Carlisle Castle Hotel — Restaurant in Sydney

Ok, I used to be a regular back in the late 80s early 90s when I lived in the area. In more recent years I used to visit with my family, & dog, when the restaurant first opened. Last night I dropped in for a few beers in the evening & was happy to see/hear a band playing. Mostly I was drinking pints of light beer followed by a few Newtowners. When I went to grab another, the bar person refused because I had already had "too many", apparently. When I informed this person I had mostly been drinking light beer they didn't flinch, but instead offered me a pint of water. Somewhat gob smacked I left for another pub down the road where the bar staff happily served me. That's an end of an era for me. I won't be returning...Also, & I wasn't gonna mention this, one of the bar staff was so cool & unwelcoming they were almost a hologram. I've seen this a lot in Newtown from the 90s onwards. It you're that cliquey & intolerant of the general public maybe don't work in...

A couple of friends of mine went into bathroom together and came out, immediately accused of doing drugs (understandable that it looks dodgy but the way it was dealt with was really unprofessional). Offered for the lady to check our bags, gave her our IDs etc (she did not check our bags??). She then served us in a completely rude and disrespectful manner. If you don't care enough to check our bags, observe how sober we were and how nicely and respectfully we were treating the situation, then to make the rest of our night completely unpleasant was really awful. We were customers looking for a relaxing night after work and observing not only the lady to us, and to other customers (telling them off in an awful manner) I also noticed another staff member as disrespectful and not attentive whatsoever. Will NOT be coming back here and will not recommend this place to...

Great pub grub, freshly sourced, well plated up. Very reasonably priced. For example a large garden salad is $10. At times this place can look near empty at the front, but out the back it's often packed! Would easily fit groups of 50+ They even have two pianos (1 admittedly well out of time). A brilliant pianist was playing when we visited. He had absolute matey of the keys, it was an honor to sit and watch him. Would come back on that alone. The fact that the place is clean, safe, large in size and gentle on the pocket makes it a big plus! Will definitely be back. Highly recommend, for a traditional local pub without all the hipster, hygienic minimalist outdoor look that many of the others have. Parking available on the side streets near by. Few minutes walk from Newtown...