A 1930s hotel on Crown Street now runs as a three-storey pub-restaurant — ground-floor restaurant, upstairs public bar and rooftop terrace included — and its modern Australian kitchen has drawn both five-star reviews and mixed customer feedback. This guide separates what is verified, such as service hours, documented menu prices and critical reception, from what is still unconfirmed, so you know what to expect before you book. Service details are checked against the venue’s official contact page.
Last checked: 2026-10-27
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Address: 381 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney · Built: 1930s, three-storey hotel with silver stallion motif · Dining Style: Modern Australian with a pedigree kitchen · Tasting Menu: From $55 AUD per person · Reservations: Recommended for dinner; walk-ins welcome from 3pm Sat · Overall Vibe: Relaxed yet sophisticated with an outdoor terrace
How we researched this
Last checked: 2026-10-27.
Sources reviewed: official venue website, Good Food / The Sydney Morning Herald, Time Out Sydney, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and user-forum reports.
No on-site visit or staff interview was conducted; menu prices come from 2024 editorial reviews and are indicative; and a listing-status conflict between two TripAdvisor pages was flagged rather than resolved.
White Horse Surry Hills at a glance
- 381–385 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010 (The White Horse)
- Dinner Tue–Sat from 5:30pm; lunch Fri–Sat; all-day Sunday until 9pm (official schedule)
- Approximately A$180 excluding drinks (Good Food, 2024)
- 5/5 stars from Time Out Sydney for the renovated venue
White Horse Surry Hills: key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Address | 381 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney |
| Built | 1930s, three-storey hotel with silver stallion motif |
| Dining style | Modern Australian with a pedigree kitchen |
| Tasting menu | From A$55 per person (user-reported, 2024) |
| Reservations | Recommended for dinner; walk-ins welcome from 3pm Sat |
| Vibe | Relaxed yet sophisticated with a rooftop terrace |
What Is the White Horse Hotel in Surry Hills?
The White Horse Hotel is a public hotel — in Australian usage, a pub — at 381–385 Crown Street in Surry Hills. The building dates from the 1930s, runs three storeys and carries a silver stallion motif on the facade. What separates it from a typical corner pub is the scale of the relaunch: the current operation combines a ground-floor restaurant, an upstairs public bar and a rooftop terrace.
History and architecture of the White Horse
The building has stood on this Crown Street corner since the 1930s, and the latest chapter began with a multimillion-dollar renovation covered in 2024 relaunch reporting by Time Out Sydney. The architecture is the visual anchor: three storeys of 1930s hotel construction, with the silver stallion motif fixed to the facade. Time Out’s review of the relaunch describes three distinct rooms — a ground-floor restaurant, an upstairs public bar and a rooftop terrace — rather than one open-plan pub.
“The White Horse is back and better than ever.”
Time Out Sydney
The modern dining experience
The kitchen’s culinary brief emphasises ethically sourced produce and native Australian ingredients, according to Time Out. The wine program follows a similar logic: about 100 bottles, with an editorial focus on Australian and European organic and regenerative producers, as reported in Good Food’s review of . Good Food described the result as “a highly tuned pub-restaurant with fine-dining chops.”
| Spec | The White Horse |
|---|---|
| Venue type | Three-storey public hotel operating as pub-restaurant |
| Address | 381–385 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010 |
| Built | 1930s, with silver stallion facade motif |
| Layout | Ground-floor restaurant; upstairs public bar; rooftop terrace |
| Cuisine | Modern Australian; ethically sourced produce, native ingredients |
| Wine list | About 100 bottles; Australian and European organic/regenerative producers |
| Dinner service | Tue–Sat from 5:30pm |
| Lunch service | Fri–Sat, 12pm–3pm |
| Sunday service | 12pm–9pm; last booking 7:30pm |
The bottom line: the White Horse is two venues under one roof — a casual pub upstairs and a serious dining room on the ground floor — which is exactly what makes it useful for different kinds of evenings.
