Sandringham Hotel, Newtown

The Sandringham Hotel / The Sando
387 King Street, Newtown
*Former pub

"Thanks! Cheers! Bye!"

Although the Sando is dead, we couldn't leave it off our Sydney Pub List. It's a pub we had been to many times but we never quite got around to writing it up here, so for the record, here is our memory of Newtown's Sandringham Hotel.

What we remember about the Sando:

• The live shows, both upstairs and in the front bar. The upstairs band room, one of the better ones in the area, was a great place to watch local and touring bands. It was a bit of an adventure to get up there, but it as worth it.
• Being able to pick what sort of gig was on just by the crowd standing around out front, sometimes in a cigarette haze.
• It was open past midnight.
• The vomit smell wall out front sometimes and the feel of last night's leftovers. If you could make it past this point, you were doing okay!
• The characters at the Sando. Inner-west represent!
• Sando Lager ($4/schooner, $10/jug), not fantastic, not bad. During a show we ordered a jug of it from the small upstairs bar but there were no jugs left so the bartender was kind enough to give us three single schooners at a jug price. Rippa!
• Good range of Coopers on tap, including Pale Ale, Sparkling Ale, Dark Ale and Lager if we remember correctly.
• Pool tables and music channels playing on TVs up the back.
• It was unpretentious.
• The cracked and flaking terracotta salmon exterior paint job on the top half of the building.
• The toilets! Slide your way down the corridor down the right of the hotel to the shitters. It was a bit of a surprise sometimes between sets on a gig night. Doors broken off, cracked and broken mirrors, basins and occasional toilet bowl. Generally always a story to tell your mates when you returned from the "bathrooms".
• The stingey "bistro" and pokie room.
• The "bottle shop". Ie. bar sales at the end of the bar for takeaways.
• On Australia Day one year, after not being able to get into the packed Newtown pubs nearby, we opted for the Sando, which had maybe 10 other people in attendance. And we still didn't win the meat tray!

We never did get around to taking any photos for the blog on our many adventures there so we can only leave these two little memories from the band room upstairs.

Locals Gay Paris rocking the band room upstairs at The Sando



Once Adelaidian, now Melbournian Coerce live at The Sando


It wasn't a great pub, but it was Newtown, and like much of Newtown, sadly, out with the old and in with the new. (Look out for our upcoming Newtown Social Club post)

It was a hard one to rate, if we can even do that now that "The Sando" doesn't technically exist anymore. But for the record, we give it a 3, pretty much for the stories, the live music, the grit, and it's predictability. It was even Burger Bot's chosen venue for a birthday once, but that was mostly due to a show upstairs. Mostly. He secretly loved the Sando Lager and sliding down Toilet Slush Alley. Weeeeee! (literally?)

Sando on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Sandringham-Hotel/312602725441