Sandringham Hotel, Newtown

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Sandringham Hotel
Established	1870
Address	387 King Street, Newtown, NSW 2042.

The Sandringham Hotel is a pub in the suburb of Newtown in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

The pub has a long history and is the spiritual homeland to several of Sydney's bands, including Frenzal Rhomb and The Whitlams. It is known locally as The Sando.

The Sando, before recent renovations, had a relatively unique layout, the downstairs bar(only bar at this stage) in all its art-deco glory was a large square in the middle of the pub, with patrons surrounding the outside of it and a stage in the opposite corner. Popular among locals because you could sit at the bar and watch the band who were at the other side of the bar in the corner. The front-middle stage used to jut into one corner of the square bar and performers could rest their beer on the bar at the front of the stage and even order more drinks whilst on stage!

This layout made it slightly difficult for patrons at the opposite end of the bar from the stage to see the whole band, but somehow this did not matter. The sound was great, the vibe was friendly (as was their old dog) and the bands enjoyed playing there as much as the patrons enjoyed hearing them.

Some say it was the end of an era for Newtown when the Sando shut their doors for renovations, but the venue is up and running again, albeit in a more subdued, smaller upstairs bar and stage, but still has an air of friendliness and cosiness that brings people back.