Anybody here drink in the Cock and Bull, Bondi Jct?

top madra

Sorry about the rant...

But coming home from a BBQ in Tamarama yesterday with a few friends (no Irish) we said we go to Bondi Jct for a drink before heading home.

I hadn't been in the Cock and Bull yet and was kinda looking forward to it because I haven't been in a Irish pub or met that many Irish people since I got here.

But fuk me I couldn't wait to get out of there, it felt like a chit hole from back home, a load of scumbag looking guys hanging around the bar. It's the first time since I got here that I have been surrounded by a load of Irish.

And I couldn't wait to be rid of them........Am I no longer Irish lol.

I had heard before it's a ok spot, but is it always like that?

Mad4simmental

top madra wrote: »

Sorry about the rant...

But coming home from a BBQ in Tamarama yesterday with a few friends (no Irish) we said we go to Bondi Jct for a drink before heading home.

I hadn't been in the Cock and Bull yet and was kinda looking forward to it because I haven't been in a Irish pub or met that many Irish people since I got here.

But fuk me I couldn't wait to get out of there, it felt like a chit hole from back home, a load of scumbag looking guys hanging around the bar. It's the first time since I got here that I have been surrounded by a load of Irish.

And I couldn't wait to be rid of them........Am I no longer Irish lol.

I had heard before it's a ok spot, but is it always like that?

It's just one of them holes that people get stuck in, they drink in it 7 nights of the week and walk around as if they Owen the place. You'll find most of them are fresh of the boat or never moved out of the area since they landed. Personally I hated Sydney. Melbourne and perth are far better but they all have a hole like this.

browne_rob5

top madra wrote: »

Sorry about the rant...

But coming home from a BBQ in Tamarama yesterday with a few friends (no Irish) we said we go to Bondi Jct for a drink before heading home.

I hadn't been in the Cock and Bull yet and was kinda looking forward to it because I haven't been in a Irish pub or met that many Irish people since I got here.

But fuk me I couldn't wait to get out of there, it felt like a chit hole from back home, a load of scumbag looking guys hanging around the bar. It's the first time since I got here that I have been surrounded by a load of Irish.

And I couldn't wait to be rid of them........Am I no longer Irish lol.

I had heard before it's a ok spot, but is it always like that?

The T gardens is even worse

mandrake04

top madra wrote: »

Sorry about the rant...

But coming home from a BBQ in Tamarama yesterday with a few friends (no Irish) we said we go to Bondi Jct for a drink before heading home.

I hadn't been in the Cock and Bull yet and was kinda looking forward to it because I haven't been in a Irish pub or met that many Irish people since I got here.

But fuk me I couldn't wait to get out of there, it felt like a chit hole from back home, a load of scumbag looking guys hanging around the bar. It's the first time since I got here that I have been surrounded by a load of Irish.

And I couldn't wait to be rid of them........Am I no longer Irish lol.

I had heard before it's a ok spot, but is it always like that?

You sound like a very smart bloke.

CNB & T Gardens are typical Bondi, and is to muppets what Mecca is to Muslims.

top madra

mandrake04 wrote: »

You sound like a very smart bloke.

CNB & T Gardens are typical Bondi, and is to muppets what Mecca is to Muslims.

Lol I'm not too sure about the smart bit

But why they come to the other side of the world and carry on like they would at home, I'll never understand this mentality...

My French friends were slagging me saying 'this is Ireland' lol...
Tbf I was just embarrassed and couldn't get out of there fast enough. I guess I'll be staying clear of the Tea gardens also then..

mandrake04

top madra wrote: »

Lol I'm not too sure about the smart bit

Well you sussed the place out, there's plenty been going there for years and they failed to spot it.

Mellor

Was this today? Sundays are the worst in there. You prob got a good idea of the place.
All the C&B is good for is free steak on Thursdays.

commited

top madra wrote: »

But why they come to the other side of the world and carry on like they would at home, I'll never understand this mentality...

