Erskineville Hotel

Recent developments mean I have to upgrade my rating of the Erko from four stars to five stars. The haloumi and mushroom burger, which was previously just okay to me, is now reliably great. It may be solely due to the addition of a pickle but my palate is not refined enough to tell.
Furthermore, last week we were here for a house dinner to farewell a flatmate and beer was free — that’s right, free — on account of it being the staff Christmas party. How wild is that! (The thing that impressed me is that punters weren’t going crazy; everyone was just being cool and drinking as they usually would. And yet we live in a city with strict lockout laws because apparently we can’t be trusted to drink responsibly. Okay, political rant over.)
Staff are unfailingly lovely. Vibe remains fantastic. Erko wins!

Back to an old haunt, The Erko, at last getting back to former glories. The Smoker is what attracted us back, and went for small portions of brisket, pork collar, wings, Mac and cheese, and pork smoked beans. OK first the only average, the Mac n cheese, not too creamy. Now the positives… All the smoked meat amazing, couldn’t do a first second third thing-​all great. The wings were spicy with a dry rub, the brisket was juicy with charring on the meat and the collar was flavoursome and the barbecue sauce it was served with complimented it really well.
This is worth coming for.

Ahhh Erko, you never disappoint. Well, except for the security guy standing guard at the doors leading out to the outside seating area who would ask if you had friends out there every single time you went out to get more drinks and needed to come back in.
I’m not sure if he had amnesia or if that was the only line he knew. Either way, it got really annoying really quickly which is why I docked a star. Sorry Erko!
We also ate foods, the steaks were yummy! The mash just perfect as were the shoe string chips. Definitely good pub grub as they say.
The outside seating is still as lovely as ever, my wifey and I made friends with these two lovely boys at the next table when we decided to make glow stick bracelets — you see we were meant to do Sydney Rides the Night but she said cider and it all went downhill from there. We got into the spirit by joining the guys and making lots of glow stick necklaces and bracelets.
We rode home all wobbly but glowing like magic drunk faires on push bikes.

I thank god every time that I come here that The Erko is my local. Great food, great drinks and great people.

This isn’t my local, but god I wish it was
It’s a great place to meet people, it’s friendly, the staff are there every day (seriously that cute young fella is always there) and they are the happy clappy kind of Gen Y’ers rather than the surly kind. Whoever does their HR should be proud.
The food. Well. The food is amazeballs (hipster speak) and I mean absolutely great. The Chicken schnitzel (parmi version) is pretty damn good, but what sticks out more than anything else is the pork belly. Unbelievably good. un-​frigging-​believeable. Words can’t describe it adequately. You have to try it.
The usual assortment of oddballs, funny guys, fall guys, outlaw bikers, pimps, ho’s and poofs (I can use that word, I am one!) frequent this joint and they are more than welcome, and add to the wonderful atmosphere that is The Erskineville Pub.
Love this place, love this food, love the prices, and love more than anything the fact that I can be myself here.

Consistently great bar food and an ever changing range of craft beers.
This is our favourite local. We hit it up for weekday quick lunches and long sunday afternoons. The beer garden can get a little smoky so it’s great to be able to sit inside and still get sun, from the huge windows.

I heart the Erko
I’m a little bias because I live so close to it, but here goes.
The food: is great. Got all your basic pub food, but the you also have your daily specials, fajitas, ribs, steak and in winter they sometimes have a Vege pot pie. I love the Sweet Potato wedges and the Haloumi salad.
Atmosphere: so chill, so very chill. Small outdoor area which is just perfect for a midweek afternoon drink. You’ve got some pinball machines out back, and the pokies are so tucked away you completely forget that they are there.
Bar: Beer of the month, always a pretty good choice $ 10 (or there abouts) for a jug. They do simple cocktail jugs which are refreshing and reasonably priced. Staff are nice too.
The Erko is a great local pub and such a landmark of Erskineville. It still is the type of pub you see families have lunch in, where the locals eat and have a drink after work. I guess I’m relatively new to Erskinville, living here for just over a year and not really knowing ‘the good ol’ days of Erko pub’. But it still has a nice vibe and I really don’t think it has been taken over by the hipsters just yet. Locals still rule the Erko.

