Pubs to Settle Into and See Out a Long and Lazy Sunday Session
Twelve pubs made for a lazy weekend sesh with mates — a beer garden to claim, a few pints to work through, and nowhere else you need to be.
A proper Sunday plan isn't about ticking off errands or making it an early night — it's mates, a shaded corner of the beer garden, and a jug that keeps getting refilled while the afternoon disappears. The best pubs for it have room to spread out, whether that's a sprawling courtyard, a rooftop that catches the sun, or a public bar built for lingering rather than moving people through. Kitchens matter too — a parmy or a proper Sunday roast keeps things going well after most people would call it a day.
Some of these rooms carry real history behind the pints — one Fitzroy pub was among the first in Melbourne to welcome Indigenous drinkers into its public bar, a Toowong local was where two women chained themselves to the bar in 1965 to fight for the right to drink alongside men, and a Woolloomooloo pub hides Australia's last remaining pub theatre in its basement. Others keep it simple: a rooftop, a view, and enough beer on tap to get through a whole afternoon. Presented by Honda ZR-V, here are twelve pubs to lose an entire Sunday to.
Read other guides in our A to Z with Honda ZR-V series:
After-Work Drink Spots to Meet Your Friends and Wind Down the Day
Fish and Chips to Take Down to the Water on a Warm Evening
Neighbourhood Restaurants the Locals Try Hard to Keep Secret
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BarBuilders Arms Hotel
211 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Standing on Gertrude Street since 1853, this landmark pub now runs under chef Andrew McConnell and publican Anthony Hammond.
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BarImperial Hotel
2-8 Bourke Street, Melbourne
One of Melbourne’s oldest pubs holds one of its biggest rooftop beer gardens, with 360-degree views over Bourke Street.
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BarThe Rochester Hotel
202 Johnston Street, Fitzroy
Known to regulars as “the Rochey,” this Fitzroy local has poured pints and hosted live music since the 1970s.
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BarThe Glenmore Hotel
96 Cumberland Street, The Rocks
Three levels stack up to a rooftop bar with unmatched Sydney Harbour views, anchored in The Rocks since 1921.
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BarThe Old Commodore Hotel
206 Blues Point Road, McMahons Point
Named after harbour ferryman Billy Blue, this North Sydney pub reopened in 2025 after a year-long, top-to-bottom rebuild.
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BarThe Old Fitzroy Hotel
129 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo
A 55-seat theatre runs in the basement of this 150-year-old Woolloomooloo pub, Australia’s only remaining theatre pub.
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BarThe Royal Oak
36 College Street, Balmain
Phil’s rooftop bar draws the Double Bay crowd for DJs and cocktails above this 1870s Eastern Suburbs local.
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BarThe Waratah
308-310 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst
A wrap-around veranda and sun-draped rooftop terrace anchor this double-decker Darlinghurst local, leaning hard into Australiana.
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BarBreakfast Creek Hotel
2 Kingsford Smith Drive, Albion
Waterside workers and politicians alike have propped up the bar at this 1889 heritage-listed Newstead landmark.
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BarRegatta Hotel
543 Coronation Drive, Toowong
Two women chained themselves to this Toowong pub’s bar in 1965, forcing Brisbane’s public bars open to women.
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BarThe Rose & Crown
275 Grey Street, South Brisbane
Queensland’s only hand-pulled cask ale flows at this South Bank gastropub, best known for its legendary Sunday roasts.
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BarEsplanade Hotel
Essex Street, Fremantle
The heritage hotel’s jail-themed Ball & Chain bar pours one of Fremantle’s biggest craft beer ranges, steps from Esplanade Park.