There seems to be a number of Irish people in Sydney (mostly Bondi) who only have an interest in socialising with Irish people. I fell into a group like that when I first arrived but had a similar experience to yourself - haven't been back to Bondi (apart for some breakfast) since! Avoid C&B, Tea Gardens and Scruffy Murphys and you'll be OK. PJs used to be nicer than it is now but it's still decent during the day

Slunk

As someone said,the only decent thing about it was $0 steak on a Thursday.

top madra

Mellor wrote: »

Was this today? Sundays are the worst in there. You prob got a good idea of the place.
All the C&B is good for is free steak on Thursdays.

Sat eve, all the place was missing was a few pairs of track suits tucked in socks.

It felt like walking into another towns local bar where the whole pub turns and checks you out to see who you are when you walk in.

What does one have to do to acquire a free steak though?

Mellor

top madra wrote: »

What does one have to do to acquire a free steak though?

Buy a drink on a thursday.

Apollo_Creed

top madra wrote: »

Sorry about the rant...

But coming home from a BBQ in Tamarama yesterday with a few friends (no Irish) we said we go to Bondi Jct for a drink before heading home.

I hadn't been in the Cock and Bull yet and was kinda looking forward to it because I haven't been in a Irish pub or met that many Irish people since I got here.

But fuk me I couldn't wait to get out of there, it felt like a chit hole from back home, a load of scumbag looking guys hanging around the bar. It's the first time since I got here that I have been surrounded by a load of Irish.

And I couldn't wait to be rid of them........Am I no longer Irish lol.

I had heard before it's a ok spot, but is it always like that?

As a regular enough customer of the CnB, I want to just query what your complaint was with the pub.
Was it that you thought it was sh*thole as in decor? I'd disagree with that, it's designed in an Irish pub style but could do with some renovations but mostly I find it to be ok.
Was it the scumbags at the bar? Can't have an issue with that. No one wants to drink in a pub with scumbags.
Was it that the pub was full of Irish behaving like they would at home, with little or no other nationalities present? Well, it is an Irish pub. Maybe it's Irish people you have an issue with.

Was suprised enough by your comments, as of all the Irish pubs in Sydney the CnB would possibly be my favourite (especially on a Sunday).
I understand perfectly well that a lot of people in there, possibly spend all there time in the junction, but you have to realise that most of these people did not move to Oz to experience the culture and meet people of different nationalities, they moved to work. And while they are here, they choose to enjoy themselves as they would at home with Irish people.

Peregrinus

The city with the largest number of good Irish pubs is, unsurprisingly, Dublin. There's not a huge amount of point in travelling half-way round the world and then trying to recreate the experience of being in Ireland. You're bound to be disappointed, since it's never going to be as good as actually being in Ireland.

The point of going and living in another country for a while is to experience something different.

That's not to say taht you shouldn't go to an "Irish pub" in Sydney if you want to. Just don't expect it to be an Irish pub. It's an Australian hotel.

catbear

I can appreciate why some people who came to oz purely for the cash would be happy to stay within their scene, plenty move to the middle east for the cash yet no one expects them to become Muslims just to experience the culture.

derfderf

browne_rob5 wrote: »

The T gardens is even worse

It looks worse but it doesn't have nearly as much trouble.
Also the $0 steak is now $1. The bastards.

bmwguy

The cock n bull is an English bar, not an Irish bar.

top madra

Apollo_Creed wrote: »

As a regular enough customer of the CnB,

I wouldn't have too much of a problem with the decor even though it did look like a chit-hole.

I suppose it was the combination of the clientele and the overall feel of the place, it felt one of the local chit holes at home and 'some' of the clientele weren't any better.

The minute I walked in there if felt like I back in Ireland but not in a good way.

Lol at having a problem with Irish people, I would love to meet more Irish here but ones that like to spend their time surfing and enjoying the outdoors rather than sitting in a chit hole that looks like a dive at home with more of the same people.