Who Owns the White Horse in Surry Hills?
The straightforward answer is that the pages reviewed for this guide — the official contact page, the 2024 reviews in Good Food and Time Out Sydney, and the public review platforms — do not name a proprietor. No independent ownership record was retrieved, and we have not repeated names circulating in unverified comment threads.
The team behind the revamp
What the coverage does document is a deliberate repositioning. The relaunch was framed around the idea of “a pub from the future”: three levels, with a ground-floor restaurant doing refined modern Australian cooking, a middle-floor public bar, and a rooftop for drinks. Good Food’s 2024 review credited the operation with fine-dining capability, although the retrieved material does not name the chef or general manager. The renovation timeline is summarised in our related piece, White Horse Surry Hills Reborn.
A pedigreed restaurant
For most diners, the kitchen matters more than the ownership register. The menu Good Food reviewed in May 2024 included a butter-poached Western Australian marron at A$58, a kombu-glazed toothfish at A$55 and a wagyu tri-tip at A$45 — plates closer to fine dining than to counter meals. Time Out’s five-star review made the same point, praising the cooking as exciting, clever and delicious.
The implication: ownership may be opaque in the public record, but the White Horse’s operating identity is clearly chef-driven.
White Horse Surry Hills Menu with Prices
The most useful way to read the White Horse menu is by price band, because the kitchen moves from bar snacks to restaurant mains in the same sitting.
The $55 tasting menu
The figure attached to the $55 tasting menu traces back to a 2024 user post on the Sydney food subreddit. It does not appear on the official contact page reviewed for this guide, so we treat it as an early user report rather than a listed price. One point of context: Good Food’s 2024 review priced the standalone kombu-glazed toothfish at A$55 as well, so the set-menu format and price should be confirmed when you book.
Worth knowing: all menu prices in this section come from Good Food’s review of or Time Out Sydney’s review of . Menus change; confirm today’s prices before ordering.
A la carte and bar snacks
The a la carte spread documented in the 2024 review covers snacks, composed mains and drinks:
| Dish / drink | Price (2024 reviews) |
|---|---|
| Jerusalem artichoke, goat’s cheese, saltbush | A$6 each |
| Char siu pork and prawn fried rice | A$20 |
| Beetroot millefeuille | A$24 |
| Steak sandwich with smoked tomato relish and fries | A$34 |
| Wagyu tri-tip with chestnut mushroom sabayon | A$45 |
| Kombu-glazed toothfish | A$55 |
| Butter-poached Western Australian marron with sweetcorn | A$58 |
| Benny Blanco martini | A$20 |
| Wine by the glass | Below A$20; most around A$15 |
Good Food estimated a two-person meal at roughly A$180 excluding drinks — a figure that suggests a spend above a standard pub meal. Time Out’s five-star review argued the value case differently, describing the plates as comparatively good value for the quality.
The White Horse Surry Hills Reviews: What Diners Are Saying
Professional and customer reviews of the White Horse overlap on one point — the cooking is not ordinary pub food — and split on consistency and value.
Top-rated dishes
The dishes that keep recurring across post-2024 coverage include the butter-poached Western Australian marron with sweetcorn (Good Food), and, on the newer TripAdvisor listing, duck-leg cigars, roasted chicken skin with spanner crab, wagyu steak tartare, pork-belly French toast, lobster-stuffed pappardelle and dry-aged duck. The sourdough with fermented honey butter is frequently mentioned in TripAdvisor reviews as a signature.
“The pub’s most delicious iteration yet.”
Michael Harry, Good Food
Good Food’s full review, published , called the venue a highly tuned pub-restaurant with fine-dining capability and estimated a two-person dinner at about A$180 excluding drinks.
Value-for-money insights
Yelp’s small review set — six reviews on the cited business page — includes positive notes on the Sunday roast, the chicken burger, portion sizes and service speed, alongside at least one description of some dishes as merely adequate. TripAdvisor’s customer reviews run in both directions: strong praise for the food and value on the older listing, plus complaints about burgers, mac and cheese and halloumi.
