Dove + Olive, Surry Hills

Sittin’ pretty on the front line of Sydney’s stirring craft beer revolution is Surry Hills brew pedlar Dove + Olive. With its curated craft beer selection, roaring fireplaces and friendly atmosphere, this is the perfect spot to (beer) paddle your way through the depths of a gloomy winter’s afternoon.

This boozer is home to Craft Beer Fight Club, a monthly event that pits brewer against brewer in a beer battle of wits. Thankfully the first rule of Fight Club is not honoured here and the winning brewery gets poll position on the pub’s taps for a month.

There were splashes of Christmas decorations around the place and posters wishing us a “Murray Christmas” advertised 12 Days of Murray’s Christmas In July – a tap takeover by Murray’s Brewing featuring free samples, a discounted beer of the week, a triple smoked IPA Christmas ham, $6 mulled wine and $15 hot toddies. There is a lot of fun to be had at the Dove + Olive.  Throw in some top notch pub grub and it’s not hard to see why they recently took out top gong in the Time Out Sydney 2015 Pub Awards. Head honcho, Dan Ryan also walked away with Publican of the Year — a deserving acknowledgement for the jovial spirit of community he has injected into the Dove + Olive.

Atmosphere This is a taphouse teeming with good vibes. The decor is industrial chic meets snow chalet with some sports memorabilia thrown in to give it eclectic charm. Blazing fireplaces, mood lighting and an array of nooks and crannies to nestle yourself away in ensure all boxes on the cozy charter are ticked. When you head up the stairs from the front bar you’ll find the Lounge Bar on your left — a bright space adorned with stained glass windows and lush Chesterfield booths — and the Parlour and Terrace on your right which looks like a grand indoor/outdoor spot to hire for private functions.

Service The service here is friendly and informative, in regards to the beer, and the bar tender was patient with our incessant questioning.
Beer Garden The beer garden isn’t much to write home about. It is small and closed-in so I doubt it would lure you out there if you were a nonsmoker. 
Grub The food is old-school pub grub reimagined with a little quirk of Americana and sometimes a touch of beer which makes sense given what this pub is all about. The menu has a small section dedicated to the lamb-huggers which elicited a delighted gasp from this vegan. There is one vego main and one vegan main with a few other convertible dishes to be found in the rest of the menu. It’s good news for the wheat dodgers too. Almost half of the large menu is gluten free or gluten-free adaptable. I had the Mixed Creole Vegetable and Vegan Cheese Stack (pictured below) and it hit the spot. Eamon and Chief Bailie (Mum) had the D + O Signature Burger with house made beef pattie, red ale onion jam, double Americano cheese, maple bacon, spiced aioli and kolsch ketchup served with shoestring fries, green tomatillos relish and chilli pickles. They were big fans with Eamon making his a double decker (pictured below) and recommending the upgrade to those with an epic hunger only. Dad said his Mighty Chicken Parmigiana was the best he’d tasted in ages and at $12 on a Saturday that’s a winning combo. Maggie was wooed by a $15 steak that knocked her socks off so it’s fair to say the prices are surprisingly great for a Sydney pub.

Tap beers This is no ordinary taphouse when it comes to the good stuff — this is more like a brewniversity experience. If you want an education in real beer son, then sit yo’ ass down at the D + O bar. There are 28 taps, 4 bottled beers and 4 bottled ciders. There are two IPA hand pumps at the end of the bar and chained to them are a couple of tomes titled Beer Bible that conjure up images of sitting by a fireplace in loafers and a smoking jacket. A poster on the wall advertised an upcoming event where punters can buy a ticket to get their home-brewing questions answered by Dr Tim Cooper (of Coopers) over a two-course meal. The D + O showcase their range of Australian and international craft beers with $10 beer paddles, $6.50 schooners of the rotating Beer of the Week, and two rotating Crafternoon taps that pour $4 schooners (1 for craft cider and 1 for craft beer) Mon-Sat 5-7pm. Thirsty Thursdays also dish out $5 schooners and $10 jugs. 
Kid friendly? Yep, your tots are welcome here until 10pm.  
Canine friendly? There are a few tables for you out the front if your drinking partner has four legs.

