The Royal Oak

The Royal Oak opened in Balmain in 1878 as Hollis's Hotel and picked up its current name in 1898. The two-storey rendered brick corner is heritage-listed, with a Victorian Free Classical façade from 1886. Maureen Thornett has been the publican since 1987 — thirty-seven years as of her 2024 induction into the AHA NSW Hall of Fame and the Cyril Maloney Medal that went with it. Her daughter Sophie works alongside her. The kitchen runs a weeknight-special rotation (mussels Monday, roasts Tuesday, schnitzel Wednesday, pasta and pinot Thursday), plus a Sunday roast of Berkshire pork or White Pyrenees lamb with Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

Dogs are welcome in the covered outdoor seating, which has shelter and heaters through winter. It's the only pub in Balmain where the publican has been in place longer than most of the current regulars have owned their houses.