Colin Fassnidge: Why pubs are the heart of Sydney’s dining scene

The local pub has become the place to eat something you’re not expecting as the venues and chefs that run them become the heart of the city’s dining scene, Colin Fassnidge writes.

When I first took over Paddington’s Four in Handin 2014, working in a pub kitchen was looked down upon.

It was considered the place fine dining chefs went to die. But now the city’s pubs, and the chefs that run them, are the heart of Sydney’s dining scene.

Gone are the days where a pub meal consisted of a sausage roll and pie heated in the warmer or a wafer thin piece of luminescent yellow schnitzel.

The Four in Hand pub in Paddington.

Now pub chefs are shaking off the shackles of their fine-dining training and breaking the culinary rules. The local pub has become the place to eat something you’re not expecting … like schnitzel crumbed with oats and spices or vegetables that become the heroes of the dish.

Colin Fassnidge. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

I’m clearly biased (I run the bistro at The Banksia Hotel in Banksia) but pubs are also just a good vibe.

That traditional blokey culture is gone and many are really family friendly (we’ve got kids play equipment at The Banksia) and full of locals. I originally took over The Banksia as a drunken bet.

Could I turn a random, old pub around? And when we started working on it the locals would come past and ask, “Are you seriously doing this? Why?”

Now the pub has become the centre of the community and house prices in the area have gone up because of it.

For me, pubs really are the heart and soul of the hospitality industry. It’s about quality food and service (that you don’t have to pay a week’s wages for) in a fun environment.

And with the amount of talent in the kitchens of pubs around the city, they are only going to get better.

Colin Fassnidge is a chef and author of The Commonsense Cook