White Horse Surry Hills Review: $6M Pub Transformation

The White Horse on Crown Street in Surry Hills reopened in April 2024 after a $6 million renovation that turned a longtime dive bar into a three-level gastropub with a restaurant, rooftop terrace and bar. This review draws on verified menu prices from Good Food and critic assessments from Time Out Sydney to help you decide whether the new White Horse fits your plans.

Last checked: 2026-10-27

Name: The White Horse · Address: 381 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 · Cuisine: Pub, Australian, Gastropub · Price range: $-$$ · Highlights: Outdoor seating, working fireplace, happy hours

By Antonio · Published 22 February 2026

What is Surry Hills famous for?

Surry Hills is one of Sydney’s most concentrated dining precincts, with Crown Street alone hosting dozens of restaurants, pubs and cafes. The area’s mix of Victorian terrace houses and warehouse conversions has long attracted creative-industry workers and food-focused operators. Within this corridor, the White Horse has been a fixture for decades – a classic inner-city pub that, after its 2024 renovation, now anchors the street as a destination for both drinking and refined eating.

The suburb’s dining reputation rests on venues that range from low-key dumpling houses to high-end tasting menus. The White Horse occupies a middle ground: a pub that serves ambitious, market-driven food without demanding a jacket or a reservation weeks ahead. A Time Out Sydney critic described it as “a beautiful dining room” with “prices that offer good value.”

“The White Horse ticks a lot of boxes: exciting, clever and most importantly, delicious plates of food, a beautiful dining room, and prices that offer good value.”

— Time Out Sydney critic

The implication: The White Horse isn’t trying to compete with Surry Hills’ degustation temples. Instead, it relies on a proven format – good drinks, solid cooking, a welcoming room – executed with a precision that editorial reviewers say sets it apart from the pub pack.

What are some iconic restaurants in Sydney?

Iconic Sydney dining spans harbour-view fine diners, Chinatown institutions and beachside fish-and-chip shops. In the gastropub category, the White Horse has earned a place on lists such as Time Out’s best rooftop bars in Sydney – a nod to its renovated terrace, which offers a vantage over the Surry Hills roofline.

Good Food’s reviewer, Michael Harry, called the venue “the pub’s most delicious iteration yet,” praising the modern Australian menu that draws on native produce and Asian-influenced techniques. The à la carte menu includes dishes such as beetroot millefeuille (A$24), kombu-glazed toothfish (A$55) and wagyu tri-tip with chestnut mushroom sabayon (A$45). A bar menu offers a steak sandwich with fries for A$34.

“The new-look White Horse is the pub’s most delicious iteration yet.”

— Michael Harry, Good Food

The trade-off: The food is priced above typical pub grub – Good Food estimated A$180 for two without drinks – but the ingredients (Western Australian marron, dry-aged duck) and execution are closer to a bistro than a bistro. For a broader read on the venue’s transformation, see our detailed White Horse Surry Hills guide: menu, reviews and what to expect.

What are the best restaurants in Surry Hills, Sydney?

“Best” depends on budget and occasion, but the White Horse competes strongly in the mid-to-upper price bracket thanks to its six-course lunch deal. Reported at A$55 per person and available Friday through Sunday from noon to 3pm, the deal offers dishes such as lobster pappardelle and brie-infused ice cream, according to Sydney Travel Guide.

À la carte standouts from the same review include duck leg cigars (A$8 each), wagyu steak tartare (A$28), Spencer Gulf kingfish (A$28), dry-aged Aylesbury duck (A$44) and a seafood pie (A$46). The menu also features roasted chicken skin with spanner crab and cider gel (A$12 each). Editorial reviews consistently mention the same dishes, suggesting a stable kitchen.

The pattern: three independent editorial reviews (Good Food, Time Out, Sydney Travel Guide) all praise the food and the dining room. Post-relaunch TripAdvisor feedback from a single diner also highlights the duck cigars, wagyu tartare and lobster pappardelle. While one user review is too narrow to generalize, the editorial consensus is clear.

Where do locals eat in Sydney?

Locals in Surry Hills gravitate toward places that balance consistency with a sense of neighbourhood – pubs where the bartender knows your usual and the kitchen doesn’t cut corners. Before the renovation, older Yelp reviews described the White Horse as a traditional pub that sometimes needed maintenance. One reviewer mentioned concerns about the toilets; another praised the size of the fried-chicken burger.

The 2024 relaunch changed that equation. The three-level layout (ground-floor restaurant, upstairs bar, rooftop terrace) gives locals options: a quick drink on the roof, a full dinner in the dining room, or a bar snack from the steak sandwich menu. The working fireplace and happy-hour offerings add appeal for regulars.

An earlier history piece traces the venue’s arc from a 1930s pub to its current incarnation, noting the takeover by a hospitality group led by Craig Hemmings in early 2023. Our White Horse transformation timeline details the key dates. The shift from a party-oriented dive to a food-focused gastropub has been well received by critics, and early local buzz suggests the regulars are returning.

What to watch: whether the kitchen maintains its current quality as the venue settles into its second year. Editorial reviews all date from mid-2024; sustained performance will depend on consistency in the pass and the front of house.