Royal Hotel Darlington
After a longer than anticipated delay, we continue our series on the Royal Hotels of Sydney as told by John. This week John takes aim at the Royal Hotel Darlington. I’ve had some good times at this one during my uni days, but John was unimpressed (to be fair, justifiably so on the day). But not every Royal is a crown jewel. Without further ado, here are John’s Royal musings:
Oofff. What to say? let’s start with the good. Hudspeth joined us as the newest member of the Royal Crew. despite being a man of few words and not much of a beer drinker, it was great to have another member of the team join (to be part of Team Royal, you just turn up and you’re in). Cam’s mate also joined us, unfortunately for him I have forgotten his name, so let’s call him Leslie. Cam was there, as were Cory and myself. And they had beer.
That’s about it for the good.
The Royal Darlington was just a pub without a vibe unfortunately, it felt like a let down after having such a great run. It was very quiet, especially for a Saturday night. One guy was even reading a book. To make matters worse he got yelled at for reading a book. To make matters much worse, it may have been one of our group. It was Cam.
A little of the sad side of stock standard, it had the feeling of a pub always on the verge of closing down. Would not be surprised if it’s been bought out and turned into a fancy wine bar or bubble tea joint. We won’t be rushing back, meaning it’s now possible to read a book there without being yelled at.
Royal Stats
- Town/Suburb: Darlington, Sydney, NSW
- Population: 2,597
- Date Visited: Saturday, January 28, 2023
- Visited By: Cory, John, Cameron, Hudspeth, “Leslie”
- Beer Sponsorship on Sign: None
- Beer Consumed at Pub: Stone & Wood
- Price of Schooner of Said Beer: $9.20
- Unique Award: Most Patrons Reading Novels on a Saturday Night
- Tour Progress: 16.9% (23/136)