Images supplied | Credit: Tom Lane
Brompton’s beloved local, The Excelsior Hotel, has officially unveiled a massive transformation, giving the inner-west staple a sleek new look while keeping its proud, old-school pub heart beating strong.
The extensive renovation brings a modern, refreshed feel to the Coglin Street venue, boasting a completely redesigned dining room, a modernised gaming area, and a brand-new, state-of-the-art kitchen firing up a fresh menu of winter warmers.
For owner Brad Barreau and his family, the project is a deeply personal full-circle moment. The Barreau family has operated in the South Australian pub industry for half a century, and their history with The Excelsior spans decades.
“We actually renovated the pub 30 years ago when we owned it back then,” Brad said.
Since then, the hotel group has leased out the pub, before bringing operations back into family hands five years ago.
“We thought it was time to give the old girl a bit of a new look,” Brad said.
The family connection to the building runs even deeper than the business itself.
“My oldest two children are 28 and 29. They both work in the business. They were both born when my wife and I lived upstairs at the pub running it nearly 30 years ago,” Brad shared.
The cleverest part of the multi-stage makeover involved a complete floorplan flip to improve the flow for both patrons and staff. The team stripped the old gaming room, toilets, and kitchen right back to the bones, updating all the infrastructure before swapping the positions of the dining and gaming spaces.
“We shelled the kitchen, redid all the plumbing, and put in a completely new kitchen,” Brad explains. “Then we swapped the gaming room and the dining room… We went into the old gaming room and toilets, knocked them all out, put some nice windows in, and created a lovely new dining room.”
The addition of the large windows has completely transformed the dining experience, bringing light and energy into the space.
“The regulars are loving it because it’s just given it a whole new lease of life,” Brad says. “Especially with the new windows letting people look outside, instead of being stuck in a dining room with no view of anything.”
“We maintained the original frontage and everything, but we, of course, renewed everything from the ground up,” Brad says. “Just flipping the layout from what it was to what we’ve done means everything works a lot better. It’s great for the staff and great for the customers alike.”
While the dining room and kitchen have received a major glow-up, purists won’t have to worry about losing the classic pub atmosphere they know and love. Brad is determined to preserve the authentic, welcoming spirit of the venue, with plans to refresh the front bar later this year.
“We haven’t done the bar yet, but we’re gonna look to do that just leading into summer. That’s still an absolute old school front bar,” Brad says.
And that’s the way it’ll most likely remain, even after a refresh.
“We don’t like creating the next greatest, newest place to go to. We’ve been in the pub game for nearly 50 years now as a family, three generations. We just like creating good, wholesome venues to go to that are lovely, and what I’d like to say is an old school style of pub, restaurant, and dining room.”
With a brand-new kitchen comes a revamped menu designed to hit the spot for casual mid-week dinners and weekend gatherings alike. Alongside elevated pub classics, the venue has installed a fresh asset to their culinary lineup.
“We put the pizza oven in the kitchen as well, so they’re making fresh pizzas on site. So they’re also becoming a bit of a hit and going really well,” Brad says.
When it comes to picking a favourite from the new food lineup, Brad admits it’s a tight contest.
“It’s a tough call. I like the King Henry pork fillet. That is one of my favourites. I’m a steak man, and our chef cooks a really mean butter chicken as well, so it’s a tough choice when I go to order lunch.”
Whether you’re a long-time Brompton local or looking for your next inner-west dinner spot, the upgraded Excelsior Hotel is ready and waiting to welcome you in.
Excelsior Hotel
Where: 110 Coglin St, Brompton
For more information, click here.
