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When’s the last time you enjoyed a proud Australian rissole burger? That long, hey. Thankfully, one Sydney chef has done the right thing and made them available seven days a week at a Redfern pub.
That pub being The Norfolk, freshly reopened after changing hands for the third time in four years.
For almost a decade, the place was run by Drink’n’Dine, beloved for its upstairs seafood shack, House of Crabs. In 2021, it was reopened by The People – which brought with it the excellent (and now-closed) wine bar La Salut by the Love, Tilly Group in the front room. Then, with its next owners Public Hospitality facing financial collapse late last year, hospo giant Solotel swooped in and added the century-old pub to its packed stable of Sydney boozers, stretching from the Opera Bar to Parramatta’s Albion Hotel.
But the latest iteration is so easy going you’d be forgiven for thinking life at The Norfolk has always been this way. It’s laid-back and unpretentious. There’s no fancy decor, no dramatic rebrand. Cover up the sports screens and you can almost imagine how it could’ve been when it first opened in 1921. And dogs, yes dogs, are welcome inside.
Mexican joint Rico’s Tacos has survived the rejig, retaining its spot at the back of the building after moving in last year. In fact the buzzy taqueria’s founder, Toby Wilson, has earned a promotion. He’s now running both kitchens and overseeing rissole rolling duties at The Norfolk.
Despite being mostly known for his former taco truck in Rosebery, Wilson has laid out a pub menu dripping in pure Aussie beer and gravy. Bang on brief: a $6 beef and VB party pie, a roast chook roll with dipping gravy, and a pork and fennel sausage roll that you can order by the inch. Each dish feels like a pre-gastropub throwback, hot and comforting and carb-rich.
Then there’s the rissole burger itself: a juicy ground-meat patty, layered up with beetroot, cheddar and lettuce, and dripping in sticky caramelised onion. It’s built like a classic milk-bar burger, anchored by a deeply savoury patty and lifted by the sweet-slick of onion and beetroot.
There’s more no-nonsense pub grub in the form of a colossal eggplant parmigiana – thickly layered, generously sauced and crisp-edged beneath its blanket of bubbling cheese. The sirloin steak comes with native pepper and mustard butter, light and nuanced, but the plate could benefit from a little extra moisture for those who like their steak saucier.
For a daintier affair, there’s the crumbed fish sandwich: two square-cut, white-bread sandos running with green chilli and preserved lemon mayo. The lightly crumbed fish is clean and flaky, serving up a powerful herby punch that might come on too strong for some diners.
In true local spirit, The Norfolk borrows a bunch of key ingredients from its Redfern neighbours. Its cameralised french onion labne dip is served with hot focaccia from Good Ways Deli. Its lamington ice-cream sandwich is created in collaboration with gelateria Ciccone & Sons. And its beer taps brandish the distinctive tinnie artwork of Yulli’s Brewery.
Pick of the drafts is actually a Norfolk x Yulli’s special edition brew: an exclusive dark lager collab brewed to “capture the spirit of Redfern in a schooner.” Meanwhile, you can get Negronis, Americanos and Tommy’s Margaritas on tap, as well as a 25-bottle wine list featuring a host of local labels. The cocktail menu holds a few surprises: a house vermouth served with fresh orange and olives, a ‘schooner darkly’ with cynar and Rechs beer, and a pickle Martini with vodka, dry vermouth, pickle brine and house pickles.
The new landlords have also arranged a hectic calendar of regular and one-off events. The schedule includes Tuesday trivia, a Thursday ‘spin the wheel’ prize draw and a Friday meat raffle. They also host a weekly ‘pints and parmy party’, monthly wine tastings, and a Sunday special of roast rolls and $10 Bloody Marys. Phew.
The Norfolk’s subtle reimagining hits the mark after a turbulent few years for the legendary Cleveland Street saloon. It’s a quieter kind of revival, grounded in comfort eats, cheap beer, and a sense that Redfern’s old local might finally be finding its feet again.