Good god. What happened here?
The Last time I came to the Erko it was still an «old man» pub. Something went down in the last 6 months or so, and I found I was doing a spit take when I walked in here on Saturday night.
I can understand wanting to attract a Hipsters, as they are essentially middle to upper middle class kids with money to burn. Do you need to attract them by adding Kitsch to your décor? Perhaps it is so.
Was I in Ambasada Sledzia somewhere in Krakow, all of a sudden? Was I in a dingy possibly dodgy Parisian bar, what with the giant cardboard cut out of the Eiffel tower complete with freaky mime mannequin over the bar? Was that Lana Del Ray serving me a jug of Coopers? Nope. I was still actually in Erskineville. This was through the looking glass, albeit with glazed over eyes.
There are vintage leather sofas. There are about 20 more tables than I recall. There are Books stuck on the front of the toilet doors. I guess you could read it while you’re waiting. «Dangerous boys» and «Daring girls»
The TAB room is long gone, and I noticed something about cowgirls. Of course.
The Juke box is still there, and has quite an excellent selection I might add. I did upset a few drunk ladies with my very non pop song choices, and remembered the power of $ 2.
The menu seems to have remained the same as it ever was. The Beer Garden stands testiment to an era gone by, as does the front outside seating area, where you can people watch and or snark about hipsters wandering up Erko road. Well Hey, it says Cowgirls are welcome here. if I wanna yell out «get along lil’ doggie» I will.
Check it out if you are taking a sample of what Newtown has to offer. The Erskineville road crawl is kinda developing quickly.

I’ve only ever been here on a weekday afternoon or evening, never on a weekend, so I can only hope it keeps it’s chillaxed not so crowded vibe.
It’s got a nice outdoor area to sit and sip when you’ve finished work but the inside can feel a little bit dingy.
What I like about this pub is the fact that I wouldn’t feel out of place sitting there drinking alone. You see quite a few people doing it, they’re just there to unwind and have a glass or two before they head home. It almost feels like a café sometimes.

A good little pub in the heart of the inner west. They recently got rid of all their sports betting machines (sadly not the pokies) and have a new bistro menu. It’s kid friendly and has a decent enough beer garden.

The Erko is the best place in the inner west for cheap beers. $ 10 jugs (slightly more if you want to be fancy and drink Coopers) are something that should never be scoffed at. It is a tradition to come along on a sunny Sunday afternoon, sit in the beer garden and take turns buying rounds until it’s way past dark and someone calls it that Monday morning means work.
For what it is, this place is hard not to love. It’s a bit run down, full of locals (not hipsters), a few painfully rude bar staff and prices that just keep you coming back!

The Erko is great fun and over the past couple of years has really cleaned up it’s act and become a true hotspot in Erskineville.
It has recently changed hands, so I am truly hoping the new owners take note of what the previous owner did — because it worked.
The food is all comfort and really good servings. For the drinkers, this is a great location to start or spend the night.
The (bloody) poker machines are out of sight, but you do have to walk through the TAB area to get to the back, but I don’t think the regulars at the Erko are as prissy as me about gambling areas.
To sum up — the Erko is great for mid week dinners or weekend lunches. It has been consistent, reliable and not stressful at all — except for parking, but that is not their fault.

The Erskinville Hotel just up the road from Erskinville train station is a nice old school pub where you can grab a drink and something to eat with the family or friends especially in the big beer garden out the back.
For anyone who needs a heart starter first thing in the morning, it does open at 8am although if not there will be something on each day worth popping in for with things like $ 8 steaks on Monday nights, trivia and bingo and the Friday night meat tray.
For those punters having a bet on Saturday there is a losing ticket draw to try make back some cash and the $ 10 Sunday roast is a good option for those not wanting to spend hours in the kitchen but still enjoy some good pub grub.
And if that’s not enough there’s $ 10 jugs of beers each day. A good pub!

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Does the thought of a $ 10 jug make you mouth water? Well they are available every night at the Erko and you can throw in a $ 10 steak with that too. They push a hard bargain here. I think that is almost an offer too good to refuse. The ambience is casual and doesn’t expect anything from you but a keen appetite. The staff are laid back but sympathetic to your need for a drink. It’s a big establishment so you don’t feel the crammed tightness of the crowds on the weekend and it does get quite busy in here on the main nights. The sum of the parts make the whole, bistro, beer garden courtyard make up the Erko in all of it’s splendour.