There Will Be Beer :: Queen Victoria Hotel

September 2nd 2013

A guide to Sydney’s Pub’s and Bars for Cheapskates and Drunkards

We’ve all had those nights. The ones where we’ve had a desire to go out and do something, but cannot be bothered trying to figure out what. It’s a feeling that the generation with the audacity to be younger than my own has labeled the ‘Meh’ feeling.

It is on nights like this that I am glad a pub like the Queen Victoria Hotel exists.

A pub that seems to have dedicated itself entirely to that feeling of ‘Meh’; the pub is completely enjoyable while immediately forgettable.

Planted across the road from the Enmore Theatre, you can be forgiven for walking inside and immediately walking straight back out again.

The ground floor of the pub greets you with the one thing you don’t want a pub to greet you with: a TAB.

Now, I have nothing against gambling, in principle; but when an army of televisions surround you, smashing you over the head with betting odds, and the never-ending horse races, well, let’s just say I lose my temper.

In truth, the only way to escape from the gambling-addled, testosterone-filled atmosphere rife throughout the ground floor is to scurry upstairs and meet the better half of the QVH.

Level One is a welcome surprise. A warm, inviting area with not a single television in sight. A pool table sits silently near a window looking over Enmore Rd, and a bar staffed with some quietly confident cocktail makers (people who know their Tom Collins from their Tom Waterhouse), you’d almost forget you’re in a sports bar; perhaps not entirely, but enough to warrant another drink rather than moving on to a different bar.

Being a rather old fashioned pub, you’ll be treated to the occasional raffle, as well as free pool on Sundays (12pm-9pm), and Tuesday Trivia, hosted by the lovely Reta Svans, who is as generous with the correct answers as she is with food and drink vouchers (I have yet to attend and not win something).

The bistro has some absolutely delicious choices as well as an excellent range of vegetarian options (Halloumi burger anyone?), though if an order gets more complicated than “Can I have chips instead of mash?”, except to run into some mix ups.

The QVH manages to strike an even mix of sports bar and a quality inner-west pub. It doesn’t excel at either, but it should be applauded for successfully appealing to both the gambler and the inner-west drinker alike without favouring one over the other, as they are not crowds that mix well, with most pubs and bars catering to one or the other.

In the end, The QVH isn’t a pub that will blow you away, and honestly, unless you’re already in the area, there are other pubs and bars that you could go to and you’d probably have a better time.

That being said, if you are in Enmore/Newtown/Marrickville area, and in the mood for trivia, horse races, or just in a ‘Meh’ kind of mindset, then The QVH is for you.