It may be blasphemy in a review for The Brewery, but I'm not the least bit interested in beer. I've never had much interest in visiting at all until the crew from Burnsbury Hospitality (who ran an excellent kitchen at The Heritage Hotel in Bulli) moved in with 2 Smoking Barrels. They've created a classic pub menu with interest and quality, and their burger is always a winner - perfectly seasoned and proportioned. Not too crowded on a sunny Sunday lunchtime, we sat outside and enjoyed a surprisingly good soundtrack. Service taking orders could be better - it took quite some time despite the venue not being crowded. read more

Illawarra Brewery - Breweries Near Me - Wollongong, NSW

Great location, great beer and average food. Great selection of beers. Great DJ. I really cannot wait to return and you never know what craft beers they might have available that week! read more

Nice Place, Good Drinks but the Food is Quite Pricey Good atmosphere and great selection of drinks. Their summer ale is excellent. The kitchen is now operated by "2 smoking barrels" and you now need to order at the bar. However there are separate queues for food and for drinks. So on a busy day, like the day we were there, we had to queue twice. Once for food and the other for drinks. The food was delicious, but it was a 40 min wait before our order was ready. I'm not sure if this is the norm as this is my first time trying the food here by the new kitchen. Also the serving portions are quite small. I got a pulled-pork slider and a salt and chilli soft shell crab slider. The two sliders came in a single basket and there wasn't much crab on the crab slider. Suggest you try the Parmy if you're really hungry (as Mick P suggest that the value for money for that item was fantastic). read more

Illawarra Brewery is a great place to sit and relax with friends over a craft brew or two as you check out the yummy menu. With the views out over the ocean always spectacular, you'll definitely find it hard to leave! read more

Illawarra Brewery - New menu - Breweries Near Me - Wollongong, NSW

Positives: Great atmosphere and food! Staff were friendly and pleasant Well priced food. Value for money is fantastic! (Try the Parmy!) The Brewery has a great view out onto the Wollongong City Beach. Negatives: Only one person/station to order from. It gets very busy and took upwards of 10 mins to order (with a line heading out the door) We were intending to make a booking, only to be told that one didn't need to be made. We turn up with 15 people and there were few free tables. There were also tables that had been pre-booked. read more

Illawarra Brewery - The legendary Parmy & Chips - Breweries Near Me - Wollongong, NSW

This is a lovely lunch spot with a great array of local brews at reasonable prices. The food is delicious, especially after a few drinks! It's nothing amazingly special, but it was a great, casual afternoon in a pretty, convenient location. And it's also great fun to watch the seagulls eyeing up your chips! read more

Obviously, one goes to the brewery to sample the beer, and in that area, Illawarra Brewery does not disappoint. I was a bit taken back by the dated orange wooden chairs, wobbly tables, and torn stools, but hey, I was here for the beer. Sadly they weren't offering their hefeweizen that day, but after a few tasters I happily settled on the koelsh. If I had been settling in for a session I would have jumped on the oatmeal stout (dark, but not too thick, a perfect winter beer). The American and pulled pork sliders the internet promised me are gone, having been replaced with a bland steak burger (no sauce, no flavour), average barramundi, and soggy, unseasoned chips. I know there's good food to be found in the Gong, but I didn't find any here. I would have loved to stay for another beer, but with the cold winter wind blowing in through the front of the brewery, we were keen to make an exit. 4.5 stars for the beer. Huge range of both their own and some selected guest brews. 5 stars for the friendly, knowledgable bar keep who eagerly offered samples as he excitedly explained each beer. 2 stars for the freezing 1970s atmosphere. Seriously, if you're stationed on the beach on a windy winter day, maybe don't have the entire front of the restaurant open. 2 stars for the food. read more

This place is a little unsure what it wants to be..funky bar, sports bar.. Trys for both and misses. The beers tasted great (especially Rust) and are reasonably priced, however you can only order "snacks" from the bar, everything else has to be ordered from behind the bar, bit wierd, but hey, it's no biggie in the grand scheme of things. The food was a downer, a Parmie that was crunchy around the edges and so dry in the middle that it had gone all that fibery way. Possibly a reheat? I didn't send it back (I have seen The movie Waiting!), but I didn't go back for the rest of my stay in the Gong. Shame, that Rust is a good drop. read more

Awesome location over looking the beach! We just had a few beers but they were awesome. Nice ocean breezes cools you down while you sip you craft beer. read more