The Henson Park Hotel

The Henson Park Hotel is located at 91 Illawarra Rd, Marrickville.  It has recently reopened after some renovations and now has a dedicated Pinball room which currently has five pinball machines., including two old school Solid State machines.  The modern machines are  The Sopranos, The Addams Family and Circus Voltaire while the two older machines are Space Shuttle and Firepower.

They are all $2 a credit and 5 ball.

There is also a Big Buck Hunter, a Street Fighter and table top arcade machine as well as an odd little machine called little pro, a kind of novelty golf themed pinball-esque thingy that has been set up with the promise to win beer. 

Little Pro

Apart from the pinball room the other most notable change to the Henso is the new restaurant.  The night I went it was packed, the restaurant area is kid friendly and a few kids wandered into the Pinny room as well.  Depending on your feelings about small people this is either a good or bad thing.  It's certainly a change for the Henso.

The menu is a bit overpriced and trying for a gastro pub thing, but the $18 burger I had didn't impress.  I'll give it another go, and I guess its good you can now eat there.

Solid State machines in the wild

It's rare to see old SS machines so I went straight for them.  They are priced the same as the modern machines but they can be quite unforgiving.  I started on Firepower and instantly felt the pain of no ball save.  I found this machine to be quite a punish and was through my 5 balls pretty quick.  My second go I fared a bit better but these older machines are definitely harder going.

Space Shuttle was a little easier but there's a definite adjustment to be made when playing these machines.  So, after losing my money relatively quickly on these two I turned my attention to the newer machines.                         Circus Voltaire is quite good, though I had played it recently at The Courthouse Hotel.  The Addams Family machine was fully kitted out and in good condition but the machine I was most keen to play was The Sopranos.  I'd only played it once before and hadn't seen it for years. 

 The Sopranos a fun game based on a great tv show though apart from the Annie Liebowitz cast photo on the headboard I wasn't a huge fan of the artwork.  The chequered table cloth motif looks a little tacky to me and the art work in general was quite cartoony, suited more to Fish Tales than The Sopranos.  That said, the toys are interesting, spinning strippers on poles, a talking fish head and a safe that opens up.  Overall its a good game, and rare enough that its worth a go whenever you're at the Henso.

                                                         

So overall it's good to see this Inner West pub reopen and even if it can be a little crowded in the pinball room that's a small complaint to make when there are five machines to choose from .  So, next time you go see the Newtown Jets play at their local ground, wander up after the game to the Henso for a post match beer and pinball.