The Nelson Hotel

Ornate art deco furnishings, an iconic oval main bar and mottle tiling still remain from the original design of the Nelson Hotel, and this Oxford Street favourite is as much of a favourite Bondi Junction watering hole as it was in 1938. The throng of people coming in for a refreshing pale ale, malty stout or one of the Nelson’s other Australian craft beers creates a similar scene as the interwar rushes to stock up on drink during daylight hours. Some things, though, have definitely changed. There weren’t big screens for major live sporting events in 1938, and the ever-changing menu of international cuisine could barely have been imagined for a neighbourhood hotel back in the day. It isn’t just pub food done well, it’s things like warm baby octopus salad, char-grilled green Yamba prawns, alpaca kofta with grilled eggplant and other new menu creations that make the Nelson Hotel one of Sydney’s best pubs for fine eating.