Concrete Playground

One of Sydney's oldest pubs, the Hero lets you time travel and sip a cold beer at the same time. Within these sandstone walls, listening to the lilting tones of the Irish bar staff, it doesn't feel difficult to reach out to your own, or someone else's, colonial ancestor. That said, there's more than that to stimulate the imagination. Ask around about the ghost of Anne Kirkman, join in a Saturday night sing-a-long held around the old piano or sneak a look at the tunnel that runs from the hotel's maze of cellars to the harbour, safe as you are from any shanghaiing techniques.

If you'd rather live in the present, perhaps you should pay a visit to the restaurant. The Lamb Shanks are hard to beat, with sautéed onion potato mash, green beans, and port wine, garlic and rosemary jus. Otherwise opt for the Bangers and Mash, with roasted onion, sautéed cabbage and red wine jus. Prices are reasonable, considering your proximity to the harbour, and the food is well worth it.

Drinks are standard pub fare. Choose from a range of beers on tap, ours was a James Squire ($6.80). Wines are also on offer from $7 a glass. That said, the real attraction here is not the fancy drinks but the atmosphere: kick back with a schooner and soak it up.