The Nag’s Head Hotel Glebe | The Best Pub Grub in Sydney

Chef Nelly Robinson’s food is just OMG, WOW.

What happens when you put one of Sydney’s best Chefs in a pub? The best pub grub in Sydney. Last Sunday I took Granny Lynda to try Nelly’s pub food at the Nag’s Head Hotel in Glebe. She had just finished a theatre run as on of the ladies in Crones in Cabernet’s Not Dead Yet – hysterical, but I haven’t seen her for a while so off we headed to the Nag’s Head. And here began an incredible foodie journey where I had my fave dessert of 2024.

The Venue (from the wesite).

The Nags Head Hotel, Originally the Australian Hotel, was built in 1836 by William Faithfull.

In the early days, Nags was a popular destination for passing travellers seeking a warm meal, a few ales & a good night sleep, before continuing their journey to the nearby goldfields.

In 1860, the pub was sold to the McCready brothers, who renamed the hotel to the Nag’s Head Hotel. The new owners made a number of changes, including the addition a large ornamental head of a horse above the front entrance, which gave the hotel its distinctive name.

The Nag’s Head Hotel continued as a popular haunt for locals and travellers alike. Known for its fine food, wine, and luxurious accommodations.

During World War II, the Nag’s Head Hotel played an important role in the war effort. The hotel was used as a base of operations for the US Army, who used it as a headquarters for their intelligence operations in the Pacific Theatre. The hotel was also used to house troops and as a site for military training exercises.

The People

I only spoke to two people, one was the manager, forgot his name (sorry), he was so welcoming, he chatted about the renovations and the future. He also brought us some epic food, and extra plates of what we didn’t order to try.

The other was a bar dude, he was really friendly and we chatted about the food and the place, he was excited as it was nearly his break and he was going to be trying some of the food that he hadn’t as yet.

Nelly

I have known Nelly for a few years now having attended three of his wonderful themed dinners at his his Flagship Venue, NEL – his themed dinners are out of this world. My fave was his first Once Upon a Time Dinner in 2019 – dishes crafted around fairy tales, Blue Cocktails poured out of Genie’s lamp, Bambi’s Mum still makes me laugh, I think it was venison in a pool of red sauce, and herbs in shotgun pellets. PETA would not be a fan but it was magnificent. He is an English Michelin Chef who came to the convict island to stake his claim.

What we ordered…

Nag’s Pork Sausage Roll, truffle mayo

Leek + Cheese Croquettes, lemon mayo

Kingfish Tandoori, smoked yoghurt, cucumber

Nelly’s Fish Pie, topped with mash

Roast Lamb Shoulder, mint & rosemary w/- Roast Potatoes, Roast Carrots, Buttered Greens, Yorkshire Pudding & Gravy

Manchester Custard Tart w/- strawberry jam

Melting Ginger Parkin w/- caramel milk

The Food

Nelly has transformed the whole pub’s dining from the standard pub grub, to the Sunday roast meal to the menu in their gastronomlc dining experience in Wintstons. Winstons is only open for dinner Thursday – Saturday, and I could only visit on Sunday, we still sat in Winstons but had the fabbo Sunday Roast menu.

Firstly any venue that serves a kitchen-made sausage roll I will order it, Granny is from Manchester and is not a fan of Pork Sausage roll so I had the lion’s share. I loved the fennel seeds in the dish, and I couldn’t taste the truffle in the mayo, and this was good, as the sausage roll was the hero, without interruptions.

The Leek and Cheese Croquettes were an absolute wonder that I just adored, I could have just eaten 20 of them. The Kingfish Tandoori could possibly be my favourite savoury dish, it was so mildly flavoured that it just tasted like perfectly cooked kingfish. The seasoning subtlety just blew my mind!!

The Food continued.

The fish pie was wonderful, this is another of those dishes I must order if on the menu and it had Nelly’s style all over it, I had one a while back that was really runny, this took the other side, it was more like a fish and seafood paste, with zero run.

Now the roast was sublime, the lamb had the consistency of butter and melted in our mouthes, the carrots puree presented as a mash was so vividly coloured and just exceptional, and the snap peas were a hit. One bonus, Granny doesn’t like Yorkshire Pudding – so it was all mine mwoohahahaha.

After a good half an hour of mains break and a bottle of Pinot Gris we were ready for dessert. Granny was wondering what a Manchester Custard Tart was being from there – traditionally a Manchester Tart has raspberry jam on the base before the custard is added, Nelly has gone for Strawberry Jam in its place and we both adored it.

But the exceptional dessert – my fave of the year was the Melting Ginger Parkin – I had zero clue what this was. Granny explained it is really HEAVY, it is a ginger cake, with syrupy molasses, oatmeal and molasses. Nelly has done his version and it was more like a fondant cake with the consistency of Sticky Date Pudding, you split the cake to open it and ginger pours out and the ginger is a lot, I worship it and could eat it everyday, this was a dish that I will remember forever. It is not a subtle dish – it is a welcome punch in the face with ginger!!

 

In Conclusion

Oh Nelly, you have done it again, both Granny and I were astounded, Granny took any leftovers home. The Nag’s Head is moving towards 200yrs of operation and of all the people to dine there the food hasn’t been better, surely not. This is a pub meal worthy of a drive, Granny is getting her kids to take her back for her birthday and if I can get Mum in Sydney we are going for a dozen parkins hahaha

A huge thanks to Nelly, the venue and their PR company.

SCORE BREAKDOWN: 3/3 food, 2/2 service, 1/1 drinks, 1/1 venue & ambience, 1/1 cost, 1/1 toilets & 1/1 bonus

*** Spooning Australia was invited to dine for this meal ***

All photographs are Copyrighted by Spooning Australia and Jason King – please feel free to share with full credit provided.

The Nag’s Head Hotel Glebe Details

Website – https://www.nagsheadhotel.com.au/

Phone(02) 9123 6872

Emailinfo@nagsheadhotel.com.au

Address – 162 St Johns Rd, Glebe NSW 2037

Bookings – Recommended

Pricing – Medium

Opening Hours

Sun – Tue: 12-10pm

Wed/Thurs: 12-11pm

Fri/Sat: 12pm-12am

Vegetarian Options – Limited

Takeaway – Unsure

Local Delivery – Unsure

Gluten-Free Options – Limited

Kid Friendly – For Meals