The Unicorn calls last orders, ending an era for the pokie-free ‘proper Aussie pub’

The operators of The Unicorn in Paddington will depart the beloved Oxford Street pub on September 1, calling last orders on some of Sydney’s best pub food, including its famous wing-on chicken schnitzel and Jatz with French onion dip.

“To our beloved regulars, fierce supporters, once a month-ers and those 2AM randoms who always make our week – we have some sad news. Sunday September 1st will mark the end of our stewardship of the Unicorn Hotel,” owners Kenny Graham, Jake Smyth, Oscar McMahon and Drew Corbel wrote on Instagram.

In December 2015, Graham, Smyth, Corbel and Bruno Wickes of Newtown’s Mary’s, took over the pub, along with McMahon of Young Henrys beer and Elvis Abrahanowicz​ and Joe Valore from Porteno and Continental Deli. (Abrahanowicz, Valore and Wickes left the business in the intervening years.)

“It’s not a craft beer pub, or gastropub or any of that,” Smyth said in 2015. “It’s just a proper Aussie pub.”

The crew introduced a menu rooted in Australian pub tradition, a wine list with a local and natural bent, and according to Good Food’s Callan Boys, who wrote in January 2016, they ushered in “a pokie-free template for renewal that every other pub in the country could do well to take inspiration from.” There was a pool table, darts, a piano man belting out tunes, weekly trivia, a beer garden and dancing.

“It’s good to go out with a pub that’s operating strongly in a tough environment”

The Unicorn co-owner Kenny Graham

Graham says they have sold the pub’s lease as part of a wider freehold property deal. “It’s good to go out with a pub that’s operating strongly in a tough environment,” adding that the decision allows them to focus on the growth of their core businesses.

On Instagram, Smyth, Graham and Corbel said operating The Unicorn “has been one of the most difficult, rewarding, challenging and fulfilling experiences of our lives”, but Graham tells Good Food they hope they gave Sydney “something of substance”.

“The Unicorn has been a wild ride for us all,” Graham says. “Exploring what pubs mean to community, doing our best to respect those traditions, whilst navigating a business that has always been “Proudly Pokies Free” through an industry that has become somewhat reliant on them.

“With dishes like the Unicorn schnitty, Jatz with french onion dip and the crispy green salad, we hope we’ve left our culinary mark.”