If you'd asked a Manly local eighteen months ago what was happening down at the wharf, you'd have got a shrug and a mumble about a tired food court and a bar that hadn't changed since the nineties. Ask the same question today and they'll walk you down there themselves.
In April 2024, Brisbane-based Artemus Group — the operators behind Howard Smith Wharves — bought Manly Wharf and quietly announced they'd be doing to it what they'd done to the base of the Story Bridge. Six months later, on 18 October 2024, their flagship brewery Felons Brewing Co. poured its first pint at Manly. A year and change on, Felons doesn't just occupy the old Wharf Bar. It spans most of the wharf: a sprawling brewpub, a dedicated seafood dining room, and — as of December 2025 — a 700-capacity live-music Barrel Room with its own steam-powered microbrewery humming behind the taps.
It is, without exaggeration, the biggest change to the Manly foreshore in a decade. And it's the reason a mid-week ferry across the harbour now ends at a proper night out.
The wharf takeover, in three acts
Act one — Felons Manly (Oct 2024). Artemus stripped back the old Wharf Bar and reopened it as the Felons flagship: a big open brewpub restaurant right on the water, pouring the full Felons range from Brisbane alongside a Mediterranean-leaning menu of local seafood and elevated pub fare. Walk-in tables spill onto the deck; harbour glare bounces off the schooners.
Act two — Felons Seafood (June 2025). They took the old Hugos site further along the wharf and reopened it as a dedicated dining room and raw bar — oysters, whole grilled fish, seafood towers, and one of the best sunset windows in Sydney. This is the more grown-up sibling: white tablecloths optional, but the wine list is real.
Act three — Felons Barrel Room + on-site microbrewery (5 December 2025). The unused Aldi site at the back of the wharf became a 700-capacity Barrel Room, lined with more than 100 French oak barrels, with a stage, seated dining for 300, and a Vietnamese menu curated by chef Bao La (of Manly's Saigon Supper Inn) and Ty Bellingham (ex-Sailor's Thai, Bathers' Pavilion). Bolted onto it: a custom-built 18.5-hectolitre steam-powered dry-malt-extract brewhouse, pouring beer directly from 3,600-litre tanks into both Felons Manly and the Barrel Room. Manly officially has a working microbrewery again.
The three venues, and which one is right for you
1. Felons Manly — the brewpub
E Esplanade, Manly Wharf. Open 11am–late, daily.
This is the anchor. A big open room and an even bigger deck, right on the water, no booking required for the outdoor tables. Walk-in whatever the size of your group; the outdoor area is deliberately kept for walk-ins. Order at the bar or via the Me&U beacons on the table.
The kitchen calls it *Mediterranean with a touch of surf-village charm* — which, translated, means fresh local seafood, wood-fired share plates, and elevated versions of the pub classics (the beer-battered fish and chips is very good; the chargrilled octopus is better). Kids are welcome with a parent, and dogs are welcome in all outdoor areas.
The beer lineup is the full Felons Brisbane range — Crisp Lager, Galaxy Haze, Australian Pale Ale, seasonal one-offs, and the Manly-exclusive Japanese Rice Lager. The last one is worth ordering not just because it's clean and dry and made for hot afternoons, but because every glass funds the removal of one piece of plastic from Sydney Harbour via the Seabin project. Genuinely, one glass = one piece of plastic pulled from the water out front.
2. Felons Seafood — the harbour dining room
Along the wharf towards the ferry terminal, in the old Hugos space. This is the one to book. Whole grilled fish, oysters shucked to order, seafood platters designed for a table of four, and a proper wine list. The room angles west across the cove, which means the ~6pm booking in summer gets the full sunset over the yachts.
Best for: date nights, birthdays, a nicer lunch after a long walk down from North Head. If you want the Felons vibe with more restraint (and fewer schoolies), Seafood is the one.
3. Felons Barrel Room — the live-music hall
The newest and, arguably, the most ambitious. 700 capacity, 300 of those seated for dinner, more than 100 French oak barrels of aged beer stacked along the walls. Chef Bao La and Ty Bellingham are running a Vietnamese menu — think crispy pancakes, grilled seafood with nuoc cham, whole fish with tamarind — designed to eat while a band plays on the stage behind you.
