Enmore Hotel

The Enmore aims for two things: simplicity and community. “I think in a complicated world, people are sort of looking for the simple pleasures of a local pub,” says owner, Ged Dore. In fact, the pub website’s banner headline plainly states "restoring the local".

The pub’s thoughtful look and feel was a collaborative effort between Dore, Braham and licensee, Brigette Jakobsen. If you walked in and ignored the smartphones on tables, you’d easily believe you were standing in a Sydney pub 45 years ago.

Every facet of the small venue and its autumn colour palette says Australia in the 1970s–from the jukebox playing “Aussie hits” to the chenille covered orange chairs, and from the old school NRL memorabilia to the different shades of brown tiling and doors in the bathrooms. Working in collaboration with Braham, the venue’s high top tables and stools were custom made by Marrickville’s Reso & Co to resemble classic pub furniture of the time. The simple pub pleasures of a pool table or an AC/DC pinball machine also reside for entertainment.

With a tap list of local craft beers and classic standards, the pub isn’t necessarily aiming for a mix of past and present but is pouring good products sure to please anyone popping in for a schooner. “We’re just keeping it simple,” says Dore. “If you’ve got quality, it doesn’t matter whether it’s new or old. It’s just cold beer.”

The pub is now also a must-do for any member of the Resch’s Appreciation Society, with the Inner West favourite on tap, some silver bullet tinnies in the "cold beer" fridge, and a large mural of the retro NSW logo painted on the back wall above some actual wooden grandstand seating. 

If you’re after something hot to eat to go with that cold beer, they’ve also got you covered. But once again, the Inner West venue is keeping it simple. Without a kitchen to cook up the usual pub grub, the Enmore Hotel is offering fresh gourmet pies and toasting up hot jaffles in house. With only counter meals on offer, the pub isn’t trying to compete with the dozens of surrounding restaurants. “We’re actually just saying, we’ll have you before and after,” says the pub’s owner.

Image credit: Chantel St Quintin