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I arrived at 4.30pm on Monday 4 June and ordered a drink in the sports bar. The bar man poured my Shiraz and spilled it all over the counter and the b…
Lindy Morrison
Coach and Horses Hotel
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Back in the day when we lived in Randwick, we used to come here regularly, but after moving out of the area we stopped coming, so this was our visit i…
Artforartssake
Coach and Horses Hotel
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I like this classic pub. The bar was busy and the smoking area was cloudy. In my opinion the only negative is the smokers room. Like a fish bowl fille…
Jay Wyllie
Coach and Horses Hotel
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Coach and Horses Hotel is open for Pub. Coach and Horses Hotel serves Pub Food dishes. Incorrect or missing information? Make a report, or claim the restaurant if you own it!Details
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8 Reviews on “Coach and Horses Hotel”
Back in the day when we lived in Randwick, we used to come here regularly, but after moving out of the area we stopped coming, so this was our visit in nearly three years. Nice to see though thats its still the same homely, friendly and popular neighbourhood pub bistro that I remember. The only thing thats changed, as other reviewers have alluded to, is the construction of a glass screen down the middle of the bistro, to separate the smokers from the non smokers. I had thought that smoking was a no-no throughout all restaurants; obviously there are still some holdouts. But to be honest, the presence of this barrier didnt bother us too much and I couldnt really smell any ciggie smoke. The space its large enough to handle the separation and keep both sides happy.Twelve of us dined for a friends birthday, and the evening went off smoothly. We arrived before 7pm, so were able to avail ourselves of the happy hour specials of $5 for a schooner of Carlton Draught, which was a refreshing way to kick proceedings off. As people familiar with this place will know, it has a casual and laid back atmosphere. Ordering and paying is done at the food counter, which is handy for large groups, when you dont want to wrangle about the bill afterwards. This way its each man (or woman) for themselves. Just order what you want and pay for it yourself and your meals will be brought to the table fairly quickly by a friendly waitress.I ordered the shepherds pie, which was a substantial and hearty dish, with fresh, flavoursome mince and a cheesy topping. The dish was quite deep, so it was more substantial than it looks like from the pictures. The two pieces of bread that accompanied it though were too dense for my liking and tasted a bit like cake. Some of our friends choose the 400g steaks, which were well cooked and tender. But, whatever you order, you likely wont be disappointed. These chefs have been at this game here for years and they know how to prepare a first-class meal and full credit to them. Everyone enjoyed their food. The all-female staff complement – neatly turned out in black uniforms – are efficient, courteous and polite and they helped to make this a pleasant and successful evening.Being a Friday night, the place was pretty full, with a lively and energetic atmosphere. But tables are well spaced out and the ceilings are high, so unless you have a particularly rowdy bunch near you (luckily we didnt), noise isnt a big issue.Toilets are clean and well provisioned, but the poor male one is now isolated just behind the smokers Berlin Wall in the eastern half! Surprisingly we were able to get a parking just around the corner on Avoca Street, where restrictions end at 6pm. But even if youre not that lucky, you should still be able to find something in Alison Rd or one of the nearby side streets, without too much of a problem.Some things dont change, and good to see that the Coach & Horses can still be relied on to provide tasty and affordable meals in a relaxed, friendly and laid back atmosphere. Its one of the few eateries around here thats endured and can still pull in the crowds. As they say on their website :The Perfect Local, but youll enjoy it even if youre not a local!
I like this classic pub. The bar was busy and the smoking area was cloudy. In my opinion the only negative is the smokers room. Like a fish bowl filled with smokers the smoking room is located next to the bistro. On a positive note Sunday is kids eat free. This does not include the kids beef burger but it is worth paying for anyway. We rated our meals a 3 out of 5. Kids enjoyed the burger and chicken schnitzel and I liked the T-bone steak. Cooked to order and well seasoned. Why dont we see more T-bones on menus is such a shame. Its a good piece of meat. The Mexican chicken schnitzel was a miss and not recommended. Staff were responsive and the kitchen looked clean. Even though the kitchen was good there is nothing here to bring me back for a dining experience. I suggest you go to the Charing cross hotel instead of dining here. This is a good place for drinkers and smokers.
One of the earlier reviews of the Coach and Horses makes the fair point that the main dining area is situated beside the glassed smoking area, or beer garden as the signage says. In fact that now glassed off area was once part of the bistro. The result of this is that anytime the door between the bistro and beer garden is opened (which happens regularly as you have to enter the smoking area to use the toilets) the diners get a good sized blast of second hand smoke from the Winnie Blues, Peter Jacksons and Drum being greedily sucked into the lungs of the patrons next door.I raise this first as the big reason the Coach and Horses isn’t being rated higher here. Recently they’ve changed the menu and what’s on offer’s pretty good. Plenty of steaks and plenty of snacky stuff, plenty of seafood, pasta, vegetarian and kids options. The pub prides itself on its schnitzels and it’s gone down the path of giving one or two of them a link to a country with the Mexicana schnitzel (because it has chilli and sour cream) and the Surf Schnitzel (it has prawns on top). Jokes aside I tried this and it was pretty good. Highly recommended. The specials board’s changed regularly and it’s always worth checking.The Coach and Horses is a pub for locals, and being Randwick/Coogee many of those locals are from the UK originally, Scotland, Wales, every part of England and also Ireland, both the republic and Northern Ireland. To meet what they see as a dish which will suit tastebuds yearning for home, the curry dish comes with rice, or chips.Service in the bar and at the bistro is courteous and quick with the staff friendly and approachable. Another review here has described the bouncers as a bit to full on. In my experience they’ve been great, but I’ve never been one to want to start a blue. If I was of a mind to do so it wouldn’t be here.So a great pub with a good menu. Just wish they’d do something about the smokers.
Decent pub grub but overpriced for what it is. The pub and bistro lack atmosphere. The bouncers here can be quite unnecessarily agressive. I live locally but it wouldn’t be my first port of call.
Eating here is like going back in time 10 years when patrons were allowed to smoke wherever they wanted. The once large bistro area is now partioned into a bistro on one half and a smokers area on the other by a few panes of glass. So while you are eating a nice meal you are also getting a serve of secondhand smoke. This is 2016 and I thought the days of having to go home stinking of smoke were over. I have not been back there since and never will go back.
In brief, not a good place for the bistro but a decent, mostly local’s place for a beer. The food is run of the mill but quite dear. The service isn’t too bad and the ambience is okay, both of which are redeeming features if you come for the food. However, they’re not enough for how plain the food is.As for the alcoholic drinks, the selection is relatively limited and the staff actually don’t seem to know what they are talking about when it comes to recommendations or drinks knowledge. However, as mentioned above, service isn’t too bad and they are friendly enough.We would not recommend coming here except if you had to have a drink out of the house. If you’re happy to have drinks at home, there’s a handful of bottle shops within a mile of Coach and Horses Hotel.
Very overpriced. Tries too hard to be a fancy bistro rather than offering a good pub meal. $21 for the parmy chicken is far from worth it. Menu selection looks bare and offers little to the imagination. Don’t expect to go in with $20 and get any change if you want a meal. Lacks any particularity exciting specials. Food always tastes good, which is it’s only saving grace, however, for a local pub, it needs to focus more on being a pub with good pub dinners than a fancy bistro.