A listing-status conflict complicates the picture. The older TripAdvisor page is currently marked closed on the platform, even though the official contact page lists active service. A newer TripAdvisor listing appears with a 4.6/5 bubble rating, but the search metadata was future-dated when retrieved for this guide, so we flag the figure as provisional rather than verified.
Heads up: before relying on any TripAdvisor rating for the White Horse, open both the legacy and the newer listing and check the dates — the platform’s pages are not consistent for this venue.
Pros and cons at a glance
What works in its favour
- Five-star rating from Time Out Sydney, with praise for exciting, clever cooking and comparatively good value.
- Good Food’s verdict: a highly tuned pub-restaurant with fine-dining capability.
- Wine list of about 100 bottles; nearly every glass below A$20 at review time.
- Three-level format — restaurant, public bar, rooftop — for different occasions.
What to weigh before booking
- Two-person spend estimated at about A$180 excluding drinks — above typical pub pricing.
- Customer reviews on legacy platforms cite inconsistent dishes (burgers, mac and cheese, halloumi on older TripAdvisor).
- No published Monday service; lunch limited to Friday–Saturday.
- Older TripAdvisor listing shows “closed” status, creating listing confusion.
What Are the Best Restaurants in Surry Hills, Sydney?
Surry Hills sits within one of Sydney’s densest inner-city dining markets, and Crown Street alone spans casual cafés and destination restaurants. The White Horse is part of that strip, but its format — full pub plus restaurant kitchen — is narrower than the neighbourhood’s general dining scene.
How the White Horse compares
The table below positions the White Horse against the venues most often named in searches around this topic. We did not independently verify current pricing or booking data for the alternative venues, so their rows stick to neighbourhood and format.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price Range (AUD) | Vibe | Booking Difficulty | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Horse Surry Hills | Modern Australian | Mains A$45–A$58; approx. A$180 for two excl. drinks (Good Food, 2024) | Polished yet relaxed; restaurant, public bar, rooftop | Dinner reservations recommended; walk-ins from 3pm Sat | Date nights, tasting plates, Sunday sessions |
| Nomad Sydney (Surry Hills) | Modern Australian (independent venue) | Not assessed here | Independent restaurant | Not assessed here | Not assessed here |
| Poly (Surry Hills) | Modern Australian (independent venue) | Not assessed here | Independent restaurant | Not assessed here | Not assessed here |
| Fred’s (Paddington / Surry Hills area) | Modern Australian (independent venue) | Not assessed here | Independent restaurant | Not assessed here | Not assessed here |
| Ester (Chippendale / nearby) | Modern Australian (independent venue) | Not assessed here | Independent restaurant | Not assessed here | Not assessed here |
Cells marked “not assessed here” mean no verified pricing or booking data for those venues was retrieved for this article. Confirm details directly with each restaurant.
Top alternatives in the neighbourhood
Within this set, Nomad and Poly are Surry Hills venues, Fred’s sits in the Paddington side of the area, and Ester is the Chippendale option. All operate in the broadly modern Australian space, but their menus, formats and booking systems differ; confirm details directly. Our companion piece, White Horse Surry Hills Transformed, covers the three-level layout of the White Horse in more detail.
Pricing band: from snack to set menu
- Cuisine style: elevated modern Australian, ethically sourced produce and native ingredients.
- Operating pattern: dinner Tue–Sat from 5:30pm; lunch Fri–Sat; all-day Sunday until 9pm.
- Customer value perception: “not cheap” in some user reviews, with the cooking itself drawing strong professional praise.
- Signature highlight: sourdough with fermented honey butter, repeatedly noted in TripAdvisor reviews.
- Entry point: Jerusalem artichoke with goat’s cheese and saltbush — A$6 each (Good Food, 2024).
- Casual plates: char siu pork and prawn fried rice A$20; steak sandwich with smoked tomato relish and fries A$34.
