The best pubs in Australia

Where: Balmain, Sydney, NSW

Established in 1857, the heritage-listed Dry Dock is the oldest licensed pub in Balmain. It reopened at the end of 2023 after a year-long renovation, and hooly dooley, she's a beauty. There's to love, including how the extensive reno retained the heritage and charm. We're also fans of the three distinct areas – the bar that welcomes everyone (including dogs!); the cosy lounge bar complete with leather couches and a crackling fireplace; and a stunning, light-filled dining room that has Friday lunches written all over it. The food is excellent too – our picks include the charred, rosy steak with Café de Paris butter; plump prawns, sweet with creamy Marie Rose sauce; and the bang-on scotch egg, with its jammy centre and kick from fruity piquante sauce.

Where: Eltham, Lismore, NSW

This charming country pub, just 30 minutes from Byron, is worth the detour for local music and a fresh take on modern Aussie pub fare. Built in the early 1900s and lovingly restored in 2019, The Eltham Hotel has been a local hot spot for more than a century. The pub grub here is slightly fancier than your average watering hole, featuring seasonal plates like house flatbread with seaweed butter, blue cheese potatoes, roo toast and a 250-gram black Angus steak. You can admire the pub's retro-paint job and towering palm trees from a shaded spot out front, settle into the cosy dining room for an evening meal, or kick back with regional beer or wine in the courtyard. 

Time Out tip: Instead of staying in Bryon, spend the night at The Eltham Hotel in one of five spacious, character-filled rooms.

Where: Silverton, NSW

We’re going outback, baby, where the Silverton Hotel is your gateway to legendary Aussie rocker hospitality at its roots. And by roots, we mean a long history of being featured on the big screen. The Silverton has been seen in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Mission Impossible II, to name a few, and a pimped-out car from the set of Mad Max II is casually parked out front. Expect the food to be just as old school with their famous hotdogs and grub, including wedges, burgers, and bangers and mash. Wash it all down with a nice cold brew on tap.

Time Out tip: The Silverton Hotel is a brilliant pit stop between Broken Hill and South Australia, or even from Sydney to Coober Pedy (if you want to take the scenic route).

Winner of both Time Out's Best Casual Drinking Venue and People's Choice awards in 2023, Marquis of Lorne is numero uno in Melbourne's pub scene – not just in our minds but in the hearts of many pubgoers across the city. In this town's fast-paced hospo scene, it’s sometimes easy to take for granted the local haunts we frequent over the years and have come to know and love. Bright, shiny openings dominate our feeds, and, especially in the food space, there’s always somewhere new and compelling to visit. But some places seem to maintain everlasting allure – and judging by Marquis of Lorne’s consistently packed-out capacity since its 2014 refurbishment, it’s one of them.

Where: Carlton, Melbourne, VIC

Laidback yet sophisticated, this award-winning pub in Carlton has curated a gastropub experience that feels special without being stuffy. You'll hear it spoken of with a level of fondness only reserved for Melbourne's very best watering holes. This could be in part due to its generous adaptability to a diverse range of pub situations: celebratory dinners, student pint rounds (Australia's top-rated university is just around the corner), or even wine-tasting with a friend; here, the list is excellent. Punters have loved this pub since it first opened in 1854, and it doesn't look like the current set are going anywhere else, anytime soon. Fun fact: The Lincoln won our Pub of the Year award in 2017.

Where: Fitzroy, Melbourne, VIC

Part of Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann's Trader House group, Builders Arms Hotel is one of the more low-key venues in the Melbourne collection. The front bar still feels like the neighbourhood boozer it started as in 1853. You can order counter meals to eat at the high bar tables, but the real action is in the attached bistro, which has been through a few changes of its own over the years. The bistro menu is ‘just’ pub food in the same way that truffles are ‘just’ fungus. Start with some snacks that will ruin you for any future bar munchies. Whipped cod roe is silky smooth, scooped with toasty flatbread soldiers, while a dish of lettuce hearts with anchovy and guanciale deserves the ultimate Caesar salad crown.

Where: Birdsville, QLD

The Birdsville Hotel extends a very warm welcome to those seeking refuge from their great Simpson Desert expedition. The pub is somewhat of an outback Queensland celebrity with its hat wall for the locals of Birdsville (if you commit to at least one year of unbroken service, you too could be featured on the great wall). The pub is a no-frills collection of pure Aussie memorabilia, and the joint goes off at various points throughout the year, like during the massive Big Red Bash music festival. 

Time Out tip: No trip to Birdsville is complete without demolishing one of the nearby Birdsville Bakery’s legendary curried camel pies.

Where: New Farm, Brisbane, QLD

A visit to Brisbane must include experiencing the singular beer garden at 'The Bruns’. For a beer garden that’s been open for less than ten years, it has the energy and the buzz of a venue that has established itself in the community over decades. Just five years after opening the garden, it won the 2019 Altos Tequila Sustainability Bar for its investment in native stingless bee hives and native bee-friendly plants. The crew at The Brunswick even grow their own produce for cocktails. If that’s not enough to love already, then you will fall head over heels with the wide selection of local Brisbane gins. Not only do they hero local products, but they also champion the local community and have a street pantry and a book exchange at the entrance to the beer garden. Bring the family for a fun round of Giant Jenga or Connect Four. You can even bring the pooch.

