We’ve all been there… maybe you just don’t remember it too well. That pub on the corner of Goulburn Street and Wentworth Avenue in Surry Hills formerly known as The Macquarie. It was great for people watching and late night drinking (given that it is outside the lock-out zone). But great food and premium drinks were not reasons you would have chosen to frequent this establishment.
But some things have changed. Say goodbye to The Macquarie and hello to Hotel Harry, a place where the food and drink offering now gives you plenty of reasons to make this a new local favourite.
‘Hotel Harry’ is a throwback to the buildings first name when it opened in 1912. Some parts of this historic building have been revived like the original leadlight windows. However, that is where the step back in time ends, as I cannot imagine that John Smith the chimney sweep and Bruce Mann the bootmaker would have shared a Barbacoa while sipping on a Pisco Punch in brightly coloured surrounds.
At the Harpoon Harry bar on the ground floor, the focus is on Barbacoa – the original slow-cooked Latin barbeque. All the options on the menu sound delectable, particularly the jerk chicken with sesame pipian, apple roasted pork neck riblets and cerveza glazed beef short rib. So it is only natural that we order the Harry’s Mixed Grill, which includes all of them along with seasonal pickles, Island flatbread and adobo barbacoa sauce plus our choice of side. We can’t choose a side, so we order two – the cauliflower queso fundido (essentially in a gooey cheese sauce) and the Cuban black beans.
There is ample food for a few of hungry diners (who have already shared ‘Dressed Guacamole’ with apple smoked bacon, super seed salad, jicama & Brazilian pear salad and queso fresco, Baja fish tacos with zesty lime and wood roasted eggplant with ancient grain salad & goats crema). And it is all delicious. Of the Barbacoa meats, my pick was the beef short rib – it was the next level of juicy and tender with a glaze that was more subtle that the pork and a little sweeter that the chicken – washed down with a glass of the Satamayor Cabernet Franc Rose from the hotel’s exclusive South American wine selection.
With the Terraza open-air terrace now open for drinks and nibbles upstairs and the Paladar Dining Room set to open soon, Hotel Harry is set to become one of Sydney’s ultimate drink and dine destinations.
Harpoon Harry
40/44 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02) 8262 8800