It has been a big year as we expanded proper in to Sydney; experiencing specials first-hand, meeting venue owners, managers and staff and getting to truly enjoy this incredible Sydney’s pub scene.
Some 2023 highlights by the numbers:
- 700 Sydney Specials
- 200 specials Newcastle, Central Coast and Regional NSW
- 1 million visitors to our platform
- 3.2 million page views
We personally tried more than 40 specials this year in Sydney (read all about the Melbourne Speshies here) with plans to eventually get around to everywhere we cover nation-wide.
Follow us on instagram to see everything we’ve tried so far.
One of our key values is that we always remain neutral, we don’t judge venues or specials on the platform. Our goal is to ensure the most updated list of pub specials in the country, reporting the facts so you can decide for yourself which specials you prefer and you consider the best.
But along the way we’ve found a few spots we’ve enjoyed more than others and wanted to share the places, dishes and experiences we’ve loved the most.
Jump to:
Our top 5 favourite happy hours
Our top 5 favourite special dishes
The best 5 overall specials & experiences
Our favourite happy hours in 2023
We wanted to celebrate the best happy hours in Sydney we got to experience for ourselves. We consider value for money, quality of drinks, taking into account offers for a longer period of time or outside the usual 4-6pm window and finally with discounted drinks beyond beer and wine.
And the Sydney Speshy for top notch happy hour goes to….
Tenner ($10) Espresso Martinis 5-10pm Sunday (and Thursday)
Maloneys Hotel, Sydney CBD
Tenner time features $10 HSD jugs and $10 espresso martinis 5-10pm and we opted for the latter
Two for one cocktails 5-7pm every day
Donny’s Bar, Manly
Couple of spicy margaritas for the price of one, quality drinks and bonus points for weekend happy hour.
$7 craft pints 6-8pm weeknights
The Beresford, Surry Hills
Craft pints for just $7 at the later time slot cemented this excellent happy hour as a personal fav.
$10 cocktails 6-8pm Thursday
East Village, Darlinghurst
Quality cocktails all night for just $10 makes for a great alternative to beer or wine and is top value for a hand made concoction.
Half price hand made cocktails 4-6pm weekdays
Insitu, Manly
Choose a pair of any one of their impressive list and they’re half price. We chose their famous Butterfly Lychee martini and it’s sublime even at full price.
Our 5 favourite dishes
We present the best special dishes we enjoyed in 2023 in Sydney. We don’t have any specific criteria, these are the dishes we felt were best executed and of the best quality regardless of price. These are in random order and we consider all of them worthy of being considered a top notch special in Sydney.
And the Sydney Speshy for favourite special dish goes to….
Steak Frites Wednesday $20
The Trinity, Surry Hills
Great hotel with an even better steak frite. Sit on their balcony beer garden and enjoy an epic steak at such great value.
Steak Night $18 & Happy Hour Tuesday
Lord Raglan, Alexandria
Top quality steak and a excellent happy hour with $8 pints for a couple of hours.
Parmi’s of the World, Thursday $21
Rag & Famish, North Sydney
Huge, quality parmi with chips and salad just $21. Fun pub.
Steak Night Tuesday $22
New Hampton Hotel, Potts Point
One of the best steaks we had. Lovely setting, looked after and great value.
Steak & Side Monday $20
Unicorn Hotel, Paddington
Very different steak night with choice of sides and extremely good value.
Finally, our 5 favourite all-round special experiences
These are the best all round specials and our favourite experiences in 2023 in Sydney.
Dishes we felt were the best experiences we would love to re-live and take in to account quality, food, drinks, execution, service and value for money. These are also in random order and we consider all of them worthy of being considered amongst the best specials in town.
The Sydney Speshy for favourite all-round experience goes to….
Steak Night + Tiger Jugs Wednesday $20
Haymarket Hotel
Exceptional quality steak at a great price point combined with $14 Tiger jugs made for an all-time happy hour. Add multiple sports on the big screens and it’s the perfect night out.
Tex-Fest Bottomless Lunch & Margs 2 hours
El Camino, The Rocks
Three course lunch and endless margaritas and beers for 2 hours. Enjoyed fajitas and tacos, excellent value.
Burger & Beer Saturday $28.90
Dove Olive, Surry Hills
Really good value, impressive size and bonus points for weekend special.
Tacos $6 and Margaritas $12 Tuesday
Lil’ Darlin’, Surry Hills
Excellent tacos and hand-crafted margaritas – great value in a fun setting.
Steak Sandwich & Schooner $20
East Sydney Hotel, Woolloomooloo
Sadly no longer available but had to give them a shout out for one of the great all-time steak sangas with fries and a schooner for just $20. Great little pub, a must visit in Sydney.
And a huge thank you for your support this year
To everyone who works at venues, makes drinks, cooks food, washes dishes, serves tables and everything in between – a huge thank you for all that you do. Hospitality is the essence of humanity and we are privileged to live in such an epic food city.
Thanks to all the punters out there chasing specials, thanks for supporting our venues and thanks for trusting us to help you find them.
On to 2024, bigger and better than ever with a few surprises in store
Sam & the EDC team ❤️