The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre

Overview

Beloved inner west brewery Hawke's Brewing Co's 2100-square-metre Marrickville brewery is home to its own pub paying homage to 1980s boozers and the beer's namesake. The Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre boasts a retro fit-out, a highly nostalgic bistro and the full range of Hawke's beers.

The 300-seat venue opened on the cusp of Hawke's fifth anniversary. Inside, you'll find a pub or community centre-style restaurant and bar decked out with wood panelling inspired by Old Parliament House. Walking through the venue, you'll find walls lined with steel brewing tanks, a patio area, and a pool room filled with Bob Hawke memorabilia.

Food-wise, patrons can enjoy The Lucky Prawn, an 80s Chinese-Australian bistro that the Hawke's team has created with help from Nic Wong (Cho Cho San, Bodega). The food is a throwback, just like the rest of the venue. There's prawn toast, sang choi bao, honey king prawn, sizzling beef and the mother of all nostalgic creations, deep-fried Viennetta.

While a Hawke's brew is obviously the recommended beverage of choice at The Lucky Prawn, you can also order a bottle of Crown Larger for special occasions.

"While we named the venue in his honour, we were mindful of being sycophantic and simply plastering imagery of Hawkie all over the place," Hawke's co-founder Nathan Lennon says. "I think we've achieved a balance that pays tribute to Bob in the Pool Room while delivering an authentic Australian experience throughout the rest of the space."

While The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre is drenched in nostalgia, Lennon and fellow owner David Gibson wanted to ensure it was also sustainable and future-focused. The brewery is run with the help of a 100-kilowatt rooftop solar farm and houses several eco-innovations alongside the venue. The building's carbon capture system, developed with UTS Tech, uses carbon dioxide from the beer's fermentation to help grow plants and vegetables in the venue.

Images: James Adams.

Appears in:

The Best Sydney Brewery Bars for 2023