Clubs/Pubs Guide: (1 Viewer)

[loquasagacious]

Iinitially it must be stressed that Canberra has one huge advantage over almost anywhere else; huge centralisation of the nightlife. There are 7 different establishments (9 depending how you count) in one building, 15 within a 50m radius of garema place and about 3 more if you extend that by another 100m. Everything is walking. Also all of this is happening a ten minute walk from the on campus halls and colleges. So basically there are lots of places to go an easy stumbling distance from lots of students – a recipe for a vibrant nightlife. Lots of student specials as well which are great.

Anyway here goes - starting with the Sydney Building and working outwards.

Mooseheads:

General Notes: Mooseheads pricing is generally reasonable with some good specials eg The Hour of Power from 10-11pm on thursday night is $1 tap beers, basic spirits and mixers. $2 for the rest of the night. If you have a moosecard (available for purchase from the bar in the day time or free if you join the ANU liberal society) you get $2 prices before 11 every night (a $3.50 discount on saturdays). Also they sponsor Johns XIII.

Downstairs: this is the pub part of mooseheads and is composed of two floors ground and lower ground (toilets on lower ground). A bar and pool table on both levels. There is never a cover charge for downstairs and the clientèle is more of the pub rock bogan variety. By day they serve food which is good value at $10 for a fair size pizza and a pint.

Upstairs: This is the club part or “The Moose”. Again two levels one with a dance floor (1st) and the 'cocaine lounge' which looks down on the dance floor(2nd). Both are served with a bar, there is more seating upstairs however. Downstairs has a soundproof smoke room. On Saturdays the moose is a $5 cover.

The Phoenix:

This is a pub frequented by young professionals and the like. It can however get quite crowded as it is very small. I know for a fact that some of the economics lecturers drink there in addition to various political types/hacks. Certainly among the more intellectual of nights out.

Shooters:

Has a Texan theme, again is composed of a pub downstairs and club upstairs. No cover on Thursdays and $2 drinks all night. It is however quite small, fairly seedy and the toilets are from 1952. In my opinion a $5 cover and $5 drinks on Saturday just aren't worth it.

Sultans:

Haven't spent much time here – enough to know its dominated by fully sik azns, lebs and skanky girls. Fights are not infrequent. On Saturdays they have cage dancers.

Quattro:

I believe this is somehow affiliated with Sultans (possibly another pub/club) combo. Prices are low as are numbers in attendence. Certainly among the seedier of places to go.

ICBM:

Has a discount deal with Fenner and B&G. No cover charge reasonable drink prices. Usually however it is fairly quiet – however it seems busier of late being packed the Saturday before last.

Echo Bar:

A good place to sit and chill as a kind of intermission from the moose as it is pretty empty, not very loud and has seats. However be aware that the regulars are NOT to be messed with.

PJ O'Rielleys:

One of Canberras many Irish pubs – personally my favourite. Never any cover, reasonable prices, cider on tap, large pints (600+ml). Karaoke on Thurs and Sat nights, live DJ (playing 80s music) on Fridays. A nice (fairly) non-pretentious Irish feel. The crowd is typically a mix of young professionals and uni students. Only downside is it closes early (1am?). Has $7 student meal deals during the day.

Wig and Pen:

Neos favourite nightspot. Technically a microbrewery in themselves as they brew a lot of their own beers – probably the most consistently high rated being the velvet stout (beloved of neo and my housemates). It has a fairly subdued atmosphere and is a good place for some quiet beers and great conversation. Also it is the closest to campus, if you go remember to check out the mural thingo above the bar.

SouthPac:

This is a contraction of The South Pacific Islander Club. In reality it is a seedy RSL/pub with a dance floor. It has a fair number of pool tables and poker machines. It is located under civic bus interchange. Even the carpet is sticky from spilt alcohol. There tend to be a fair number of underage girls. Comparitive to its hey-dey it is tame – there used to be deals like a $10 cover and two free jugs of spirits..... It is frequented by Fenner and B&G people, personally I would only go were there a hall thing on there – otherwise its not worth it.

King O'Malleys:

Definantly the cheesier of the Irish pubs in civic. Features live music, the dirtiest toilets in civic (seriously every single time I've been in them there is piss and pieces of newspaper everywhere). The crowd is generally young professional trending toward middle-aged, also the Pjs regulars come here after Pjs shuts for the night. It has a convienient location next to Chicken Gourmet.

The Hippo Bar:

Basically a cocktail lounge. Predominantly a young professional crowd. $5 cover, crowded, funny little stools, and pricey drinks. If you're into cocktails then its the place to be.

