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 2024 highlights by the numbers:
- 1,000 Sydney Specials
- 250 specials Newcastle, Central Coast and Regional NSW
- 1.4 million visitors to our platform
- 5 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 2024
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….
Kinselas, Darlinghurst
$6 house beer, wines and spirits every single day in the later time slot 7-9pm. Magnificent.
Trinity upstairs, Surry Hills
Upstairs in Tilly May’s, enjoy a later $12 cocktail happy hour from 7pm to 9pm Tuesday to Friday.
Kings Cross Hotel, Potts Point
Choice of house wine, spirits and beer selection from Carlton, VB, Great Northern, Pure Blonde $6
Castlereagh, CBD
50% off – back in Jan
Rose Hotel, Chippendale
Cheap weekend jugs, no longer available but they do have $6 schooners for 6 hours 12-6pm with 6 selections to choose from weekdays.
Our 5 favourite dishes
We present the best special dishes we enjoyed in 2024 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 Night
Lord Roberts, Darlinghurst
No longer available but an excellent steak night enjoyed during game 3 of Origin in a packed pub. Excellent atmosphere and an even better steak. Hopefully bring their steak night back.
Taco Night Tuesday
Hotel Downing, CBD
Tasty tacos for just $3 a pop and a great happy hour for Tuesday, 5-7pm with $6 beer wine or spirits. We had a taco and a G&T for $9 before a frozen margarita for dessert.
Burger Lunch Thursday
Hyde Park House, Darlinghurst
Their range of burgs are just $16 all day Thursday, served with chips. Have had both the beef and chicken burger on different occasions and both are great value.
Wings & Schooner Thursday
Surly’s American Tavern, Surry Hills
Top quality wings by the kilo served with a schooner from 12pm Thursday for $25.
Schnitty Night Wednesday
Carrington, Surry Hills
Tuesday night $18 Schnitzel from 5pm. Stick around for Drag Trivia with host Carmen Geddit.
Finally, our 5 favourite all-round special experiences
These are the best all round specials and our favourite experiences in 2024 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 and Cheap Pints
Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills
Tuesday nights with this amazing rump steak for just $20. Another fave of ours is the later happy hour and theirs is perfect; 6pm to 8pm with $6 house wines, spirits, tap schooners along with $9 pints of beer seven days a week.
Steak Night & Pints for Schooner Prices
Penny, Potts Point
One of our favourite steak nights all year, Penny’s serves up a classic Wednesday night for just $24. Enjoy a pre-dinner drink with happy hour 4-6pm; pints for schooner prices and $2 off the price of wines & spirits.
Katsu Schnitz & Happy Hour
Hotel Harry, Surry Hills
Fabulous pub in the middle of Sydney, @harpoon_harry has an excellent Schnitz special Monday night. $15 Chicken Schnitzel + $20 Weekly Schnitzel Special, the latter was a katsu snitz cooked as well as any we’ve ever had. Happy hour is a ripper too, 4-6pm weeknights with $6 beers + $8 wine + $8 spirits + $10 cocktails.
Burger & Schooner + Happy Hour
East Village Hotel, Balmain
Thursday night beef burger lunch or dinner with a mountain of fries and a schooner for just $25 and every part of it was delish (note: it’s now $20 without a schooner but still great value). Tack on a weeknight happy hour 4-6pm with $6 schooners, $8 wines, $12 spritz and $15 signature cocktails and you’re all set.
Vegan Schnitzel & Happy Hour
Chippo Hotel, Chippendale
We swung by Monday for their plant schnitzel and happy hour. Big hearty crunchy veg slab is excellent with chips and delicious salad. We’re dialling back meat consumption and looking to add more vegan specials and this is exceptional.
Add on a weeknight happy hour 4pm to 6pm: $6 house spirits, house beers & house wines and you’ve got a reason to swing by all week long.