The Courthouse Hotel

The Courty is located at 202 Australia street Newtown.   It's something of a local institution and a great example of an inner west pub.  Even better, it has eight pinball machines.  They are regularly changed but last time I was there the following machines were available; Cactus Canyon, AC/DC (BiB Limited Edition), Metallica, Addams Family, Monster Bash, Creature From the Black Lagoon, Scared Stiff and Theatre of Magic.

The pinball wall - part 1

It seems strange that I've taken so long to write about the Courty as it's dedicated Pinball room seems made for a blog like this.  Its large courtyard is hugely popular in the summer months, there's reasonably priced pub grub available and plenty of beer on tap.  The front bar retains the old school tiled bar look and its location just off King st means this is one of the least well kept secrets in Newtown.

In fact, I find the courty so popular that I tend to try to avoid it on weekends.  If you arrive late you'll be lucky to find a seat outside, the bar can be 3 or 4 deep and the benefits of having 8 pinball machines in one small rom become outweighed by the sheer noise and heat that is generated on a busy summers day.

ACDC and Metallica - together in perfect harmony

That said if you can get along for a weekday lunch then I give it a big thumbs up.  The wide range of machines that are constantly rotated - in fact I wouldn't be surprised if my list of machines is already out of date (check the map for most up to date details) - and there are tournaments run whereby you can win yourself a pinball machine.  Check the ZBall website for more info.  Plus - and this is very important - many of the machines have drink holders!

Metallica and Cactus Canyon - note, machines are less blurry in real life

Theres not really too much else to say - a classic pub, a dedicated pinball room, well kept and often rotated machines - head along to the Courty for a beer and a pinball.

The pinball wall part 2 - the scared-stiffening

Frankies Pizza

Note: current machines are Guns n Roses, Star Trek, Metallica, KISS, Aerosmith and Rob Zombie Spookshow International


Frankies Pizza is located at 50 Hunter Street in the city.   They have five machines at the moment including Metallica Master of Puppets (Limited Edition), ACDC Back In Black Limited Edition, Family Guy, Austin Powers and Pirates of The Caribbean.   They are all $2 a credit and some are $5 for 3 credits.

Frankies has become a bit of a hip joint lately and it's a shame there aren't more places like this in the city, serving food late into the night at a reasonable price, giving an alternative to the high end cocktail and wine bars that seem to have sprung up lately.  The fact there are pinball machines here is really a bonus.  Pizza can be bought by the slice for $5 (there are usually four or five toppings to choose from) or $18 for a whole pizza - check out the menu here.

ACDC backglass featuring guitarist/bikini model Angus Young

The machines themselves are in good condition and thanks to the diverse crowd playing them the free credit score is usually relatively low and easy to get.  I'm not sure what the story is with the black glass for the ACDC machine, it features a bikini model rather than the usual BIB back glass and I can't find any reference to this version at ipdb.org But I assume its some kind of limited edition... not that it effects gameplay in any way, just thought it odd.

Frankies also features free live music on a regular basis so check out what's coming up here.

Overall I definitely give Frankies a thumbs up, It's great to see a venue like this in the city.  So next time your out and about in town and want a snack and a game of Pinball at 1am, head to Frankies.