153 year-old Newcastle Pub, the Town Hall Hotel has just undergone a major renovation.
The 153-year old Town Hall Hotel has just undergone a major renovation.
Photos courtesy of Dominic Lonergan
Been spending any time around Waratah lately? In recent years the otherwise quiet suburb has had quite the boom in people relocating.
With Waratah now one of the city's high demand neighbourhoods, it’s no surprise that with the influx in people comes the need for somewhere to eat, drink and just hang out, and Waratah's long-standing Town Hall Hotel has become just that.
Sitting on the corner of Turton Rd and Station St, it’s a hard spot to miss.
Established in 1899 and originally known as the Green Gate Hotel then the Marchant’s Family Hotel, the site has been operating continuously as a hotel for over 150 years. Undergoing some much needed renovations in 2020, the Town Hall Hotel left behind it's creaky, alcohol-drenched floorboards, and multi-coloured ceilings to becoming a welcoming venue for the whole community.
“It was old and tired it was a good place to come and have a beer, but it really needed a facelift. It was pretty intimidating for people to come in here before because it was pretty ghetto. It was still a good vibe, but it was just really old,” Head Chef Jamie Thomas told me.
Kicking off the major part of the renos in March 2019, the facelift was completed in a short seven weeks and officially opening on the 2nd of July. From the cosy Beer Garden, a fresh Public Bar and Bistro, the building’s new look is well worth a visit out to Waratah.
“The Hotel had a lot of redeeming features and a lot of very poor additions, both in the planning sense and execution. One of the more beautiful features of the original hotel was the pressed tin ceiling and cornices. At no point did we even consider getting rid of these, instead we made these the hero and all design choices made around them.”
During the renovations, the owners decided to take the opportunity to freshen the hotel’s branding to include some of the building’s history. Resulting in a logo inspired by the hotel’s history with the Tooth’s Brewery.
With chef Jamie Thomas at the helm, you can count on a quality menu, whether its pub classics, or something lighter they’ve covered.
“We get everyone in here, young and old, so we tried to write a menu that covers everyone without being too extensive.
“Without trying to do everything, we’ve just tried to cover most bases which I think we’ve done. We’ve got light food, we’ve got vegan food, we do really good steaks, ribs, and burgers and then the smaller plates are what everyone eats really,” Luke said.
A classic Newcastle hotel, be sure to drop into the Town Hall and check it out for yourself.