And just so we're clear I'm no sob, I was raised in a council estate where the people that are still there think it's cool to act like full bred travellers.

Peregrinus

catbear wrote: »

I can appreciate why some people who came to oz purely for the cash would be happy to stay within their scene, plenty move to the middle east for the cash yet no one expects them to become Muslims just to experience the culture.

I get that they want to stay within their scene. I just think (a) they're missing an opportunity, and (b) their scene is in Ireland; realistically, what they are going to find here is a not-very-good pastiche of the reality they knew in Ireland. All the best Irish pubs are in Ireland.

When I was 17, I met an American in Paris who had eaten in McDonald's for every night of his one-month stay. Not that I'm suggesting that Sydney hotels are to the licensed trade what Paris is to haute cuisine but, still, you get the point.

derfderf

bmwguy wrote: »

The cock n bull is an English bar, not an Irish bar.

They call themselves Australia's number 1 irish pub?

jackbhoy

Peregrinus wrote: »

I get that they want to stay within their scene. I just think (a) they're missing an opportunity, and (b) their scene is in Ireland; realistically, what they are going to find here is a not-very-good pastiche of the reality they knew in Ireland. All the best Irish pubs are in Ireland.

When I was 17, I met an American in Paris who had eaten in McDonald's for every night of his one-month stay. Not that I'm suggesting that Sydney hotels are to the licensed trade what Paris is to haute cuisine but, still, you get the point.

Yeah, some people just like their comfort zone of the familiar. I know lots of people from home that got to Spain or whatever every year and just drink in Irish/English bars and eat Irish food (or maybe the odd exotic night in the Indian/Chinese) for 2 weeks while getting sunburn.

Personally it is my idea of hell and share your interest in travelling to experience new things but if they are happy doing it then good on them, has no real impact on me.
Plus because these types of places are generally clustered in one area (St. Kilda/Bondi Jct, Northbridge) they are quite easy to avoid if not your cup of tea.

thejaguar

I lived in Bondi Jct for a couple of months while I was in Oz in 2004. Went in to the Cock & Bull a few times - usually to meet up with other Irish friends because everyone knows where it is.

Seems it hasn't changed at all in 10 years.

Personally, I try to avoid places like that - that's not what I like to do when I travel. But saying that, I can remember some great days/nights drinking in there and enjoying the Irish vibe (people falling around drunk, puking, fighting etc.)

JimmyCrackCorn

I usually pub crawl on a paddys day. Any pub Irish or Irish sounding usually gets stopped in.

Other than that i stay out of the place.

catbear

They just haven't tried the Aussie alternatives.

josip

It was a hole 15 years ago as well. But a great fcuking hole. Never to be entered in daylight, sober, alone or with anyone who might have notions (goes without saying that would exclude a lot of French). But if you were with the right group, in the right mood, on a Friday evening, the only thing you'd be good for on Saturday would be to watch the cricket and a puck around in Queens.

AngryHippie

Ah come on now, its not like there aren't plenty of above average alternatives


http://www.lordnelsonbrewery.com/

http://thelocal.com.au/

http://www.durtynellyssydney.com.au/

I go to one of the above pretty well every time I'm in Sydney, and they are spot on. Durty's get's pretty hectic when the GAA crowd are in, but can be lovely for a quiet pint, familiar menu and a decent pint (in front of a fire in winter)

That said, there are a lot of folks out there who have no interest in meeting anyone or doing anything outside of the scope they had at home. It's a bit sad that they miss an opportunity to meet new people, go to new places, and try something that can't really be done back home, but it's their loss, and if they want to spend their time and hard-earned propping up a bar in Bondi, then that's their choice. I feel sorry for them rather than angry or resentful, in the same way I feel sorry for the local pi$$heads back home that go from work to the pub to home and repeat it 5 days a week and then head for a "few pints" all day Saturday and Sunday. They're only harming themselves for the most part.
It's when they decide to batter the heads of one another that I have a problem:rolleyes:

NorfolkEnchants

Is there really that much fighting going on there? I mean, I haven't darkened the door in a couple of years now, and even then it was an ealry evening free steak I was after, but is it as bad as all that in terms of violence?

