Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland (QLD), has two areas where pubs, bars, and clubs are to be found: The City and the Valley. The City is a place where more of the so-called traditional establishments are to be found, while the Valley has an eclectic selection ranging from the avant-garde to the chic. The City is a more relaxed and convenient place for travelers to gather. Some of the popular watering holes are Chill on Queen, Urbane, and the Marco Polo Martini Bar. The Valley has Royal George Hotel, Dooley’s, and the Wickham Hotel. The Fridays Riverside is a huge dance club and you also have the Conrad Treasury Casino where you can gamble the night away.
However, most of the traditional pubs in Brisbane are being taken over by large hotel chains, which have replaced the smoky, hard service, atmosphere of the pubs with an up market ersatz version. The clientele has also changed with more of the yuppie crowd dressed in their designer clothes sitting around, trying to have a good time or pretending to do so.
Brisbane also has a lot of historic pubs and bars, which have been recently refurbished and revamped into stylish avatars. These are places that are replete with history and atmosphere and are perfect to lounge around and catch the sun.
The Breakfast Creek Hotel is one of the most well known historic pubs. It has been around for a long, long, time in fact from the 19 century and is notable for the jumbo sized steaks that it serves along with its beer. The Pineapple Hotel is one of the oldest establishments that is still run by the same family and serves traditional, hearty Australian fare that is steaks with fried eggs and beetroot. The Story Bridge Hotel and The Regatta Hotel are two other places. The Plough Inn is one of the most ancient pubs in Brisbane, and true to type, has ghost stories associated with it. It is near the financial district, and the ghost stories are about what else but beautiful women who died untimely deaths! The walls of the pub are filled with old photos chronicling the history of the city and the pub affords beautiful views of the city and the river.