Australian nightlife culture - pubs, bars & clubs

Nightlife in Australia

The extent of the nightlife and entertainment always impresses those new to Australia; and why shouldn't it? As a combined total, Australia has over thousands of pubs, bars and nightclubs - evident by the massive amount of listings we have here at Partystar.

Closing times in are often staggered, with one set of pubs perhaps closing at 11pm, the next set at 1am, and the rest at 3am. A handful of venues have a 5am or even 7am licence. This nicely ensures that the nightlife and entertainment tends to move around a little - what might be a dead nightlife spot at 11pm might be heaving at 1am.

While we can't include exact closing hours in our reviews, we do often hint at the fact that a particular venue might be one to shut early, or start late.

Take a look at some of our reviews and discover some great venues to check out!

Pubs in Australia

While there are many bars that have sprung up over recent years, there are still a phenomenal amount of local pubs.

To help narrow your search for pubs, what we'd suggest is to go to the filter option, and choose to only display pubs. That way, you'll find exactly what you want.

Bars in Australia

The growth of bars in Australian capital cities has been amazing over the last few years, and many a pub has turned into a trendy bar. Although that doesn't mean all bars are trendy - you'd be surprised how many alternative and indie bars exist!

There's a way to home in on the bars though when using this site, and that's by using the filter option - it will let you choose to only display bars. Give it a try below, and discover the many bars listed online!

Nightclubs in Australia

You might see a lot of pubs and bars listed, but that doesn't mean we stay away from nightclubs. Quite the opposite - our database list all the nightclubs in town, complete with stacks of reviews and other information! Nightclubs go late, and come in all types - dance, techno, indie, alternative, punk .. you name it.

It's quite easy to use our search facility to specifically search for nightclubs. It's called the filter option - give it a try, and limit your search to show nightclubs only. You might just find yourself using it again, and again!

Pub culture in Melbourne, Victoria

Welcome to the lofty world of pots, stubbies and rounds, where a pub with no beer is akin to a concentration camp and you dare not dash to the toilet when it's your shout. Welcome to the Melbourne pub.

Beer. Aaah that lip-smacking amber fluid so powerful it transforms drinkers into a whole new shape (the beer gut/beer belly). Beer is a crucial element of any Australian pub. If you want a martini, go to a bar, and if you want to pay for a bottle of water go to a club.

But if it's beer you're after, the pub is where it's at.

Most Melbournians buy beer off tap by the pot (285ml), much to the confusion of Sydneysiders who are accustomed to the schooner (425ml) or the middy (285ml). Anyway, we've all surpassed the drinking habits of older generations, who often swill by the glass (200ml), small (175ml) or pony (140ml). If you're in a group larger than 2 or 3, buying a jug, which holds a bit more than 4 pots, is a more economical choice of purchase.

If beer on tap is not an option, the can or the short stumpy bottle known as the stubbie are the next best thing. Proper bitter is hard to find here, but we love our lagers, and our favourite is VB. It stands for Victoria Bitter, but that famous beer with the green label defies its namesake, because it's technically a lager. Hence, for export to other countries, the product was for many years labelled as Victoria Beer.

One more thing, irrespective of the brand or the season, we like our beer as cold as possible. No bartender falls from grace more quickly than s/he who fails to find the coldest beer in the fridge.

Groups of friends usually take turns to buy a 'round' each. When it's your turn to buy a round, it's also referred to as your 'shout'. Tipping the staff is not obligatory, but sometimes occurs in correlation to level of inebriation.

On to the pub activities. Pool is a popular one, and rules may be different to other Australian states. They may even differ between venues, but securing a table by putting a coin on it, is standard. Heed rules of play carefully, because you may end up running around the table without pants if you lose. Dart boards are sometimes available, as are gambling activities like horse racing (presided over by an organisation called the TAB), and electronic games like Club Keno and the pokies (slot machines). The latter is a relatively recent phenomenon and the cause of much controversy in Victoria, where addiction to pokies has resulted in more than a few social problems. The pinball machine is a more traditional, less destructive alternative, and you'll often find a corner of the pub glowing seductively with pinnies on offer.

Layouts of pubs vary somewhat, but a venue is often split into front bar and bistro. In the case of a traditional pub, the front bar is less aesthetically pleasing, offering simpler, cheaper meals and a limited menu. The bistro has more chairs and tables and more culinary sophistication, with options like pasta, seafood and desserts. Salad/dessert bars are popular too, which makes for good value dining. As far as standard of drinks go, it doesn't vary much between front bar and bistro. And if there are pokies, they will be in a separate room again where you may score free tea/coffee and soft drink to keep you gambling. One side of the pub may house a drive through bottle shop, where you can load up the car with a slab (24 cans of beer) or another choice of beverage upon departure.

Enjoy!