The Ivanhoe

The local take

The Ivanhoe is the Manly pub locals defend hardest. It's had a life as an Art Deco cinema and a few reinventions since, and the current version leans into what it does best — local bands four nights a week, cold schooners at prices that feel like a different decade, and a rooftop that catches the last of the sun. Thursday's free entry to the front bar is one of the best-value nights out on the beaches.

Don't come expecting cocktails with smoke and gold leaf. Come for a five-piece blues band on a wet Thursday, sticky carpet underfoot, and the sense that you've found the version of Manly that existed before the wellness cafés. That's the charm, and it's genuine.