After more than a year of renovations, Camperdown pub Lady Hampshire has reopened as a live music venue with a $200,000 sound system, leafy beer garden and a strong food offering by former Baba’s Place chef, 25-year-old Brendan King.

The pub is set to get Parramatta Road pumping when it officially relaunches on Friday with “A Month of Madness” – five weekends filled with local music acts like Bootleg Rascal and Lyall Moloney.

King steps into a fully refurbished kitchen, with the creative freedom to put his own twist on classic pub fare. The menu, he says, was inspired by famed London restaurants Cafe Cecilia and St. John, as well as the Indian dishes of his childhood in suburban Sydney.

“I wanted the menu to focus on simple dishes, done well,” King says.

“There won’t be any tacky salads out of a box … or frozen, pre-battered fish and chips.”

But there will be Indian-inspired dishes such as spring roll samosas ($8), roast pumpkin with spiced yoghurt and coriander chutney ($12) and a Curries and Cans Tuesday night special ($20).

“The number-one thing I’m looking forward to people trying is the samosa spring rolls, filled with potato, peas, cumin, garam masala and all of those spices I grew up with,” King says.

“Every day after school, I’d eat a samosa, but the traditional triangle shape wasn’t going to work with the [time demands of] service.”

Elevated pub staples also feature on the menu, including Guinness shepherd’s pie ($22), half roast chicken with mash and mushy peas ($30), and sticky date pudding with salted Guinness butterscotch and vanilla malt ice-cream ($15).

The interiors have been revamped by former Tsubi designer George Gorrow, who has created a vintage Australiana aesthetic with a touch of rockstar grunge. There’s warm wood panelling, Persian rugs and a gallery wall of iconic nightlife photography. The mural of Australian greats (think Kath and Kim, Cathy Freeman and Steve Irwin), painted by Scott Marsh in 2016, remains.

Outside, the large beer garden has exposed, recycled brick and long, wood seating. Palm trees, creeping vines and fairy lights make this the place to be on a sunny afternoon.

“It was very important for us to retain as much original character of the venue as we could and take a hands-on, honest and raw approach [when] drawing inspiration from the venue’s history,” Gorrow says.

The pub, which first opened in 1862, has a troubled history. After two years of closure, former hospitality director Patrick “Paddy” Coughlan took over in 2016, renaming it from “The New Hampshire” to “The Lady Hampshire”.

Coughlan thought the pub had potential, given its proximity to Sydney University and King Street, and invested around $1 million in renovations. But just a couple of years later, the publican reportedly sold the property to a collective of five former St Joseph’s students.

According to ASIC, Coughlan was later disqualified from managing corporations for two years due to his involvement in the failure of three pubs, including The Lady Hampshire.

In March 2022, PUBLIC Hospitality Group bought the pub off-market for $11 million. The group has greatly expanded its portfolio in recent years, with other recent acquisitions including El Primo Sanchez, Oxford House and Empire Hotel.

Open Mon-Wed 10am-midnight; Thu 10am-1am; Fri-Sat 10am-3am; Sun noon-midnight.

Lady Hampshire, 91 Parramatta Road, Camperdown, theladyhampshire.com