Time Out tip: Love a pub lunch? The Brunswick dishes up $17 lunch specials daily, including fish and chips, chicken schnitzel, cheeseburgers, black bean chilli and more.

Where: McKinlay, QLD

You may know this cracker pub by its former name, the Federal McKinlay Hotel, as it was called in the film Crocodile Dundee. There may not be any crocodile poachers on site, but they’re known to host a pretty epic pool competition on the regular. Pull up a stool at the bar or head out to the verandah and sip away while you admire the Crocodile Dundee memorabilia. If you’re visiting from interstate, you wouldn’t be the first traveller from afar – many people have been known to travel all the way across Oz to check out this famed watering hole.

Time Out tip: For road-trippers rolling in from far and wide, Walkabout Creek has its own caravan park equipped with both powered and unpowered sites, a camp kitchen and a laundry.

Where: Guildford, Perth, WA

This old girl had a majestic makeover after being destroyed by a fire in 2008, and while she’s a pretty sight, she still retains that historical charm from her glory days. You’ll find a sense of familiarity with the pub’s original fireplaces, original exposed brick walls and other recovered decor. However, we suggest making new friends at the upstairs bar with a retractable roof for all-season silliness. 

Time Out tip: Win the day with The Guildford’s Whole Damn Lot platter, including one kilo of meat goodness (smoked in the on-site smoker, named Thomas) and seasonal sides.

Where: North Perth, WA

Forget about the impersonal arena tours – if you want good old-fashioned, rock ‘n’ roll, intimacy-at-its-core live music, this is the place to be. Tame Impala, Bernard Fanning and Oh Wonder! are just some of the artists to grace this pub’s long list of hosted acts. The Rosemount has drink specials every single day of the week and a newly renovated beer garden to cool off after your rockin’ time at “WA’s go-to stage”. Think classic pub grub meets modern faves, like poke bowls, quesadillas and jerk chicken.

Time Out tip: Swing by the Rosemount for weekday happy hour from 4pm to 6pm, with $6 house wines and $9 pints.

Where: Margaret River, WA

Originally built as a hangout for Margaret River’s emerging surf culture in the ’70s, ’The Tav’ welcomes a wide mix of world-class winemakers, sports stars, local legends and travellers from every continent. Settlers support the local music scene through regular gigs and open mic nights. It also backs WA’s local producers by featuring only 100 per cent Australian seafood on its menu and spotlighting many Aussie wineries in its 600-list wine bible. 

Time Out tip: You're bound to fall in love with the Margaret River Region – so extend your stay and tick off our ultimate list of must-do experiences.

Where: Adelaide City, SA

This bright yellow pub changes its menu daily, but you can always count on their offerings to include a nice juicy scotch fillet, fish and chips, one of their signature curries, and some vegan and vego options. The Exeter's menu has a bit of an Asian influence, so look forward to specials, including fresh Vietnamese beef salads and warm bowls of laksa. The drink options include a fabulous list of SA drops at even more fabulous prices, and they’re known to serve up a mean glass of Krug Champagne. They’re a proud no-pokies venue with plenty of live tunes on the weekends and have a prime possie smack bang in the middle of Adelaide’s artsy East End precinct.

Time Out tip: The Exeter stays up until 3am daily, so it's the perfect place to wind down or amp up after a show in town.

Where: Battery Point, Hobart, TAS

Opened in the 1800s, the Shipwrights Arms, aka ‘Shippies’ to locals, is a Battery Point icon that’s been serving mariners and civilians for more than 200 years. From the nautical memorabilia on the walls to the fresh seafood on the menu, this pub honours its harborside heritage. Relax with a pint by the fire or book a table in Shoal, their light-filled garden pavilion featuring an indoor rainforest and a rare Huon Pine. Don’t miss their granita oysters, fall-apart lamb shoulder or the indulgent espresso parfait to round out your visit.

Time Out tip: Shippies is just a short walk from Salamanca, making it a great op for a pint and a parmie if you're based in the city. 

Where: Daly Waters, NT

If hats on a wall weren’t quite quirky enough for you, dangling bras might just do the trick. Daly Waters is no five-star establishment, and that’s the whole appeal. You can’t help but be charmed by the funky interiors that feature a display of hundreds of expired licenses and a curated junkyard that’s reminiscent of the pub’s long outback history. The Northern Territory’s rivers and billabongs are a hot spot for barramundi fishing, and what better place to sample the catch of the day than fresh off the grill from Daly Waters? Order the beef ‘n’ barra for the perfect mix of classic pub grub and fresh regional produce, available between April and October.

Time Out tip: While in town, head across the road to Tim's Junk Yard – a 30-odd-year-old museum housing a random mix of vintage cars and bikes. It's kinda charming and kinda weird.