# Pumphouse Review



## mikk (7/5/12)

Ah crap, i just spent the last 20 mins writing a review of my lunch at the Pumphouse today, only for my computer to have a spaz attack & to need shutting down. As a result, this review will be reduced to dot points....

*Opened promptly at 12. 
*Friendly, helpful & knowledeable bar girl.
*small sample of each 'good' beer on tap to help decide what to order.
*ordered a Mikkeller single hop (citra) IPA, & Wicked Elf Pale Ale. Both excellent.
*reviewed menu. Felt like a burger, but was put off by $24 price. Ordered burgers anyway.
*burger looks spectacular. Felt like money well spent, before even trying it.
*burger came with onion rings & thick sweet potato chips. Both delicious.
*burger meal ranked as within top 10 burger meals eaten by me, easily.
*ordered HopDog Ham on Rye beer, & Holgate Mt Macedon Pale Ale. Both excellent, though the ham was a bit much by the end!
*discussion had regarding bar girl. Decided that if i was to run a beer venue, she'd be the kind of staff i'd want. Friendly, helpful, knowledgeable.
*total lunch price around $85 for 2. Not cheap, but quality usually never is. I felt it was money well spent, & would go back again. Besides, the burgers are so big you won't need any dinner...

As you can tell, a good lunch was had today. Excellent beer, excellent food, excellent beer selection, fantastic service.
Highly recommended.

Mikk.


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## bignath (7/5/12)

mikk said:


> Ah crap, i just spent the last 20 mins writing a review of my lunch at the Pumphouse today, only for my computer to have a spaz attack & to need shutting down. As a result, this review will be reduced to dot points....
> 
> *Opened promptly at 12.
> *Friendly, helpful & knowledeable bar girl.
> ...



Dude, that's a great review. I usually get put off by other reviews of various products/services - too wanky, too stuck up, not enough thought given etc...

but i really enjoyed your dot points. I'd go there if i lived close, just by your recommendation alone.


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## black_labb (7/5/12)

I've been heading there after uni somewhat regularly for a couple. Beer range is excellent and there are around 6 taps that are rotating with different craft beers as well as 2 beers brewed for them, a thunderbolt strong ale (alt style I'd suggest) and a honey porter which is enjoyable. The rotating taps are mostly smaller craft breweries within australia, though mikkeller single batches seem to be pretty common. These are usually at least a few aimed at beer nerds or hop heads as well as a couple gateway beers. There is a good range of bottled beers as well. More belgians than the belgian beer cafe and quite a few american craft beers as well as more australian and kiwi craft brews. There are also some english ales as well. I'd suggest that they don't have too many top quality lagers available. They have the usual Cub/lion nathan taps as well as some corona/heineken/stella in bottles as well as a couple good quality european lagers, but only 2-3. This doesn't bother me but they mostly have ales.

Staff are all pretty good and mostly knowledgeable and are happy to give you a taste of something on tap before you decide. I started going there after catching up with a friends brother and spending ages talking about beer and finding out he was one of the managers there. Every once in a while I'll give him a couple beers to try.

The downside of it is it's a bit pricey but I don't mind spending a couple extra $ for a beer that you can't really find elsewhere and a good range.


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## Verbyla (7/5/12)

mikk said:


> Ah crap, i just spent the last 20 mins writing a review of my lunch at the Pumphouse today, only for my computer to have a spaz attack & to need shutting down. As a result, this review will be reduced to dot points....
> 
> *Opened promptly at 12.
> *Friendly, helpful & knowledeable bar girl.
> ...



Yeah I must admit that it was really well written. Easy to read and makes me want to smash down a few quality beers right now :chug:


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## Kingbrownbrewing (7/5/12)

the pumphouse is friggin awesome.

Last time I was there they had Nogne-O imperial IPA on tap.

They are very passionate there and the managers are good blokes.


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## mwd (7/5/12)

Holy sheet $85.00 for lunch what are you a Stockbroker or a Barrister.
I don't spend that much on food for a week.

Eating out is an extravagant luxury these days and don't you just love those tiny little dishes you get like the cooking shows on TV. :angry:


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## pk.sax (7/5/12)

Tropical_Brews said:


> Holy sheet $85.00 for lunch what are you a Stockbroker or a Barrister.
> I don't spend that much on food for a week.
> 
> Eating out is an extravagant luxury these days and don't you just love those tiny little dishes you get like the cooking shows on TV. :angry:


esp when you get the equivalent of dog food for the money.. Cairns is overpriced on food, esp town...