The beer here leans into Felons' barrel-aged program: a barrel-aged Crisp Lager matured in Starward Whisky barrels, sours from the koelschip they're installing, and Manly-exclusive limited releases straight from the on-site brewhouse. Programming includes live music, piano-bar sets, jazz nights, comedy, trivia, and movie nights. Book for dinner-and-a-show; walk in for a drink and a snack at the bar.
What's on every week
The one thing Felons has changed for the better, more than anything else, is that Manly Wharf now has a weekly rhythm. Here's the recurring calendar as of 2026:
| Day | What's on | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday–Thursday | Weekly Eats | All day | Four rotating $20 plates. Genuinely the best-value dinner on the wharf. |
| Monday–Friday | Happy Hour | 4–6pm | $10 cold pints, $10 wines, $10 select spirits. Walk-in, no booking. |
| Tuesday | Trivia Night | From 7pm | Free to play, teams of up to 6, prizes for the top three. |
| Sunday | Community Day | 11am–late | Live music from midday, family-friendly, food-truck-style extras out on the deck. |
There are also one-off events on high rotation — from World Cup screenings (the Socceroos vs Egypt knockout on Saturday 4 July, opening early with coffee) to Sydney Beer Week collabs, and the December Barrel Room opening weekend featured Winston Surfshirt, Mental As Anything and a Sweat It Out takeover. Check the Felons Manly What's On page before your visit.
The view — which table to ask for
The single thing you can't fake, and Felons didn't have to try: the view. From the outdoor deck at Felons Manly, you're looking directly across Manly Cove — yachts on moorings in the foreground, the ferry pulling in and out every 20 minutes, Middle Head and Dobroyd Head rising in the distance, and a straight horizon of harbour water that turns molten gold about an hour before sunset.
A few local tips:
- For the best outdoor table, arrive by 11:30am on a weekend or 4pm on a weekday. The corner tables at the western end of the deck get the last of the sunset.
- For the sunset, Felons Seafood has the west-facing windows; the brewpub deck has the wide-open sky. Both work; the deck is cheaper.
- On a windy southerly, the deck can be blustery — sit inside near the west windows instead.
- If it's raining, the covered section of the brewpub deck stays open and the harbour looks great in a squall. Not a bad rainy-day plan at all.
Practical stuff (the FAQ)
Do I need to book? For Felons Manly outdoor tables, no — walk-in only, that space is protected for walk-ups. For Felons Seafood and the Barrel Room, yes, especially Thurs–Sun. Book via sevenrooms.com/reservations/felonsmanly.
Can I bring the dog? Yes, in all outdoor areas. Not inside.
Kids? Welcome across all three venues when with a parent or guardian. Some late-night Barrel Room events are 18+; check the listing.
Parking? Secure Parking underneath at Manly Wharf Car Park, 24 East Esplanade. Street parking around Manly is a genuine competitive sport — the car park is worth it.
Getting there without a car (obviously the right answer): The F1 Manly ferry from Circular Quay drops you at the wharf. You walk fifty metres to your table. See our full Manly ferry guide for timetables and fares.
Takeaway beer? Not from the venue. Order from the Felons online shop.
Wheelchair access? Yes — enter from the street side of the venue. There's a small step on the harbour-side entrance.
Cake / decorations? Cake is fine with notice ($3 per person cakeage). No balloons or decorations for walk-ins.
What the locals actually think
The response has been, broadly, positive — with the caveats you'd expect. The Manly Observer has covered the takeover in depth, and the general read from long-time locals is that Artemus have brought money and momentum to a wharf that badly needed both, with a scale of programming (live music, trivia, community Sundays, real chefs in the Barrel Room) that Manly didn't previously have. The pushback tends to be about the loss of the old independents that shared the wharf — Ciao Chow closed as part of the redevelopment — and about the sheer size of the Felons footprint now.
For visitors, none of that matters. What you get is: three venues, one operator, a working microbrewery, a real weekly events calendar, and — crucially — some of the best harbour-side tables in the city, at prices that are still (just) reasonable.
Plan your day around it
Ferry in from Circular Quay, land at Manly Wharf, walk fifty metres. Do Shelly Beach in the morning, lunch on the deck at Felons Manly, then a beer in the sun before the ferry back. Or push the day later: North Head walk in the afternoon, sunset at Felons Seafood, a band at the Barrel Room, ferry home under the Harbour Bridge lights. Build my Manly itinerary →
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*Felons Manly, E Esplanade, Manly NSW 2095. Open 11am–late daily. felonsbrewingco.com.au/pages/felons-manly.*
