Since 2022 we have taken it to more than 20 towns and cities and worked with hundreds of bars. We put this guide together from our own research, Google Maps and trusted local guides, ahead of bringing Cocktail Week to Sydney.
No bar paid to be included and nobody can buy a place. We check the guide regularly as bars open, change and close.
Cocktail Week in Australia
Want your bar in this guide?
Run a bar in Sydney that should be here? Get in touch at hello@cocktail-week.com and tell us about it.