Here are all the pubs you can visit on this epic (and historic) Sydney pub crawl

With 19 public houses dotting the suburb, it’s not unusual for a Saturday night in Balmain (AKA Sydney's pub capital) to involve hopping from one pub to the other. Now, there's an official way to do it with Balmain Rozelle Heritage Pub Trail.

So, how does it work? Out of the front of each of the 19 stops is a metal plaque in the sidewalk with a QR code that you can scan and log your journey. You can pop into one or two, but we reckon you should really make a night of it. And when we say there’s a pub for everyone, we really mean it – some of the venues even welcome children and fur babies with open arms. 

The itinerary starts with the pokie-free Merton Hotel before heading onto other live-music-loving venues like The Bridge Hotel, The Native Rose Hotel and The Garry Owen Hotel. You can party on at The Sackville who have DJs playing late into the night on Saturdays and dine on French delicacies at their bistro Chez Blue. The trail then meanders onto the sunny beer gardens at Dick’s Hotel, The Balmain and East Village Hotel.

You’ve got rustic charm galore like at legendary Sunday roast-slinging Welcome Hotel, The Cricketers Balmain, The London Hotel and The Bald Rock Hotel, plus those that are heritage listed like The Riverview and Royal Oak Balmain.

And then you can fancy it up a bit at The Dry Dock’s restaurant, which will be serving caviar and charcoaled goods, chef Manu Feildel’s (from My Kitchen Rules) new bistro up the top of the Red Lion Hotel offering punters a taste of fine French fare, and The Three Weeds pumping out their signature puffy bread at the in-house Totti’s Rozelle. 

There are also some novel pubs that you have to tick off your list like the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party, Unity Hall Hotel, and The Cat and Fiddle Hotel where The Whitlams and The Waifs kicked off their music careers.

Though not technically a pub, you can add a bonus addition to your expedition by finishing up at White Bay Beer Co – Balmain’s very own brewery and supplier to many of the other pubs on the trail - and now the official beer of the Sydney Swans!

The Balmain Rozelle locality is a part of the 24 Hour Economy initiative from the NSW Government. The plan is to revive Sydney’s nightlife, and what better way to start than with a 20-stop booze fest. We’ll drink to that.