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Balmain’s oldest boozer was renovated in 2023, and all the aged brass, leather and dark wood makes it feel like an entirely new venue. Bonus points for turfing the pokies, too, and installing a wood-burning fireplace and a restaurant with ambition.

A “modern European” menu means lots of steaks, side dishes and pasta, plus a particularly smashing prawn cocktail. And while there’s no chicken schnitzel – it’s not that kind of pub – there is a crumbed cutlet of juicy Berkshire pig planted in beurre noisette and honed with burnt lemon.

A charcoal grill does a lot of heavy lifting and the lamb chop is a standout, with sweet, grassy fat against rose-pink meat and an intense chimichurri. Pair it with a young Burgundy from the smart, broad wine list, before retiring to the lounge for a dense slice of chocolate cake and a respectable Manhattan.