Royal Hotel Coonabarabran
After bidding goodbye to the Royal vine at Gilgandra, we headed back out on the road for one last stretch in the car. And after about an hour, we arrived at the last Royal of the day: the Royal Hotel Coonabarabran.
We had some fairly high hopes as the Royal in Coonabarabran had been fairly recently renovated and reopened. In fact, we had held off on our Central NSW trip until it was back open. I would go so far to say it we definitely worth the wait.
From the outside, it very much looks the part of a main street country pub. The interior is all done up in a kind of German inn style. The adjective that sprung to mind as we walked into the pub was definitely ‘warm’. From the general vibes, to the welcome, to the actual coziness, it was all warm.
At the bar, we were greeted by a very solid selection of taps including one of my favourites, the pale ale from New England Brewing Co over in Uralla. I grabbed a schooner of that to start with, but I also noted a very alluring sign and accompanying kettle: mulled wine.
With beers in hand, we went for a bit of a wander around the pub. There was a bit bistro section, a cozy front bar, and what looked like a great beer garden. Or at least it would have been a great beer garden if it hadn’t been raining.
So given the cold and the dampness, we wandered back in and grabbed a table in the front bar. It was a random Thursday, but the place was pretty packed.
So we started perusing the menu to get in ahead of the rush. The menu was pretty German themed as well with plenty of schnitzel and sausage. I, however, went for the whole grilled trout. It was pretty damn good, but a lot of effort with the bone removal. But in general, it was the kind of pub we were glad to end up at at the end of the day. A great place to wind down and have some good food. And some good mulled wine of course.
If I had one criticism of the Royal Hotel Coonabarabran, it’s probably that it’s slightly on the restaurant-y side. It’s not quite as much of a pub-pub as a lot of the ones we’ve visited. But really that’s just a preference issue. It was a really really good pub and one I’d go back to in a heartbeat next time I come through Coonabarabran.
Royal Stats
- Town/Suburb: Coonabarabran, NSW
- Population: 2,387
- Date Visited: Thursday, June 4, 2026
- Visited By: Cory, John, Ben, and Anthony
- Beer Sponsorship on Sign: None
- Beer Consumed at Pub: New England Brewing Pale Ale
- Price of Schooner of Said Beer: $8.50
- Unique Award: Best Royal Mulled Wine
- Tour Progress: 81.5% (106/130)