Sydney's best beer gardens

Abercrombie Hotel

Broadway

The gravitational pull of the Abercrombie beer garden is as strong as it ever was. No longer strewn with empties like back in the days of Purple Sneakers, now it's big picnic tables, festooned lighting and frangipani trees that make this the place to be on balmy evenings.

Alexandria Hotel

Alexandria

One of countless unassuming pubs in the more industrial end of the Inner West, the Alexandria Hotel has a serious ace card up its sleeve – a 300-person capacity beer garden! Just imagine always being able to find some outdoor space without having to outrun other punters or stake out tables like a creep.

The Beresford Hotel

Darlinghurst

The whole venue is enormous but it is the beer garden that is the Beresford's main draw card. It’s leafy and well lit, and oft-filled with very beautiful people. On Sundays you can enjoy a relaxed buffet barbecue set up in the expansive outdoor area for $20 a plate.

Courthouse Hotel

Newtown

Surely one of the most famous beer gardens in Sydney, it feels like there is more outdoor space at the Courthouse than indoor. This is the sort of place where people get in early and leave late, whiling the day away with jugs of cider, a Courty burger and some tall tales in the afternoon sun. 

The Golden Barley Hotel

Enmore

The Barley’s charm is the diversity of its clientele. Expect old gents lamenting the sad decline in the standard of NRL and excited uni students trying to "out indie" each other. The bar prices are cheap’n’cheerful and there's a large Malaysian bistro out the back that opens onto an appropriately tropical beer garden. 

Golden Sheaf Hotel

Double Bay

The airy back bar is a huge space, but this ain't no beer barn: it's obvious some thought has gone into the set up. It's family friendly, with a main bistro area, another section with plasma screens so you can watch the big game but still be part of the action, and a quieter covered sitting area with '70s-style couches and tables. 

The Norfolk

Surry Hills

Once you’ve ordered your drinks you should head straight for the awesome outdoor area at the Norfolk. It’s leafy and modern, and the seats sport a very fetching navy and white nautical stripe. This is prime real estate so get in early to secure a spot.

The Oaks Hotel

Neutral Bay

In summer, North Shore folks clamour to quench their thirsts in the shade of the giant 70-year-old oak tree that shelters the cracking beer garden. As night falls, the tree is lit up with fairy lights and the air is heady with the smell of DIY barbecue.

The Rose Hotel

Chippendale

The front bar is killer, with crowd-pleasers and envelope-pushers on tap and a cocktail list that gets you where you want to go fast. But out back is where the action is. The beer garden is dotted with bench seats and big wooden tables and an open kitchen dishing out pizza and pub grub. And there’s even a bocce area. Bocce, people!

The Warren View Hotel

Stanmore

Stuck on the busy corner of Enmore and Stanmore Roads, The Warren View is an Inner West haven with a big, leafy beer garden that you can enter straight off the street. It's a family-friendly place that is surprisingly low on hipsters thanks to being just that little bit further from the University district.