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I love a daggy pub. I love the laid-back energy and the staff that lean against your table as though you’re new-found friends. I love the cheap pup-sized pours and no-fuss happy hours, and burger nights and steak deals and the occasional sticky dancefloor. Remerging after a $2 million-plus glow-up, The Flynn is anything but daggy – but it delivers on all of the above, and it’s a win for Sydney’s CBD pub scene.
Revealed on Monday, March 16, the revamped 200-person venue from hospitality group East Coast Collective (whose portfolio includes a handful of regional faves) is pitching itself as a hybrid: part classic megapub, part casual restaurant.
For us, the most notable shift (aside from the schmick refurb from EJE Architects, which is a pared-back palette of greens and natural fibres, until you reach the bathrooms) is the service: with the back section of the venue offering a table-service approach, and the (notably warm) team operating like a well-oiled machine.
And then, crucially, there’s the food. Heading up the kitchen is renowned Sydney chef Justin North, who’s designed a menu that lands somewhere between elevated pub fare and easy-going dining. It’s broad, crowd-pleasing and just a little bit fancy without tipping into white-tablecloth territory.
Standouts include a prawn roll packed with sweet Mooloolaba prawns ($22 for two), wildy moreish tuna tostadas ($21 for two), a creamy vodka rigatoni speckled with stracciatella ($25) and a crab malfadine laced with chilli, garlic and tomato ($32). If you’re feeling more steakhouse than seafood, there’s an (expertly cooked, in our experience) 250g Riverina Black Angus rump cap served with café de Paris butter ($35, or $25 on Wednesdays). And yes, the humble chicken schnitty ($24) still holds court – as it should.
There are lighter options in the mix, too, like a green tea noodle tuna salad ($29) and a Flynn take on the Ceaser ($27), alongside a solid lineup of other pub faves.
On the drinks front, there’s a strong line-up of Margs, Spritzes and playful signature cocktails, plus a dependable rotation of beers on tap and glasses of wine from $9.
Happy hour runs from 5-8pm Monday through Friday, and there’s a bottomless brunch in the works for weekends.
It might not be as daggy as I’d like, but The Flynn has a lot going for it for your next post-work parmi. Find out more over here.
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