Academy:

This is very much a Sydney style nightclub (or discotek if you're European). Is all below ground and is situated in what used to be a Greater Union cinema complex. Has two levels, the candybar (obvious name inspiration) which overlooks the main area. The main area having previously been a cinema is composed of a bar, largish standing/sitting area and a lower again dancefloor. Features special guest Djs and the like. Its a $5 cover on Thursdays but this gives two free drinks on entry and then $2 archers all night (the marvels of competition with mooseheads). However Friday and Saturday nights are a huge $15 cover and the drinks are expensive. Young crowd, supre skanks and fully sik brothas do abound though.

Club Mombassa:

Plays predominantly reggae, etc music and has a nice feel however the crowd is generally middle-aged and inclined to sit. $5 cover.

Grail:

All I know is its karaoke on Monday nights.

Civic Pub:

Firstly it is actually in Braddon. More importantly it has LOTS of pool tables and reasonable drink prices. Neo also attests to cheap steak.

Cube:

Canberra's gay club. This is not a place for homophobes. This said straight girls do go there simply because they don't get hit on as much and can be more relaxed. Probably has the most open and prevalent drug use of any of Canberra's clubs.

The Casino:

The only place open 24/7, drinks are expensive. And obviously its a casino.


Also worth noting is food:

$2.50 per slice pizza can be found all around the Sydney Building, 24hr kebabs on Bunda street and chicken burger and chips at Chicken Gourmet (till 5am).

..............................


Places out of civic that rate a mention:

The Dickson Tradies:

Prices are ridiculously low and they have trams which you can sit in and drink.

The Lighthouse (Belconnen):

Has stolen a lot of the Labor Clubs customers. Is quite busy on weeknights predominantly frequented by Canberra (Belconnen) locals from as soon as they can go eg lots of high school (or the ACTs crappy equivalent) kids as well as uni students and f/t workers. So overall a fairly young crowd. Fights are not uncommon.

.............................

My personal pick is; The Moose, PJs, the Wig & Pen, pizza and chips (from chicken gourmet) which I readily concede is a strange mix.

Anyways if I've missed something/been defiecient in some regard then feel free to have a crack at rectifying the situation.

 

[neo o]

Just a few more...

The Uni Bar
The bar at uni. Duh. Frequently plays host to national and international bands including Paul Mac, Electric Wizard, The Presidents of the USA etc etc. Despite being subsidised by our money, the drinks aren't particicularly cheap.

Toast
Toast is in between the Casino and Garema Place. It caters to more of an alternative crowd but unlike most of the clubs in Canberra they actually play a diversity of music. Alot of fun.

The Church Bar
If you love metal, the Church Bar is metal-central in Canberra. Decapitation, Alchemist etc have all played at Church recently. Don't go there to pick up. Located in a side street just passed the Canberra Museum.

The Belgian Club
I've never been here, but I've heard tales of awesome beer served up in chalices.

 

[eurox]

Nice wrap up guys!

Places outside Civic that deserve a mention should include Minque (Manuka) and Filthys (Kingston - think their meant to be a sister of Phoenix).

Great summary though!

 

[boredatmydesk]

Thanks so much guys, sounds like fun- cant wait to get down there

 

[Abtari]

omg.. i went down to canberra with my friend to check out anu/accommodation, and the proximity of the uni to the centre, and hence, the major clubs and pubs, was mouth-watering.. what's more, the prices just added to my envy......

anu rules hard

 

[loquasagacious]

I cant believe I forgot the ANU bar... I was there for a good chunk of PEA day this year because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

To add abit to neo's description though:

The ANU Bar

Live music has included wolfmother in the past. They have heiniken (or however it's spelt) on tap. There is a student discount on the prices. There are lots of pool tables, some air hockey tables. And its right near the fish, chips, etc food place.

North Bar:

Also In the Sydney building - I have no idea about this though.

In blue:

Never been, never heard anything great. Frequented by an older crowd and undercover cops.

I've just been informed this has now closed.

Someone else will need to do Manuka/Kingston because I have no idea.

 

[Enoch]

i think burgmanns should get sponsored...


btw i saw club x across the road from civic...is that like a porn store or strip club or something?

 

[loquasagacious]

I am reliably informed by my housemate that Club X is a strip club.

 

[neo o]

I am reliably informed by my housemate that Club X is a strip club.

With a name like that, who would have thought?

 

[loquasagacious]

With a name like that many have thought it to be a brothel....