Music Great tunes, perfect volume. We heard Queen, Hunters and Collectors, John Lennon and Alt J. And for something a little different, the pub is playing host to an ‘Opera In the Pub’ night in August.
Chips There’s a god-damn shoestring epidemic in the Sydney pub scene. Like we’ve said before, there’s nothing wrong with a shoestring, aside from the fact they go cold quickly, they’re just boring. These chippies get 2.5/5 spuds.
The Yard Stick A schooey of Coopers was unavailable this particular weekend but we can hardly complain with all the craft beer candy on offer. As it is our yardstick though, we noted a bottle goes for $8 here.

All up, this brewtiful local taphouse gets an 8 outta 10 cleverly named golden ales. 

The Welcome, Rozelle

The Welcome in Rozelle is a postcard-perfect pub with a place in its heart warmly reserved for pooches and their craft-beer-loving humans. This pub has probably been one of Sydney’s greatest locals for the last 137 years — that’s one heck of a run. This is an old-school establishment dripping in historical charm; an intimate space crammed with polished wooden stools and well-worn leather settees to cuddle up with loved ones or spend the night waxing lyrical about the rise of the boutique brewers.

This boozer seems to be made up of two parts: the bar and beer garden, and the restaurant which offers fine Italian dining. The Welcome took out top gong at the 2014 Time Out Sydney Pub Awards as well as Best Pub Food so expectations were well and truly soaring for the Pubably crew. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed for a function so we only had the pub menu to choose from this time. We’d like to go back and try the award-winning fare of the restaurant.

Atmosphere This drinkery has gone to the dogs — in the best kind of way! This is the first Sydney pub I’ve been in where your pup can literally sit beside you at the bar; the novelty prompted a few delighted exclamations from our table. Kids are allowed inside too and with everyone packed into the cozy room chatting happily to each other, the vibe was akin to the warm embrace of a back lane boozer in the UK. A ‘What’s On’ board displayed a poster for Ping Pong Mondays where players can enjoy some friendly competition, a cheeseburger and a beer for $20. Tuesdays are for trivia and $15 schnitzels. Wednesdays offer pasta and a glass of vino for $20 while Thursdays celebrate The Welcome’s lively beer selection with pie and paddle combos for $30, and “good beer prices” are promised on Frugal Fridays. There are a couple of screens displaying sports if you want to watch a game but if you don’t the teles don’t have a dominating presence in the room.

Service The service was average. Not as welcoming as we’d expect from an establishment called The Welcome — perhaps they were just busy.
Beer Garden The BG is a lovely sunny spot with plenty of heaters ready for when the night creeps in. You can reserve a table outside and we highly recommend you do because this is a popular place and every seat was nabbed by the time we arrived at 4.30.

Grub With the restaurant closed for a function, we had to pick from a less impressive bar menu. There were two vegetarian options, no vegan options and no gluten-free indicators on the menu. I settled for a side of Crispy Kipflers with Rosemary, Olives, Chilli and Garlic which were nice enough but a little steep at $10. The boys picked the Wagyu Beef Burger with Pancetta, Tomato, Lettuce, Chutney and Fries which left them underwhelmed and our sister, Maggie had the Homemade Saffron Radiatori with Pork and Porcini Ragu and Shaved Pecorino. Maggie loved her pasta, wisely choosing an Italian dish from a crew famed for their Italian flavours. All in all the bar food is okay but it won’t knock your socks off if you’re expecting Pub Food of the Year.

Tap beers This is where The Welcome really shines. There are 15 taps, two of them reserved for ciders and 12 of them dedicated to microbreweries. All of the tap beers are Australian with Coopers and Carlton Draught sitting pretty for the old boys looking for something familiar. Otherwise this is a A Night At The Hopera homeboys; a playground for beer swillers. A spotlight is shone on the Brewery of the Month and this month it is Yulli’s Brewers with the brilliantly named Fat Nerd, Norman and Slick Rick trio taking pride of place on the pub’s top taps. Tasting paddles will get you five ponies for $20.

Kid friendly? Yep! As stated above, your tikes are welcome at The Welcome.
Canine friendly? The pub proudly states “pooch friendly since 1878” and actually owes its name to a charming story involving a friendly publican and a stowaway pooch named Winston.
Music We hear The Beatles and Queen and we hear them at the perfect volume.
Chips Like we’ve said before, there’s nothing wrong with a shoestring, aside from the fact they go cold quickly, they’re just not very exciting. These chippies get 2.5/5 spuds.
The Yard Stick A schooey of Coopers is $7.50. Top end of the price scale.

All up, this super cosy local taproom gets a 7.5 outta 10 plucky stowaway pooches.