Public House Petersham — Restaurant in Sydney

The Newington on Stanmore Rd in Petersham is an unassuming pub that’s been there for ages, but it’s recently been taken over by new owners and had a great, but simple makeover worth checking out.

Don’t be fooled by the simple, grey exterior, or even the ‘traditional’ pub interior (patterned carpets in a rabbit warren of rooms), the beer garden is where it’s at. Big enough to not feel cramped, but small enough to feel intimate, the brick-paved courtyard has been decked out with simple timber tables, and furniture with an industrial twist. There’s big potted plants, plants hanging from the ceiling and a little veggie patch for some greenery, and it’s mostly covered so the weather is no issue.

This is definitely a family-friendly pub, but with a kids play area at one end of the beer garden, and a good kids’ menu, they’re kept well occupied. The food is delicious, typical pub-fare but with an American twist – think cheeseburgers (amazing!!), fried chicken and paprika fries. The drink selection is great too – there’s a bar facing straight onto the beer garden, and it has a great selection of wines and local craft beers, with friendly attentive staff to match. This is definitely a new go-to for my partner for when we feel like a casual, no-fuss Friday night pub dinner with a chilled out,...

We decided to book for a birthday lunch here and took a birthday cake with us to bring out after the meal. All the staff were lovely apart from one girl who was in a red top. She had been out all night didn’t get home til early morning and was the most awful person in hospitality I’ve ever come across. We know this because she told someone in our party. Bar staff that served us were lovely. Food was great. When I asked this girl about the cake it was like I had two heads and spoke in a foreign language. You could tell she couldn’t be bothered so I said I would go get it myself in which she snapped at me not to go into the kitchen which I wasn’t I was just waiting at the door. I went to sit down and she brought the cake then when I went to get the cake box as I asked the other lovely girl she was in the kitchen and I heard her say just tell them we’ve destroyed it and started laughing not realising I was stood there. The other girl apologised profusely but damage done. We spent a lot with food and drinks such a shame as it was our first time there everything was perfect but she ruined it so unfortunately it will be our last time there. I told her when leaving she is in...

They desperately need more staff behind the bar. Like heaps more. Went to get a drink and the line was ten deep and there was one girl behind the bar. The other couple are wandering around ferrying drinks to tables. So I caved and figured I'd use the stupid thing to order from the table. 25 minutes later and still no drinks. They obviously need more staff behind the bar. But the immediate fix is to get rid of the table ordering option. People go to the bar, see the long line, so use the table ordering option instead, which takes more staff away from the bar, which makes the line longer, which means more people use the table ordering option, which, well, you get the point. It creates a viscous circle of slow service. It's a pub, people are used to ordering at the bar so make that the only option, but have four people behind there instead of one. This is definitely costing them revenue. Kudos to the manager however, who's trying to make the best of a...