Google “the best pubs in Sydney” and you’ll see plenty of pop-ins from Woollahra, Paddington, Surry Hills and Marrickville. You might even see the Albion Hotel in Parramatta randomly swimming in a sea of geographical bias. If you’re new to Sydney and took this as your scope of the city’s strong and definitive pub culture, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there really is nothing in Western Sydney.
But there is. There’s a lot in Western Sydney in fact, with some of the city’s most historic and beloved pubs. Institutions that dig into the guts of what makes a good pub a great pub in the first place.
So what makes a good pub? Longevity is typically the answer. The longer a pub has been around, the more stories it has built up, and the deeper it has entrenched itself in the local community. Pubs in Australia are big business, but they require much more than just a modern design, on-trend drinks list and great pub food. Community is key for any pub, and you don’t get that quite like you do out in Western Sydney.
A good pub reflects the character, ideas and quirks of its locale. If you want to understand a suburb, or area anywhere in Australia for that matter, find the local pub and go have a beer (and a parmi). Given so many visitors are yet to discover the charms of Western Sydney, us here at Sydney Travel Guide want to highlight a few of the west’s best pubs to help you fan out from the usual upmarket enclaves of Bondi and Barangaroo ,and start seeing Sydney as the adventure it is.
1. Albion Hotel, Parramatta
Albion Hotel is the most obvious answer for anyone looking for a popular pub in Western Sydney. It’s dynamic, raucous and perennially packed. Head along on a weekend after 9pm and it’s a loud, exciting R&B club; stroll in during the day and you’ve got plenty of quiet nooks to sit, drink and think in the sprawling beer garden. The kicker? It’s basically a 24-hour pub, and one of the only drinking holes in Sydney that is almost never closed (see opening times below for specifics).
It doesn’t have the size and diversity of Oran Park Hotel and The Crossroads Hotel, the two biggest pubs in Western Sydney, but Albion Hotel gets by with its reasonable prices, strong sense of community and the fact that it’s just a short walk from Parramatta Station.
Address: 135 George St, Parramatta NSW 2150
Contact: (02) 8587 4600
Opening Hours: Monday (10am – 12am); Tuesday – Friday (12am – 4am, 10am – 12am); Saturday – Sunday (12am – 6am, 10am – 12am)
2. Oran Park Hotel, Oran Park
Four years of ambitious construction has given South West Sydney its largest food and dining precinct to date, plumping up the existing Oran Park Hotel with seven bars, a popular all-day restaurant and a pizzeria, a beautiful open-air atrium and an Asian-accented rooftop bar with its own terrace. Throw in two cinemas, a grand ballroom, and spaces to host book launches and other smaller events and suddenly Australia’s most ambitious pub turns into something much, much more.
That’s not the kind of pub you were expecting, was it? In fact, Oran Park Hotel has successfully distinguished itself as one of the largest hospitality developments in Australia, spanning three levels and swallowing 7,500-square-metres of space. The mega-pub dwarfs similar developments with its sheer ambition, but it would be for nothing if the quality wasn’t there as well.
Thankfully, owners WDS Hotels (who also operate The Rocks’ iconic Fortune of War) have poured plenty into each nook and cranny of Oran Park Hotel, ensuring the food is served to a consistently high standards, the drinks flow from some of the cleanest taps around, and there’s enough weekly activity happening to build a small army of regulars who come from all over the city.
Address: 81 Central Ave, Oran Park NSW 2570
Contact: (02) 8884 2830
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday (10am – 1am); Sunday (10am – 12am)
3. The Crossroads Hotel, Casula
When former Sydney Lord Mayor and philanthropist Nelson Meers AO purchased Casula’s Crossroads Hotel in 2022, he did so for an eye-watering sum of $160 million. As per records, that is the biggest sale price for a pub in Sydney history; it makes sense that someone would want such a profitable piece of Sydney’s South-West history. Once Western Sydney International Airport is completed at Badgery Creek , The Crossroads Hotel should be one of the major entertainment and dining destinations closest to the futuristic aviation hub.
Meers sadly passed recently and so ownership has transferred to Sonnel Hospitality, who in early 2025 submitted a $30.9 million proposal to Liverpool City Council to significantly redesign the historic hotel, adding up to 54 short-stay rooms, bigger restaurant and cafe areas, and new outdoor spaces, including a bigger beer garden and kids’ area. Also on the cards is several function spaces, a new parking lot and modern sustainability features. How this will be balanced against the historic value of the hotel, which dates back to the 1830s (when it was known as the Talbot Inn), remains to be seen.
Currently, the pub is one of the biggest in Western Sydney with an outsized drinks list to match. But if these changes, assumedly spurred by all the airport excitement, do take place, Crossroads Hotel will be help redefine what a contemporary pub looks like in Sydney.
Address: 2260 Camden Valley Wy, Casula NSW 2170
Contact: (02) 9602 8194
4. The Log Cabin, Penrith
Crowned by Penrith’s only hatted restaurant, Sinclair’s, The Log Cabin gets its power from glorious views overlooking the mighty Napean River. The calm, placid body of water gives the sightly pub a tremendous sense of place, pushing it as an ambassador for Penrith’s riverside lifestyle, most potent for those hanging out on the two large outdoor decks and all-purpose, all-ages beer garden.