 

[Venusian]

Alas stupid message board ate my reply, so here we go again....
Just a few things to add:

North bar:
Has pretty much every type of infused vodka one could imagine - i reccomend the cinnamon with apple juice....public servants make up most of the crowd

In Blue:
Yup no longer exists, went broke in Nov/Dec

Toast:
Salsa nights every wednesday, Cheese on Toast (cheesy retro) every second friday, Chrome (ebm, goth, industrial) Thursdays (cant remember if its monthly for fortnightly), and of course the best night of the lot Lithium first friday of every month (Indie, Alternative, Retro), most nights have a cover (under $5) and they get loads of bands and dj's (lots of Drum and Bass stuff) other times. They also have rad couches and pool tables and a stage

Shooters:
Drop your glass, it'll bounce and hit you in the face (its hilarious to watch)

Hippo:
most nights theres no cover though it depends on what band is playing...and although their cocktails are relatively expensive, theyre totally worth it

Knightsbridge Penthouse:
Kinda similar to hippo its in mort street in braddon (a few blocks up from the bus interchange) the interior reminds me a little of a the milkbar from a clockwork orange for some weird reason

ICBM:
Same clientel as mooseheads (students, adfa boys, and pop collar wankers) but at least you can dance there

Echo:
Always seems empty and recently some guy got beat up and died there so thats been keeping the punters away

Saltans:
Good fun in that its almost always basically empty, so grab a huge bunch of your mates and you can go nuts having the place to yourself....they also do $2 drinks

Southpac:
Well...they have pokies.....

Academy:
they have foam parties, its a bit sleazy but theres foam damnit!

Pheonix:
They have couches that eat people and a lot of new bands play there (my mates got their first gig there)

Muddle:
Great to catch up with friends and do cocktails (same street as PJs)

yeah that'll do for now... alas i dont know much about over the lake, though lot33 is suppose to be good

 

[maverick180]

I can't believe there is no love for the pac! Where are the Bruce and Bng people?

All I'm saying is if you come to Bng prepare to spend a lot of time at ICBM getting dollar beers and then trekking to Southpac to cut sick like a wanker. Ah, good times. The pac is the only place I can think of where it is more common to see people ordering two drinks for themselves than one, just becuase its the done thing.

But if you are a preppy wanker you will most likely just want to go to Mooseheads and line up to get upstairs in the hope of sexual gratification, although hour of power does own when you are on your last twenty bucks before centrelink day.

 

[imsooverskool]

I can't believe there is no love for the pac! Where are the Bruce and Bng people?

I'll put up my hand for love of the OLD pac! Yeah it was seedy and slightly derelict, but i spent many a night in my first year (on average 2 nights a week) having an awesome time there. Most of my great memories of first year are related to the Pac- so yeah much <3 But waaaay back then, the hour of power at the Pac consisited of two jugs for 5 bucks, where else could u get absolutley plastered on 5 bucks NOWHERE GODDAMMIT!

However, now i avoid the Pac like the plague, kinda sad really

 

[Enoch]

wen u guys say "seedy" do mean like the place is feral or as in the ppl r hoes...

 

[Venusian]

In the case of south pac its seedyness is in both the clientel and the decore but its fun seedyness

 

[LaCe]

TRINITY (club in dickson)
This place goes off if you get the whole uni crowd going, been there once with everyone, its real good if it gets a good turn out
Check it out!
The only problem is that it is in dickson not civic
But Moose and Academy are always the go for a typical night when you are low on money and looking for heaps of fun
Nothing like Sydney nightlife though! (i miss the $2 drinks though in canberra thursday nights!!)

 

[Iron]

Nelson's wine bar and grill, in Kingston. A hoot.
The only let down is that the staff refuse the costumes my comrades and I consitently recommend, thus diminishing the overall Lord Nelson navigating room vibe.

 

[paper cup]

p.s queue at mooseheads is very bloody long if you get there late...ugh...and they will not let you in with any other id but a drivers licence/passport at ICBM.

 

[loquasagacious]

Having said this a line is rare on any night other than saturdays, the line is generally quite fast moving and can be skipped if you know a bouncer.

Also it must be noted that last night was an unusually large night for two reasons people out celebrating after the brumbies game and it was also the night of the D&D ball so everyone who failed to meet a new friend there wound up in civic. Because of this numbers were up everywhere (there was even a line for ICBM) and it was busier far later than usual - there was a line past quattro for the cab rank at half past five in the morning!

 

[rumour]

Where is Lot 33?
We were looking for it last night, but the place we found looked like a pub from the outside; it was also empty!