Rose of Australia — Restaurant in Sydney

Howard’s Cantina and Cocktail Bar. Located above the Rose of Australia. Historically this iconic venue in Erskenville, having been there almost as long as the town itself – 1874! Since then it has been a popular venue amongst Sydneysiders to visit for a drink or bite to eat. It has undergone a number of renovations including the newest venture – Howard’s Cantina and Cocktail Bar. The Cantina itself is in keeping with the eclectic style of the area.

The new cocktail drink menu has launched and the Cantina opens from Thursday May 11. We were lucky enough to attend the media launch and heard a wonderful speech from Scott Leach, whose father bought the property 21 years ago. Howard’s Cantina is named after Scott’s father. They are proud to have incorporated different aspects of his father’s interests in the property: flowers and greens (he was a greenkeeper), bench tables as he enjoyed shared dining.

We tried some of the handcrafted cocktails, a ‘Paloma’, ‘espresso martini’ and a smoked negroni with infused Grand Marnier hicktory chips, as well as a ‘whisky sour’ that was topped with Barossa shiraz. The bar is sophisticated and staffed by some talented cocktail makers.

The menu, designed by Chef Chris Bell who has put together a sharing menu with a fine array of small plates, larger options as well as some beautiful desserts.

We began by trying some key components of their antipasto plate; charcutterie meats, cheeses, red peppers, dips and breads. Huge servings and high quality ingredients. From the tapas menu, there was seaweed crisp with lightly dressed cucumber, raw tuna sitting atop house water crackers with smoked shallot and preserved lemons, we tried a beautiful trout pastrami with horseradish and crème fraiche, bresola with smoked tomato petal and orange.

One of our favourite foods of the night was the appleboy smoked lamb ribs with fresh oregano, lemon and chilli, such a beautiful flavor and the meat was cooked perfectly. Another great little snack was the mini pork and veal sausage rolls, with a rhubarb puree and aioli. The Howard’s lobster roll was creamy and topped with caviar.

Some of the larger options include whole whey braised lamb shoulder, flank steak and cooked salmon

The orange cake and rocky road were outstanding desserts. With so many great food options to try, I would strongly suggest a couple of visit! We’ll certainly be going back!

The atmosphere is fun, comfortable and music playing by a DJ to make for a...

As you’ll see from my profile, I never leave bad reviews. I used to live in Erskineville and this was my favourite pub between 2016-2020. I went on Sunday for the first time in ages and took my beautiful golden retriever. We sat outside as dogs aren’t allowed in the pub here which is totally fine. While waiting for the food to arrive I asked the bar staff for a water bowl for my dog. I was told in a very gruff manner, “there is one out there already”. I said I’d looked and couldn’t find it, so was told it’s on the pavement by the tree. It was POURING with rain, so rather than stand in the rain and get soaked with my dog I picked up the water bowl and brought it back to the table. An older woman with short dark curly hair and glasses saw it and came straight over to us and told me off in the most horrible tone- “go and put that back where you took it from, you can’t have that here”. I said I’d asked for my own bowl and wasn’t given one, she said “no you’re not allowed to have one here, just go and put it back right now”. It was so, so rude and I was remarkably embarrassed to be chastised like a child just for giving my dog a drink. The scouse girl behind the bar was just as rude. There was a lovely lady with blonde hair and glasses who was very polite, but the other two staff should not work in hospitality, they were unbelievably rude. A simple and polite “I’m so sorry council doesn’t allow us water bowls here” or a brief explanation of whatever their ludicrous reason for not giving your dog a water bowl outside on the asphalt is, would have been more polite than berating me like a naughty child in such a rude and angry tone.

I live in Balmain where 90% of the beautiful pubs are dog friendly and they have treats, water bowls and lovely welcoming staff. I won’t be going to the Rose in Erskineville again. Photo of the offending thirsty dog in situ where he wasn’t allowed to have a water bowl! Just to make it clear; my complaint is NOT that the pub doesn’t allow dogs inside, it’s the absurd ‘no water bowl’ rule, and the foul delivery from the staff. It was hostile and embarrassing, I cannot believe anyone would think it’s acceptable to speak to patrons like that when they are just sitting quietly and minding their...

The refit - while still a work in progress is fantastic. The new room overlooking the street where the bottleo used to be is just beautiful. Was there in the evening and the lighting on the exposed brick is devine - great space. The room, which almost feels like a covered beer garden has board games and jenga - unsure if its catering for kids or hipsters but I was there with a tribe of 4 small humans in tow and it kept them entertained and quiet! We felt very welcome and comfortable in a family friendly space that still manages to be sophisticated and cool and seemingly appeared to be able to well cater to both demographics ... unsure if the sophisticated and cool would agree with my mummy demographic bias :) The food - having had a very disappointing feed at The Bank up in Newtown for lunch that day - the food here (appears to be a new menu from when I was last here pre reno) was fantastic - good quality and lots of it. Great bang for buck. I orderd the lamb pizza and at $16 was expecting an individual size - instead a UFO sized disc of awesomeness that could have easily fed my entire family arrived at the table . Not only was it an incredibly generous portion, the lamb was cooked perfectly - you know how you often get the feel that they chuck any old off cut onto a pizza base just to get rid of it??....not here, there was some serious pride that went into cooking that meat. Coupled with a heap of roasted veg and a beautifully spiced yoghurt it was one of the best pizzas I've had. Amazign value. The service - fabulous, the girls on shift that night were friendly, professional, accomodating and even offered drinks table service (unsure if we were just lucky or spoiled or whether this is the norm, but it was the bomb!) Well done Rose - I'm a local and have been disappointed so many times venturing out for a feed at our various watering holes around our lovely little patch, but you got it so right that for the first time ever I felt compelled to take the time to write this little spiel and say so. Thanks, I'll be back and I'll be...