The award-winning pub burned down in the early 2010s and has since been completely refigured to serve, host and represent the local community. With the heritage-listed Victoria Bridge basically extending from the pub, all that fine drink and food is given a unique visual backdrop that makes The Log Cabin one of the only pubs in Western Sydney with a view. A staggering one at that, matched well with the on-site offerings that are a cut well above what most outsiders would expect from Penrith.
Address: 20 Memorial Ave, Penrith NSW 2750
Contact: (02) 4711 3324
Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday (10am – 12am); Friday – Saturday (10am – 2pm); Sunday (10am – 10pm)
5. George IV Inn, Picton
In 2012, one year after Picton’s historic George IV Inn welcomed new management, authoritative food publication Good Food awarded the pub 14 out of 20 for its food. That’s one point shy of a Chef’s Hat, which to me has always been an interesting crossroads in the world of the food critic. 15 out of 20 means one Chef’s Hat, which often provides a considerable boost to any local business (as it’s a mark that’s held in the same regard as Michelin and James Beard, but for Australia).
Some question the credibility of a Chef’s Hat opposed to the USA’s James Beard Awards (which I’ve personally always found much more reliable than Michelin), but just missing out on one is usually more interesting than actually getting one. According to the Sydney Morning Herald’s scoring system, Good Food award 10 points to food quality, 5 for hospitality (service), 3 for experience and 2 for value. Which is a completely fair and reasonable system, but the breakdown isn’t made public.
And so scoring 14/20 could essentially mean the food is incredible, but the service is spotty, or the experience doesn’t track well. Most people just want delicious food and good drink at a reasonable price, especially when it comes to a pub. And so George IV Inn may in fact have some of the best pub food in Western Sydney (and if it doesn’t, it’s close).
“Old charm, live music and great food since 1935,” is the pub’s tagline after all, and sometimes that’s really all you need. That and one of chef James Metcalfe’s incredible lamb pies.
Address: 180 Argyle St, Picton NSW 2571
Contact: (02) 4601 7730
6. Woolpack Hotel, Parramatta
The famed Fortune of War in The Rocks has long been considered Sydney’s oldest pub, first built in 1828. Except it’s not. Not even close. While this title is contested by The Lord Nelson (also in The Rocks; built in 1835) and the Hero of Waterloo (1843), neither of these three predate Parramatta’s Woolpack Hotel.
Though the original Woolpack Hotel was shuttered by the Government in 1887, forcing it to move to a new site across the road, the Parramatta pub was founded and licensed in 1769. That’s decades before any other pub was built in Sydney. And while there is plenty of that old timey charm caked into the crevices of this straightforward watering hole, plenty of effort has been done to sensitively push the Woolpack into the new age.
Address: 19 George St, Parramatta NSW 2150
Contact: (02) 9635 8043
7. Plough & Harrow Hotel, Camden
The best roast dinner in Western Sydney? That’d be at Camden’s oldest pub, the beautifully named Plough & Harrow with its dignified, antiquated ambiance and warm hospitality. Aligning with Camden’s historic charms, the pub dates back to 1841 and remains on the same site it was built, serving as a time capsule to the old Western Sydney while also shouldering all the modern trends.
Balance is hard for a pub like this, but Plough & Harrow’s many refurbishments throughout the years have always been sensitive to the pub’s incredible amount of history. Food wise, think big, generous portions of curries, pies, pastas and barramundi (all the Aussie pub standards) and a few pleasant surprises, like a delicious prawn hot pot that pairs beautifully with an Irish ale and an open fireplace.
Address: 75 Argyle St, Camden NSW 2570
Contact: (02) 4655 8189
8. Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville
A pub inspired by a series of cartoons in a now defunct picture book isn’t all too common around the world, but Australia has four of them. And they are all inspired by the same man, that being Ken Maynard, whose famous cartoon pub was turned into a reality in 2003. The quirky, architectural oddities popped up in places like Western Australia and country NSW, but you’ll be surprise to know there’s also on in Sydney.
The Ettamogah Hotel is Kellyville Ridge’s most unique venue, and one of the most visually unique buildings in the country. It doesn’t look serious, but once you’re inside there’s an almost unmatched focus on family entertainment, with a state-of-the-art play centre (with its own rock climbing wall) and a kitchen that’s pumping out delicious, piping hot pizza and smoked-meats each day of the week. Sports and pay-per-view events also play a big part, with around 15 dedicated sports screens forming one giant super screen (like at The Star), most popular whenever there’s a big UFC match going down.
The kicker? Head along on Wednesday and grab yourself a rump steak with chips for $12 if you’re looking for something cheap and cheerful.
Address: Cnr Merriville &, Windsor Rds, Kellyville Ridge NSW 2155
Contact: (02) 9629 1130
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday (10am – 4am); Saturday (8am – 4am); Sunday (8am – 12am)
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