Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 3 . SYDNEY
Arq This 24-hour club has an amazing light show and the best DJs in town.
A very big place specializing in the latest dance tunes. Daily 24 hours. 16 Flinders
St., Darlinghurst. & 02/9380 8700.
Civic This original Art Deco hotel has been tastefully decked out to accommodate
three levels of entertainment. There’s a theater on the lower first floor
(basement), a saloon bar on the ground floor, and upstairs there’s an Australian
restaurant with live jazz, as well as an outdoor cocktail terrace. Great bands. Corner
of Pitt and Goulburn sts., Sydney. & 02/8267 3181.
Gilligan’s & Ginger’s A cocktail bar on the first floor of The Oxford Hotel,
Gilligan’s & Ginger’s is home to a thriving social scene and great views of Oxford
Street and the city skyline. DJs spin the latest “handbag hits” (old pop and new
pop) for the drag queens. 134 Oxford St., Darlinghurst, corner of Taylor Sq.& 02/9331 3467.
The Stonewall Hotel An institution with three levels of entertainment and
many special “nights.” Don’t miss Sydney’s Diva, Ricca Paris, at the pickup night
Malebox on Wednesdays. Daily noon to 5am. 175 Oxford St., Darlinghurst.& 02/9360
1963. Free entry on most nights.
Taxi Club “Tacky Club,” as it’s affectionately known, is another Sydney institution
good for “handbag music.” 40 Flinders St., Darlinghurst (near Taylor Sq., Oxford St.).
& 02/9331 4256. No cover.
THE BAR SCENE
Most of Australia’s drinking holes are known as “hotels,” after the tradition of
providing room and board alongside a good drink in the old days. Occasionally
you might hear them referred to as pubs. You tend to find the term “bar” used
in upscale hotels and trendy establishments. Bars close at various times, generally
from midnight to around 3am.
Bondi Hotel This huge, conglomerate across the road from Bondi Beach
offers pool upstairs, a casual beer garden outside, and a resident DJ Thursday
through Sunday from 8pm to 4am. There’s also a free nightclub on Friday
nights. Watch yourself; too much drink and sun turns some people nasty here.
178 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach. & 02/9130 3271. No cover.
Cargo Bar & Lounge This split-level waterfront bar on the city side of Darling
Harbour (past the Sydney Aquarium) has a large ground floor bar leading
onto an outdoor beer garden. The lounge upstairs features trendy leather and
red footstools (apparently you sit on them). Cocktails and cigars are upstairs
and more casual beers downstairs. Some nice pizzas here, too—if you like them
topped with emu, crocodile, and kangaroo. 52-60 The Promenade, King Street Wharf.
& 02/9262 1777.
The Establishment Another trendy night out is in store if you set foot in this
restored historic building with its 42-meter-long bar, lots of floor-to-ceiling
columns, and pressed-metal ceilings. It’s fashionable, and the food downstairs—
fish and chips and the like—nice but unadventurous. There’s better eating
upstairs in the fine-dining restaurant. 252 George St., City. & 02/9240 3000.
The Friend in Hand In the same location as the fantastically cheap Caesar’s No
Names spaghetti house, The Friend in Hand offers cheap drinks, poetry readings
on Tuesday evenings from 8:30pm, a trivia night on Thursday evenings from
8:30pm, and the distinctly unusual Crab Racing Party every Wednesday from
around 8pm. Crab fanciers buy a crustacean for around A$4 (US$2.60), give it a
name, and send it off to do battle in a race against around 30 others. There are