Why you goVintage pubs often come with their own distinctive brand of charm. Yet, even in a city boasting a fair share of century-old alehouses, The Old Fitz stands out as something special. Founded in 1860, it’s one of Sydney’s oldest watering holes and, unlike others of its kind, it feels like a proper local rather than a tourist attraction. Over the course of its long life, the venue has meant many things to many people. Some may remember it as the corner pub that helped fuel the popularity of laksa in the noughties. Others know it as the home of Australia’s only pub theatre, built in the basement in 1997. In more recent years, a new generation has come to embrace it as a place to enjoy some of the city’s most exciting cooking, thanks to the talents of young chefs like Nicholas Hill and Anna Ugarte-Carral who have passed through the kitchen. But no matter whether you rock up for a feed, a show or an ice-cold schooner, you always leave with a richer appreciation for the particular role pubs play in Australian life.
