The Balmain Pub Group has applied its characteristic flair to an old-school Erskineville neighbourhood pub.

Formerly the Kurrajong Hotel, this inner west stalwart has been taken over and refurbished by the  Balmain Pub Group who also own and operate the Riverview Hotel in Birchgrove and the Balmain Hotel in Balmain.

The new-look, new-name Swanson has opened a restaurant upstairs under former AHA chef of the year, Brad Sloane. Following the lead of the popular Riverview Hotel, the focus of The Swanson Hotel will be on simple clean food, with a gastro pub influence.

The restaurant seats 80 people and includes a private dining room and cocktail bar with a balcony overlooking the park. The downstairs part of the pub offers casual booth seating and dishes such as Wagyu burgers and White Rabbit beer battered fish complimented by a focus on craft beers.

Nick Wills, who is overseeing the refurbishment, believes the new development will raise the profile of the area and bring an ‘upmarket and sophisticated dining offering’ to what has previously been a fairly low key neighbourhood.

The Swanson is located at 106-108 Swanson Street, Erskineville NSW.