From the day hoteliers first swapped a sausage-roll warmer behind the bar for a full functioning bistro, the steak sandwich has been a pub staple.
But in modern hotels the once humble combination of meat and bread has morphed into a menu leading specialty, as unique and creative as any fine dining restaurant dish.
After weeks of secret taste testing, judges for the 2025 AHA NSW Awards for Excellence have narrowed down the list of the State’s best Steak sangers to just 16.
The finalists list is dominated by hotels out of Sydney and include pubs from Beechwood to Bathurst, and four hotels from the Riverina town of Wagga Wagga.
The finalists include; Beechwood Hotel, Coramba Hotel, Country Club Hotel Tooleybuc, George Darby Hotel in Newcastle, and Grange Hotel in Wyoming.
The Harbord Hotel in Freshwater is in the running, as is North Nowra Tavern, Robin Hood Hotel in Orange, Royal Hotel Denman, The Oxford Bathurst, The Shorty Hotel in Shortland, and Willoughby Hotel, in North Willoughby.
The list of contenders is rounded out by Farmers Home Hotel, Riverina Hotel, Sportsmen’s Club Hotel and The Blamey Hotel all from what is quickly becoming known as the NSW Steak Sandwich capital, Wagga Wagga.
AHA CEO John Whelan said the category has generated at lot of interest and wished all finalists the best of luck.
The winner will be named at a gala ceremony on Tuesday, 28 October 2025 at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.
