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.
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