The legendary Bob Hawke has a beer named after him, Hawke’s Lager. It’s a pretty good beer. Bob Hawke is an Australian Prime Minister and longest serving Labor Prime Minister from 1983 to 1991. Prime Minister Hawke was known for his larrikin nature and love of beer. On YouTube, there are several videos where you can see him scull beer in one go. He is quite legendary. And so, it seems so fitting that there is a beer named after him.
Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre is located in Marrickville. It can be reached by public transport. Bus will get you the closest with about 5 minutes walking. The centre is a huge hall with tables and bar counters for guests to enjoy either a beer or Chinese food with a beer. The whole building has a love and appreciation for Bob Hawke.
It’s hard to picture this place also being a Chinese restaurant, but it’s here and the food is really good. Albeit I did spent some time looking at various reviews before visiting this joint. I highly recommend the Special Fried Rice for $21 and the Honey King Prawns for $36. You can share it with 3 or 4 people. We struggled to finish the meal with just 2 people.
| Highlights | Having read many reviews, I highly recommend trying both the Special Fried Rice and the Honey King Prawns. The Special Fried Rice is fragrant, delicious and comes with crispy Chinese sausage. The Honey King Prawns have excellent batter, are huge, and just the right amount of honey sauce. |
| Cost | $21 Special Fried Rice $36 Honey King Prawns $15 Lucky Prawn Toast |
| Location | 8/12 Sydney Street, Marrickville NSW 2204 |
| Website | https://www.hawkesbrewing.com/beerandleisure |
Outside the building, on its side is a large mural of Bob Hawke holding his lager. It’s a fantastic mural and one worth getting a photo of. Around the building are plenty of trucks bearing the Hawke Lager logos and distilleries. This location seems to be the home of Hawke Lager. You can pick them up to take home.
The building opens its doors from 12 pm on weekdays. As you walk in, you will see that the Lucky Prawn is literally incorporated within the bar. It’s not a separate restaurant and bar. Overall it was a pretty cool experience and one that you have to see with family and friends.
I found it pretty cool that some of the tables were set up in the typical Chinese restaurant set-up with chopsticks, tissues and soy sauce on run-of-the-muck tables. There was a real charm to this set-up.
The Lucky Prawn menu is available in paper form and you can order using the QR code. The menu isn’t huge and is on the pricier end, but the food is delicious and the serving sizes are larger than the usual serving sizes.
A great experience at Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre and Lucky Prawn
We ordered the Special Fried Rice and Honey King Prawns. I wasn’t expecting to be wowed, but we were definitely wowed by the sheer quality of the food. The Honey King Prawns are the best I’ve had anywhere. For a non-Asian establishment, they managed to cook some exceptional dishes.
Of course, I tried the lager, but won’t share the photo.
If you have time, you can check out the dedicated pool room in the back corner. There is an actual pool table in the middle with plenty of photos of Bob Hawke and his memorabilia. There is a real love for the man in this building. For many Australians, Bob Hawke was a larger than life character and a great. He managed to lead Australia into the modern age. It’s pleasing to see a place dedicated to him (and one that had his blessing before he passed away in 2019).
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