Dick's Hotel and Bar

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Maybe it's just where I live (Perth) but where I come from you don't tend to take your kids to the pub. So when my friend suggested we go to Dick's Hotel for tea with the kids I was pretty excited at the thought of generous pub food, a beer or two, and some loud casual fun.



Now that Miss 5 can read, it does get a bit awkward walking into a place called 'Dick's Bar' but luckily my daughter and her friend were more excited by the circus-tent like covering on the outdoor beer garden. The al fresco area of Dick's is large and bright, with a potted plants adding an outdoorsy feel and walls of kids pictures making it feel particularly friendly.

Early in the evenings, this is family territory.



Babies in prams, kids running around, buckets of pencils and the walls of kidariffic art stakes Dick's as a genuinely suitable place to feed the children. With their dedicated kids menu (fish and chips, nuggets and chips, Margherita pizza, pasta and sauce) all costing $9 and $4 icecream, the food is fresh and well cooked. They are also pretty generous serves as this 'kids serve' pizza will attest.



I understand it's a pub, but I was surprised (and the kids mortally disappointed) that they didn't serve milkshakes, despite having ice-cream with syrup on the menu. It was a small complaint that the staff didn't seem too interested in helping with.

For grown-ups there is a large, pubby menu. Nothing ground-breaking, but that's not what you go to a pub for. Pizza, pasta, burgers, salads, chicken parmigiana, steaks and fish and chips are the dishes you will find with a price range from $16 to $28. The prices seemed reasonable considering the serving size and tasty food.



My daughter had the kids' fish and chips which came with four or five pieces of fish and a decent serve of large flat chips. For a deep-fried dish it was not at all greasy and came with a pot of lemon mayonnaise which I enjoyed although the kids preferred tomato sauce (there is a range of sauces freely available near the colouring-in station).



I ordered the cheese and bacon burger ($16) and was entirely satisfied. A generously thick beef patty, melted cheese, salty bacon, soft bun and intriguing cinnamon infused tomato chutney made it one of the better burgers I have ever eaten.

My friend offered me a taste of his steak sandwich. It was exactly as it should be, with multiple, thin juicy steaks and bucket-loads of flavour.

Dick's is a Pub so you have to be pragmatic about when you take the kids there, but it is a very child-friendly pub. And if you are happy to have the kids colour-in while you enjoy a beer or wine, then it is a great place to take your children.

As long as you don't have to explain signs like this.


#pubs
#pizza_restaurants
#nsw
#kids
#inner_west
#fun_for_children
#food_wine
#family
#balmain
%wnsydney