I completely agree that it's a dump though, and anyone I know that ever goes there always seems almost embarrassed to admit they were there. Of all the great places there are in Sydney to go for a drink, I just can't fathom why anyone would pick a fairly run-down dump on a dark corner as their regular spot.

jackbhoy

catbear wrote: »

They just haven't tried the Aussie alternatives.

Think I have seen a few of those lad drinking in the Brunswick Green over summer....:)

bmwguy

derfderf wrote: »

They call themselves Australia's number 1 irish pub?

Its been largely taken over by Irish and they are cashing in. Think of all the British pub names, the pig and porter, fox and hound etc.....I cant think of a single pub in Ireland with a name that sounds similar (unless there is a pub called the horse and jockey in the town of the same name). I was in the CnB last summer, its a good boozer though, full of Irish but definitely not an Irish boozer in its origins. Had a few good nights there and a few free steaks always welcome

Zambia

jackbhoy wrote: »

Think I have seen a few of those lad drinking in the Brunswick Green over summer....:)

That's me behind the dog....#selfconfessedbogan

Mellor

bmwguy wrote: »

Its been largely taken over by Irish and they are cashing in. Think of all the British pub names, the pig and porter, fox and hound etc.....I cant think of a single pub in Ireland with a name that sounds similar (unless there is a pub called the horse and jockey in the town of the same name). I was in the CnB last summer, its a good boozer though, full of Irish but definitely not an Irish boozer in its origins. Had a few good nights there and a few free steaks always welcome

It's also called The Grand Hotel, and the bar it's self us Siobhan's Bar.

A name is largely meaningless.

Misty Chaos

catbear wrote: »

They just haven't tried the Aussie alternatives.

Having being in one of those type of pubs in the farming town I'm living in at the moment, the design of such bars made it feel like I've stepped into a time machine and gone back to the 1970s. :pac:

Peregrinus

Your traditional Aussie country hotel is basically a men's toilet which also serves beer - right down to the tiled floor and walls, for easy hosing-down after closing time.

But you do have better choices in Sydney. There are certainly better options than a faux-Irish pub that has only become so because it faled to make the grade as a faux-English pub.

surpy

bmwguy wrote: »

I cant think of a single pub in Ireland with a name that sounds similar

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Cock-and-Bull-Coolock/610496085643642

maybe got its name from the aussie place tho, so not sure if it counts?

josip

If my memory serves me correctly it operated as a local for most people rather than the be all and end all, 7 nights a week. In its favour,

• It was close to the bus and train station
• It was centrally located for most of the Irish living in the Bondi Junction Area
• It was unpretentious
• It had a few pool tables
• It didn't have all the rules associated with the League Clubs
• It wasn't full of wall to wall pokies
• It usually had some life about it regardless of the time of day or day of the week

It was good for

• midweek drinking
• after work drinks
• a meet up place on Friday/Saturday nights before heading on somewhere else

It wasn't good for

• Hooking up with some classy bloke/girl
• Impressing others
• Remaining sober/staying on the dry
• Fine dining
• Discussing Goethe/Nietsche

NYC2013

I know lots of people who used to go to the Tea Gardens and Cock n Bull in 2008 when I first went to Australia and they're still going there, how anyone doesn't get sick of that scene I don't know. I remember there being 5 fights in the Tea Gardens one Sunday in the space of about 4 hours and my friends tell me there's way more Irish sumbags around the Junction now then back then

pete4130

Back home, you can choose what pub you want to go to depending on what people you want to mingle with, the scene, music, decor to suit your tastes.

