Tommy Hall, in partnership with Irish icon Ray Reilly, has reopened the group’s vision for The Cricketers Balmain, welcoming the return of a ‘proper local’ to the precinct.
The Cricketer’s Arms was established in 1872 and for many years served as host to the dockers and wharfies of Balmain and surrounds.
Satisfying the goal – to create a genuine sports and gaming pub – the new look pitches to be the Peninsula’s ideal place to take in a pub meal or pint, watch live matches or play a game of pool.
“The local community is at the forefront of what we do,” says Hall. “Our mission is to deliver a fun, affordable, approachable and consistent experience for everyone, every day.”
New to The Cricketer’s is a public bar on Darling Street, set for people watching or a yarn, leading to a separate dining area, beer garden and pool room.
Upstairs is the dedicated sports lounge and big screens, and a private function space. Classic finishes throughout the pub complement custom-made furniture.
The hotel spent nearly 20 years known as The Monkey Bar before Tim Condon’s group took over in 2015 and remodelled, restoring its original moniker and reverting street level to a traditional style pub, with two function rooms upstairs. Condon had purchased Rozelle’s Welcome Hotel, bringing about the sale in Balmain.
Hall worked for Reilly for over a decade, becoming GM of The Henson, Sydney Park Hotel and White Cockatoo Hotel, and an aspiring next-generation publican, approached the veteran countryman about finding his own venue.
Mid-2022 they announced a 50-50 joint venture to purchase The Cricketer’s, aided by the Reilly Group already holding Balmain’s London Hotel.
Overseeing the new kitchen is Kim Douglas, formerly of Marrickville’s Pizza Madre and Two Chaps, serving up a menu of pub classics priced at around $20, plus a selection of share plates and specials.
In a nod to the Emerald Isle heritage of Hall, Douglas and Reilly, on offer is a classic Irish chip-shop curry, comprising hot chips, melted cheese and McDonnells curry sauce.
Reilly believes people can always notice the difference when they walk into a hands-on venue and his operations have thrived on the principle of knowing people by name and ‘getting involved’.
Hall is the hands-on operator at The Cricketer’s, “doing the hard yards,” says Reilly, and the maestro adds he is “hands down one of the best at it”.
This, they say, is the embodiment of the new offering, which employs ‘true hospitality’ to embrace its blue-collar history.
“We don’t claim to reinvent the wheel, we just serve good honest food and beer with a good atmosphere,” says Reilly.
“At the end of the day, everyone loves the local pub if it’s run by honest, hardworking people who want to get involved.”
That is sensational guys. Two good guys having a go! Well done!👏👏👏