- Composed mains: wagyu tri-tip A$45; kombu-glazed toothfish A$55; butter-poached Western Australian marron A$58.
- Drinks: wine by the glass below A$20, most around A$15 (Time Out, 2024); Benny Blanco martini A$20 (Good Food, 2024).
- Two-person estimate: approximately A$180 excluding drinks (Good Food, 2024).
All figures come from 2024 editorial reviews and are indicative; the venue’s current menu may differ.
Who the White Horse suits best
- Couples on a date night: the polished but relaxed dining room, with the rooftop for drinks before or after.
- Foodie groups and small tasting parties: shareable modern Australian plates, with a user-reported tasting menu from about A$55 per person.
- Local regulars for a drink and snack: the upstairs public bar, with wine by the glass mostly around A$15 and a A$34 steak sandwich.
- Sunday-session seekers: all-day Sunday service from 12pm to 9pm, last booking 7:30pm.
Location and getting there
The White Horse sits at 381–385 Crown Street, on one of Surry Hills’ main commercial strips, within Sydney’s dense inner-city dining market. The official contact page lists the full address as 381–385 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010.
Service windows matter: dinner runs Tuesday to Saturday from 5:30pm; lunch runs Friday to Saturday from 12pm to 3pm; and Sunday runs from 12pm to 9pm with the last booking at 7:30pm. Dinner reservations are recommended; the published guidance notes walk-ins are welcome from 3pm on Saturday.
Booking tip: for the full restaurant experience, book dinner Tuesday to Saturday. For a lower-stakes visit, use the upstairs public bar or the rooftop, or aim for a Friday–Saturday lunch.
Our pick: who should book the White Horse
The White Horse is our pick for culinary travellers who want modern Australian cooking without a white-tablecloth ritual, for date-night diners who want a buzzy but relaxed room, and for groups who want to share plates across a tasting format. Book dinner Tuesday to Saturday for the full restaurant experience; choose Friday or Saturday lunch for a lighter spend; and use Sunday’s all-day service when you want the pub without the formal booking pressure. Confirm the current menu before you go, because the 2024 prices cited here are indicative.
White Horse Surry Hills: frequently asked questions
Does the White Horse Surry Hills have a happy hour?
The official contact page does not list a dedicated happy hour. For price context, Time Out’s 2024 review noted every wine by the glass was below A$20, with most around A$15.
Does the White Horse have a rooftop terrace?
Yes. Time Out describes the renovated venue as a ground-floor restaurant, an upstairs public bar and a rooftop terrace, and includes it in its round-up of Sydney’s best rooftop bars.
What are the opening hours at the White Horse Surry Hills?
Dinner runs Tuesday to Saturday from 5:30pm; lunch runs Friday to Saturday from 12pm to 3pm; and Sunday service runs from 12pm to 9pm, with the last booking at 7:30pm. The published schedule does not list Monday service.
How much is the tasting menu at the White Horse Surry Hills?
A 2024 user post on the Sydney food subreddit cited a tasting menu from around A$55 per person. The official contact page reviewed for this guide does not list a set-menu price, so confirm the format when booking. By comparison, Good Food’s 2024 review listed composed mains from A$45 to A$58.
Is the White Horse Surry Hills walk-in friendly?
The venue recommends booking for dinner. The published guidance notes that walk-ins are welcome from 3pm on Saturday; the upstairs public bar and rooftop are the more casual options for spontaneous visits.
Is the White Horse Surry Hills the same as the White Horse Hotel?
Yes. The White Horse operates as a three-storey public hotel in the 1930s building at 381–385 Crown Street, and today functions as a pub-restaurant with a ground-floor restaurant, an upstairs public bar and a rooftop terrace.
Shorter version: the White Horse is a 1930s pub on Crown Street that now runs a serious restaurant, a public bar and a rooftop under one roof. The food has five-star professional support and genuinely mixed customer reviews on the margins. The marron, the wine list and the rooftop are the details reviewers come back to most; today’s menu should be confirmed before ordering.