The Local Taphouse

You come to the Local Taphouse to drink beer, and very good beer it is. They’ll have up to 20 on tap at any one time, a rollcall of hard-to-find local craftsman and the odd international: things like the ‘Dog’s Breakfast’, a heady, bacon-rye number from Victoria’s Bridge Road Brewers, or the lifted aromatics of the ‘Triple Moine' from Belgium’s Du Bocq. Then there’s a bottle list littered with b-sides and rarities, like the life-affirming brews of Brussels’ Cantillon. On the ground floor is the public bar, complete with original floorboards, beige tiling, bentwood chairs, chesterfields and afternoon light. One floor up there is another, smaller, though equally charming wooden bar, the main, V-shaped dining room, and a private room for up to 12. There are worse ways to spend a winter Sunday than to grab a group, rent one of the rooms, split hefty hunks of meat with all the trimmings, working your way through that list. The rooftop has plenty more seating and yet another bar, with umbrellas and a log fire on hand to ward off the elements. The Taphouse is far removed from the filthy taps and dreary pours that haunt most of Sydney’s pubs. It's run by an informed, enthusiastic bunch, and is a stellar place for a schooner or two.