White Horse Surry Hills: $6M Renovation & $55 Lunch

The White Horse in Surry Hills reopened in April 2024 after a reported $6 million renovation, transforming a 1930s party pub into a chef-led gastropub with a ground-floor restaurant and upstairs cocktail bar. Executive chef Jed Gerrard, a Tetsuya’s veteran, leads a kitchen focused on ethically sourced produce and native ingredients. This guide covers the renovation, the dining experience, what the reviews say, and how the venue fits into Sydney’s Crown Street dining scene.

Last checked: 2026-10-26

Rating: 4.6/5 on Tripadvisor, 4.7/5 on Sydney Spots · Price: $55 six-course weekend lunch · Ranking: #1263 of 4,794 restaurants in Sydney (Tripadvisor) · Renovation: $6 million makeover, reopened April 2024

Why is the White Horse Tavern famous?

The White Horse’s fame rests on its recent repositioning from a rowdy live-music and craft-beer pub into a serious dining destination with a one-hatted kitchen. The 2024 renovation, designed by Farago Han Studio, flipped the floor plan: the old public bar became a 50-seat restaurant with French oak tables, soft-textured walls and bold artwork, while the first floor now holds a cocktail bar, terrace and private dining room (SMH).

History and renovation

The building dates from the 1930s and has worn many hats: piano bar, brasserie, live-music venue. A large galvanised-steel horse sculpture was installed on the roof in 2004, and a 2014 refurbishment touched up the lounge and function areas. The 2024 project cost about A$6 million, a figure confirmed by operator Craig Hemmings in the Sydney Morning Herald. “It cost a couple of million to bring it up to code,” Hemmings said. The public bar was moved upstairs — a major change that Time Out summarised as: “It’s not really a pub anymore.”

“The pub’s most delicious iteration yet.”

— Michael Harry, Sydney Morning Herald restaurant reviewer

Food and dining experience

Executive chef Jed Gerrard — whose background includes Tetsuya’s, Bilson’s and Black by Ezard — runs a kitchen that emphasises ethically sourced seasonal produce and native ingredients. The menu changes regularly; one review noted marron with sweetcorn and ice plant at A$58. Time Out praised the food as “exciting” and noted that every wine by the glass was priced below A$20, with most around A$15. The Sydney Morning Herald estimated a meal for two at roughly A$180 excluding drinks.

Chef association

While some online searches link chef Colin Fassnidge to the White Horse, the verified management credits show Craig Hemmings as the operator and Jed Gerrard as executive chef. No direct source confirms Fassnidge’s involvement. A Facebook video review described the venue as a one-hatted restaurant.

What is Surry Hills famous for?

Surry Hills is an inner-Sydney suburb known for its dense cluster of independent restaurants, pubs, and boutiques. Crown Street, where the White Horse sits, is a dining hub alongside Oxford Street. The area draws a mix of professionals, creatives, and food tourists. The White Horse’s history as a local institution reinforces the neighbourhood’s reputation for balancing heritage pub culture with contemporary dining.

Dining scene

Besides the White Horse, Surry Hills boasts dozens of acclaimed venues — from buzzy Italian to modern Asian — but few have the pub-to-gastropub trajectory the White Horse represents. The new kitchen’s use of native wattleseed and local marron ties into a broader Australian-first trend that distinguishes the area’s food scene.

Culture and nightlife

The White Horse’s upstairs bar and terrace cater to cocktail-fixturing rather than traditional pub service. Time Out described the upstairs as “a cocktail lounge with a terrace and private dining room overlooking treetops.” This shift mirrors Surry Hills’ evolution from rowdy nightlife toward sophisticated drinking.

What are the best restaurants in Surry Hills, Sydney?

Several editorial round-ups and review platforms place the White Horse among the top dining options. Tripadvisor ranks it #1263 out of 4,794 restaurants in Sydney — a broad pool, but the White Horse’s 4.6 rating is strong. Sydney Spots gives it a Spot Score of 63 out of 100. Reviewers consistently mention the quality of the food and the value of the set lunch.

The White Horse

Our focus venue: a one-hatted restaurant in a renovated pub. The six-course lunch at A$55 is often singled out as particularly competitive compared with Sydney’s fine-dining tasting menus. The Sydney Morning Herald review called it “a highly tuned pub-restaurant with fine-dining chops.”

Other top-rated options

While this article does not have sufficient data to compare alternatives in detail, known Surry Hills landmarks include the Strawberry Hills Hotel and the Eveleigh Hotel, both historic pubs within walking distance. The White Horse’s repositioning puts it in a different league — more chef-driven than either of those.

Does Colin Fassnidge have a restaurant?

Colin Fassnidge is a well-known chef and television personality. However, no verified source in the research materials directly links him to the ownership or kitchen of the White Horse. The venue’s confirmed chef is Jed Gerrard. If Fassnidge has a restaurant in Sydney, that venue is not the White Horse.