Being here, you don't get that choice and its a lot of Irish people going to the Irish bar and spending time with, drinking with and socialising with people they may not normally would given the choice back home. IT's everyone bunched in together, good and bad.

Mellor

pete4130 wrote: »

Back home, you can choose what pub you want to go to depending on what people you want to mingle with, the scene, music, decor to suit your tastes.

Being here, you don't get that choice and its a lot of Irish people going to the Irish bar and spending time with, drinking with and socialising with people they may not normally would given the choice back home. IT's everyone bunched in together, good and bad.

How do you not have the choice to go to any bar you want to over here?

pete4130

Mellor wrote: »

How do you not have the choice to go to any bar you want to over here?

Either you missed the point I was trying to make or you're being pedantic.

I'll try to explain it to you again, if I must.

You do have the choice to go to any bar you want to. I didn't say otherwise. I specified Irish bars in particular if you re-read my post and Irish people choosing to go to these Irish bars. If that wasn't implied in my original post, I've just spelled it out for you here.

Irish people choose to go to Irish bars. Unlike back in Ireland, you don't have that range of choice to go to a bar that suits your lifestyle choices, decor, peers etc. It's every walk of life from every corner of Ireland going to a commonly known bar where other Irish people will tend to venture to. It's everyone bunched in together, comfortable in their familiarity of Irish-ness whether they like those surroundings or not.

AngryHippie

pete4130 wrote: »

Either you missed the point I was trying to make or you're being pedantic.

I'll try to explain it to you again, if I must.

You do have the choice to go to any bar you want to. I didn't say otherwise. I specified Irish bars in particular if you re-read my post and Irish people choosing to go to these Irish bars. If that wasn't implied in my original post, I've just spelled it out for you here.

Irish people choose to go to Irish bars. Unlike back in Ireland, you don't have that range of choice to go to a bar that suits your lifestyle choices, decor, peers etc. It's every walk of life from every corner of Ireland going to a commonly known bar where other Irish people will tend to venture to. It's everyone bunched in together, comfortable in their familiarity of Irish-ness whether they like those surroundings or not.

Hmmmm...I think you might be stereotyping there Pete, I'm still Irish, and for the most part, I will only drink in an Irish bar if they have an outstanding pint of Guinness, A friend is having some sort of occasion there, or it's Paddys day. The rest of the time, I drink in my local Aussie bars, and most of my Irish friends do likewise.
Granted, most of them have been out her 4 or 5 years now, so they are a little bit over the whole " let's get wnakered in the same pub with the same people all the time" scene. Or maybe we're getting old, I'm not sure.

Either way, I wouldn't be arsed going to most of them anymore except for the reasons above, and definitely not on a routine basis:rolleyes:

statina

Used to go there alot when I first moved to Sydney. Had some very messy thursday nights in it where we'd go for the free steak and forget to go home! Thankfully i got abit of sense, moved away from that scene and am rarely in bondi now but have funny memories of the place.

Dfmnoc

Remember seeing this about 3 4 years ago

robertxxx

I was in oz about 13 years ago on a work visa and it was exactly the same back then, cock and bull had nasty nasty fights, and the pool table at the back didn't help.

The tea gardens wasn't as bad IMO.

And what's the crack with all the county jerseys? And we talk about the English!

NiallSORo

Cn'B is what it is - the only pub in which I've seen 3 full-scale brawls (including 1 all-female) in one day. The people who live in B.J. seem to love it though (including half of my football team).

Better alternatives (imo) with varying degrees of Irishness:

Welcome Hotel, Rozelle
Cat and Fiddle, Balmain
Wild Rover, Surry Hills

top madra

This thread took off....

Don't get me wrong, I'm not totally against the place and may go back to get a second opinion but last Sat eve didn't do it any justice imo and that why I started the thread to see if it was always the same.

It just felt like one of those chit-holes at home that i wouldn't want to spend too much time in, maybe second time round it may be different.

Or maybe not lol..