Wooloomooloo looks to be very much an 'in' place these days, with renovations at the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, a new venue at the Tilbury, and the Wharf developments all attracting lots of smartly dressed folk out of the suburbs and into W'mloo.
The Tilbury's renovations were certainly thorough, although we never got to visit before it closed we hear it was far more a traditional archetypal kind of place. Now it's an open, wooden hangout with mood lighting, tons of outdoor space on balconies and verandah's, a cool, intimate bunch of rooms upstairs and a no-smoking policy throughout (though it still sports a cigarette machine, viva la mighty dollar, eh?)
A little glass counter provides sandwiches and the like at the edge of the main bar, which tonight is thronged with 'smart casuals'. I feel a little out of place, dressed as I am in shorts and scruffy t-shirt after a bike ride, but we soon settle in on the front balcony upstairs. Cynically, I expected the place to look exactly like
Republic - it seems all newly refurbished pubs these days go for the standard chrome furniture/wood floor/moodlighting combo, but the Tilbury eschews the chrome at least and manages to look far more friendly (as well as being distinctly more comfortable)
worthy of a revisit for us, and certanly worth a look if you're in the area.
review by: Jason