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## petesbrew (7/5/12)

Not many places in Darling Harbour that are cheap, let alone have a great beer selection as the pumphouse.
Scruffys and a few of the other pubs round Central-side are still doing $7ish steaks but don't expect the beer selection to be as good.

Went there a few weeks ago on the way back to the car. Nice day for a couple of Pipsqueak Pilsners in the sun, and the meals were a good size.
Wife couldn't finish her burger & I had a hoisin duck pizza... just had to try it and it was fantastic!


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## tuckerle71 (7/5/12)

Had lunch there a few weeks ago on a weekend trip to Sydney.
Apart from the great beer, the staff bent over backwards to offer my son (who is Gluten and Dairy Intolerant) a good range of meals to choose from.
It made our stay on the Big Island all that more enjoyable.


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## jkmeldrum (8/5/12)

Mikk I was there on Sunday...I reckon I got served by the same girl, she was very good. Let me try quite a few before making my decisions. Tried all the same beers as you, even that overly sweet honey porter, which tasted nice for the first few sips, but got a bit much by the end. Same I reckon would apply for that Ham on Rye.....tasted great, but a bit too hammy!!! One of the blokes finished his shift and sat and watched the UFC with us before leaving and had a great chat about all the beers, they're obviously right into it. Great selection of beers, but didn't eat there. Top spot


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## jkmeldrum (8/5/12)

Mikk I was there on Sunday...I reckon I got served by the same girl, she was very good. Let me try quite a few before making my decisions. Tried all the same beers as you, even that overly sweet honey porter, which tasted nice for the first few sips, but got a bit much by the end. Same I reckon would apply for that Ham on Rye.....tasted great, but a bit too hammy!!! One of the blokes finished his shift and sat and watched the UFC with us before leaving and had a great chat about all the beers, they're obviously right into it. Great selection of beers, but didn't eat there. Top spot


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## Wolfy (8/5/12)

The only thing the review is missing is a link to their website:
http://pumphousebar.com.au/

and the address:
17 Little Pier St, Darling Harbour, Sydney NSW 2000 | (02) 8217 4100


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## mikk (8/5/12)

Sounds like everyone that's been there also likes it! I hadn't been there for years and years, and you don't tend to hear that much about the Pumphouse on AHB so thought the review might be handy for those who also hadn't been for ages.

I agree that it's expensive, but even for a semi-tightwad like myself i had no trouble convincing myself it was worth it once the burgers were served & whilst drinking some quality beer.

And yes, the honey porter did taste a bit too sweet & honey-ish, even from just one sip. I suspected the Ham/Rye beer would also be too smokey/hammy, but once i tasted the bacon on the burger i thought i'd give it a go regardless. It was an excellent beer, but would be even better with maybe just a piglet used, not a full grown porker...


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## Phoney (8/5/12)

If you're on a budget, go eat a cheap meal in Chinatown and then go back to the pumphouse to finish off with awesome beers in a friendly atmosphere that you wont find anywhere else. I'd rather spend more money there than drink average beer in any of the other seedy dives around there.

Damn it's only 9am and now I feel like going there :lol:


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## DJR (8/5/12)

The manager (Ash i think his name is) is pretty cluey on craft beer and puts a lot of effort into sourcing different stuff, if I am down that way I usually stop in for lunch


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## black_labb (8/5/12)

DJR said:


> The manager (Ash i think his name is) is pretty cluey on craft beer and puts a lot of effort into sourcing different stuff, if I am down that way I usually stop in for lunch



I believe it is Liam, though he may be the floor manager or supervisor or something like that. He's the one that organises the beer orders. He may be headed elsewhere though but Bronwyn the part time supervisor/manager seems very good as well. 

Either way a good group of people with a good collection of beers.


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## mikec (5/12/12)

Went to the Pumphouse last night with a mate from out of town.

We tried a Belgian Amber on tap, which was not bad, but flat. We drank them.

Then we wanted a wheat beer, so ordered a couple of Red Duck Whites from the menu.
We received two Red Duck Ambers.
"We wanted the white" we say to the bar girl. She asks her manager if they have the White. "Nope, we don't".
"Would you like something else or do you want the ambers" bar girl asks.
I reply with a smile that we really wanted a wheat but if they wanna discount the ambers, we'll drink them.
"Can't do that" she says. "Fine, take them back then" I say.

