The Alliance Hotel

The changes at the relaunched Alliance might initially feel subtle, but then co-owner Peter Hollands says there was a lot of low-hanging fruit at this iconic 1864-built pub. In the beautiful old front bar, the bar top and beer lines were replaced, the walls covered in Australiana – think old Foster’s, Fourex and Four’n Twenty pie posters – and the windows thrown open to better catch the sun as it tracks across the old Spring Hill workers’ cottages to the north-west, filling the venue with a lovely afternoon light.

On tap there are 10 beers that split the difference between big box drops such XXXX Gold, Toohey’s New and Guinness, and a rotating selection of craft brews. Out back, the old bistro has also been reinvented as The Whisky Warren. It serves a menu of Australian game that changes depending on what he can get his hands on. You might order dishes such as kangaroo tartare served with onion and bean purée on toasted brioche; butterflied harissa-marinated whole quail with cauliflower purée, sautéed kale and crisp enoki; or a slow cooked rabbit stew with mushroom, potato and tomato.

The rest of the venue has a series of private dining rooms and function spaces. Upstairs, there’s the light-filled Leichhardt Room with capacity for 160 guests. Downstairs, beneath the public bar, there’s the Actress and the Bishop Bar, with capacity for 45 people; and the 60-person Mirror Room. There’s also a 14-seat private dining room in the venue’s wine cellar.

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