Sydney's best rainy day pubs

The Cricketers Arms
The Time Out team's favourite local, the Crix is what every pub in Sydney should aspire to be. They have an open fire in winter (under the photo of Neuschwanstein) to warm the cockles as you play Scrabble. Cosy as.

East Sydney Hotel
The only thing warmer than the crackling fire in the front bar of the ESH is the welcome. This proudly pokie-free country pub in the valley between Surry Hills and the 'Loo has booths, back room dining and big pints of the black stuff for those seeking shelter from the storm. 

The Kirribilli Hotel
It's the first thing you see as you exit Milsons Point station - a welcoming sight and a cracking, much-loved boozer. Order a James Squire, sit in the window and allow that comforting I'm-indoors-not-out-in-that wave to crash over you. 

Lord Dudley
Curl up on a Chesterfield sofa in front of their log fire with a pork pie and pint of Guinness - good for what ales you. 

Madame Fling Flong
A great place to hunker down, thanks to their great selection of board games. Our editor reckons to be unbeaten at Connect 4 in over two years. Which is a pitiful claim when you think about it. 

Rum Diaries
It's dark in terms of lighting, décor and speciality of booze and thus a perfect place to warm up after you've come in all rosy-cheeked from a bracing wintry coastal walk. Great service and good tapas too.

The Commons

Be lured in by the scent of the burning firewood. Sit by the fire with a glass of wine and enjoy their weekly Sunday roast, or slip down the stairs to Downtown for some cosy cocktails.

The Great Northern Hotel

Complete with antique leather couches, moose heads and a large fireplace, the tucked away corner of this north shore hotel feels more like a cosy ski lodge than a pub.

The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel

Settle in next to the beautiful old fireplace with a ploughman's lunch and one of six award-winning ales brewed on the premises.

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