Barrelhouse Group has rolled into The Rocks, opening a classic English-style boozer in the long-closed The Observer Hotel.
Hospitality veterans Mikey Enright and Julian Train’s Barrelhouse Group owns and operates The Barber Shop and Hickson House Distilling Co, and in late 2017 launched the now iconic authentic English pub the Duke of Clarence, sporting all antique dark timbers, panelling, stained glass and furniture, sourced from pubs and former churches in the UK.
Historic hotel The Observer, on George Street, closed its doors shortly before the first COVID lockdown, early 2020.
When the group learned of it as an opportunity they saw it as “too good to miss” and have spent three-and-a-half years working with stylists and designers both here and in the UK, transforming the heritage-listed venue into a “quintessential drinking house of years gone by”.
The goal was a pub filled with lived-in charm, actually built across three connected heritage sites, being The Observer Tavern, Waterman’s Arms and an old car garage that’s now one of two outdoor areas, along with a new sun-drenched glass conservatory that brings the outdoors in.
Stepping through the hotel’s original multi-storey façade entrance guests are greeted with a grand oak public bar, where they can ‘split the O’ of one of The Observer’s custom-designed pint glasses filled with Guinness or indulge in traditional English double-fermented cask ales, hand-pumped from traditional taps imported from the UK.
Two cask ales are brewed exclusively for The Observer.
This area leads to a spacious dining room and lounge, each decked out with an eclectic mix of antique furnishings sourced from the UK by British designer Sara Mathers and Sydney’s Tania Einberg.
Up burgundy stairs to the upper level guests find a Victorian design with three new parlour rooms, sporting a seven-foot snooker table, dual dartboards and chess boards, as well as a private dining room.
The pub also boasts the original cellar of the Watermans Arms, believed to be the oldest in Sydney, and the oldest toilet in The Rocks, at the rear, which Enright says is really just “a hole in the ground with some bricks”.
Familiar with the requirements of an authentic pub, the varied styling details were carefully curated.
While The Duke is more geared toward escaping winter, Enright says The Observer is more akin to relaxing on the river Thames, where you can settle into a cosy dining nook or sit on the footpath to watch the waterside. Barrelhouse deliberately created distinct spaces with their own story and feel.
“The challenge was honouring each one’s history, while also giving the place a coherent flow,” adds Train.
The menu goes beyond the regular pub classics, dipping into the British bakery for inspiration. There are Hunter Valley scotch eggs, flaky Berkshire pork sausage rolls and a retro prawn cocktail, plus a nostalgic fish finger sandwich.
Barrelhouse were among the first in Sydney to adopt the custom of regular roasts, at The Duke of Clarence, and The Observer is doing one every day. There is also a speciality dry-aged program headlined by a whisky-drenched ribeye, in a nod to Enright and Train’s spirits background, and a hung kingfish with a texture like wagyu.
“The aim is to execute British food better than the British,” jokes head chef Sam Bull (formerly Icebergs).
“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.”
Honouring the cocktail pedigree, the drinks list is both contemporary and classic and incorporates frozen glassware and a strong backbar selection. A curated wine list offers over 70 labels, including a small selection of English whites rarely seen on Sydney lists. A refreshing mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic spritzes rounds out the selection.
British-born Enright began his hospitality career in the taverns of Northern England, training as a cocktail bartender in London before moving to Sydney in 1999.
Close to The Mercantile, said to be the oldest Irish pub in Sydney, he says The Rocks was missing something like this, with The Observer the last on the history-laden strip to usher in a new era.
“Pubs have evolved over time, but back in the day most of these would have been English or Irish pubs,” he says.
Complementing his awarded but intimate Duke on Clarence Street, the new venue is the kind of pub where a quick pint can turn into dinner with friends – old or new.
“We thought it was a great opportunity to do an English gastro pub in The Rocks, with a heavy focus on atmosphere and good times.
“This is a proper locals’ pub at heart. There’s no pretence here, just genuine hospitality and wholesome British pub classics with a modern twist.”