So we order a couple of Weihenstephans.
"We don't have those either".

There are 8 or 9 wheats on the menu. 
Manager bloke tells us they actually only have two of them. And he's getting shitty and giving us attitude by now. Seriously.

So we choose Wicked Elf Wit, drink them, and leave, deciding to give our money to someone else instead.


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## sp0rk (5/12/12)

The wife and I dropped in last month while we were in Sydney on the way back from Fiji
I had to wait for a good 5 minutes for the barmaid to notice me
Then when i asked what she suggested in the way of IPAs, she basically just gave me a blank stare
got a beer (forgot what it was) and sat down and waited for a waiter to bring us a menu
half an hour later and no one had even looked at us
That was about the time we decided to just up and leave, too many middle aged business men in tight pants and pointy leather shoes for my liking (blame it on being a country boy i guess)
I much preferred the King St Brewhouse, the barmaid there was super friendly and made lots of suggestions for what to try next


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## sydneyhappyhour (5/12/12)

sp0rk said:


> The wife and I dropped in last month while we were in Sydney on the way back from Fiji
> I had to wait for a good 5 minutes for the barmaid to notice me
> Then when i asked what she suggested in the way of IPAs, she basically just gave me a blank stare
> got a beer (forgot what it was) and sat down and waited for a waiter to bring us a menu
> ...


I have been there many times, the last few times the service has been like this though. The last time I visited I waited 15 minutes (no joke) for service, the bar tender seemed to be doing his own thing. In the end I didn't get served and left in disgust swearing to never return.


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## mckenry (5/12/12)

I was there with wife, wifes sister and her hubby.

Whilst some of the beers we tried were good, had a Badlands IPA, had a few others I cant remember, had a Stone & Wood, but wow - $$$$$
Normally I am ok(ish) forking out what I consider too much for a certain beer, but write it off as a great spot, great view, great service etc.
This was pretty crappy service considering there were no more than 10 people there at the time.
Barman also poured a Red wine and put it with the other beers I was buying.
me :"Whats that?"
bar :"Cab Sav"
me :"I didnt order that"
bar :"Yes you did"
me :"No, I didnt"
my bro-in-law :"No, he didnt"

Barman put it away, but you could tell he had the shits.

BTW, there were some beers there at $85 per longneck. Wondering where theyre from? Victoria Aust! Gotta be kidding. But, going on their pricing they'd only be $55 per longneck at your local RSL :lol:


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## sponge (5/12/12)

mckenry said:


> Barman also poured a Red wine and put it with the other beers I was buying.
> me :"Whats that?"
> bar :"Cab Sav"
> me :"I didnt order that"
> ...



Maybe you accidently ordered an argument..?


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## bigfridge (5/12/12)

sponge said:


> Maybe you accidently ordered an argument..?



No he didn't .....................




























(Sorry, Someone had to say it)


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## Goldenchild (5/12/12)

Been in there a few times also found service to be Ordinary. 
First time there in august we asked for a menu of one Of the waitresses who looked new and was busy serving about 3 tables 15min later still no menu so asked again said she was sorry and would get it for us. Another 15mins passed so we finished drinks and left.

2 weeks later went back in and noticed there was 2 other new waitresses on. But didn't bother ordering food. Sat and had a tap beer and watched as food sat unserved under a heatlamp for 10mins with an angry chef ringing the service bell. Food was pulled and remade which also sat for another 5 mins before being served. 
We left after this to the taphouse who also must I say have a good habbit of not having half the beer on there menu/taplist.
Maybe it's a Sydney thing?


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## joshF (5/12/12)

When i saw this post i automatically assumed you guys meant the pumphouse cafe in Lidcombe/near Silverwater :huh: 

Sorry, Completely off topic but Bloody good burgers there if anyone works/drives out that way. I should check out this pumphouse bar though


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## sp0rk (6/12/12)

joshF said:


> When i saw this post i automatically assumed you guys meant the pumphouse cafe in Lidcombe/near Silverwater :huh:
> 
> Sorry, Completely off topic but Bloody good burgers there if anyone works/drives out that way. I should check out this pumphouse bar though


Try The King St Brewhouse, Schwartz brewery, Harts, 4 Pines or Murray's at Manly instead, they're all much better imho


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