Royal Paddington Sydney - Nightlife, upcoming events,
line info, opening hours, vibe, tips and more

Royal Paddington is the best pub in Paddington.

There are three key levels to the venue. The first is the ground floor. This hosts most of the live sport from the afternoon all the way in to the evening. It is the last area of the pub to stay open, so come 9pm to 12am on weekends it is absolutely packed, to the point where it is hard to move.

The first level up is the best of the venue. It is home to the restaurant area but more significantly it is the most social area of the venue. There are three long tables and multiple smaller tables that end up being interconnected over the night. There is also a long perpendicular balcony where people can sit on a bench overlooking Paddington. The first level is where they usually put the DJ, and a reliable dance floor ensues from about 9pm and tables are cleared.

The second level is strange. There are two rooms to the left and right, often used for function spaces and is strangely not nearly as social as the level down. If you want to stay secluded this is the level to go.

Finally there is the roof. It is very small, with only 5 tables that can host approximately 25 people in total, but there is always at least double that by the time the sun goes down. It has views of the city and harbour.

A key variable to how busy the venue will be is the SCG and SFS. If there are Swans games, the cricket or anything in general people flock to the Royal for pre's and afters.

The crowd is very cliquey. There are an overwhelming amount of yuppies and ex private school types. It is majority 22-30 year olds.

The venue rarely if ever gets lines. They constantly shovel people inside so people can’t move inside.

It is also a standout winter pub, as it gets nice and toasty inside.

Archetypical eastern suburbs venue, with a young professional and old college student crowd. Particularly hot inside, which makes it an ideal spot in winter. Small roof 4 levels high with city views.