Centenary Hotel, Townsville (QLD)
Posted by Mike in Queensland on 16 January, 2011
Hamish Reports: For those with an inclination to appreciate 1950′s art-deco styled buildings, cold beer and good steaks, then the Centenary Hotel (more locally known in Townsville as “The Cen-ten”), will be of great appeal.
Having never visited this pub myself until only recently – which i might add was on account of an invite to attend a Christmas function, I had heard murmurings that the Centen was a “good pub” for a good meal and one that was family-friendly.
Considering that our Cairns reviewers were to be in Townsville again, and considering that I had previously thought that the Centen would be worth checking out properly – with its unique location and style, it was chosen as the subject of our latest review.
Hotel Isa / The Club – Mt Isa, (QLD)
Posted by Mike in Pubs, Queensland on 4 January, 2011
Combo Review (we were short of time)
A four hour stop over in Mt Isa provided a splendid opportunity to explore a couple of pubs that opened early enough for us to sample their wares, on a public holiday morning.
The two establishments clearly resided at opposite ends of the opulence scale, with one venue being a rather sterile, gaming room focused, recently restored, entertainment precinct style development, while the other had all the appearance of the local blood house. The former is the Isa Hotel but we entered it through the Red Earth hotel next door, which turned out to be essentially the same place, joined together by a outdoor deck. The Red Earth looked very classy, and some photos were displayed in a reception area showing a bit of it’s history, from its days as a fairly classical looking Queensland pub, previously known as the Boyd hotel. For the purposes of this review, we’ll stick to the Isa Hotel as this is where we spent most of our time.
Great Northern Hotel (Townsville, QLD)
Posted by Mike in Pubs, Queensland on 1 December, 2010
Last Tuesday night, I found myself in Townsville, with an overnight stay on the agenda. Clearly, Townsville is no hub of excitement at the best of times (like…say, Cairns) especially on a Tuesday night, so the only credible activity that came to mind, the while away the hours before my escape flight home was to visit a local hotel. So after consulting with a local, it was agreed to meet at the rather historic Great Northern Hotel, drink beer, and find a means to achieve world peace (well okay, in our case, it was how to reform the rail industry – but I think I’d rather tackle world peace as a less challenging goal)
O’Mahony’s Pub, Warwick
Posted by Mike in Queensland on 30 August, 2010
O’Mahony’s Hotel is in Warwick, on Queenslands Southern Downs. I first saw this pub a couple of years back but never got to have a beer in there at that time. So I’ve promised my self that this unfulfilled desire would be rectified on the next visit. I heard to my horror that a classic old pub had burned down in Warwick about 12 months ago, and was greatly relieved that it was not O’Mahony’s, but none the less saddened that another classic pub is gone. So last weekend, I find myself back in Warwick and demanded a visit to the pub.
The Burketown Pub (Burketown, QLD)
Posted by Robert in Pubs, Pubs visited by Rob, Queensland on 20 May, 2010
The Burketown Pub has the claim to fame of being the best pub in Burketown. no joke, it really is. Actually this is a good pub, with a great story to tell. Check out their website for some of the “tall tales” which encompasses some of this pubs colourful history.
The Purple Pub (Normanton, QLD)
Posted by Robert in Pubs, Pubs visited by Rob, Queensland on 18 May, 2010
This was a super quick visit to the famous Purple Pub with Nicky Jurd and my good self. Leaving Cairns around midday, we flew to Normanton and grabbed a hire car. I love these outback towns – the lovely lady from Dougs Car Hire dropped off the car to the airport, handed me the keys with a smile and that was it. No forms, inspections, safety briefings or anything. You want a car – here it is, have a nice day.
Now – we had to drive to Karumba (for work people!) so we had to hoof it. But I couldn’t resist stopping at the famous pub that I had heard so much about!
The beer was super-cheap. I had a schooner and my friend had a dark&stormy… all up this round was less than $5! I had to go back and check that I was charged correctly, but the lovely lady insisted that it was all covered.
The Sunset Tavern (Karumba, QLD)
Posted by Robert in Pubs, Pubs visited by Rob, Queensland on 17 May, 2010
Some dumb-arse tourist that stood in front of me
What a bloody great pub. I start this very post on the front lawn, but had to stop with the sheer beauty of the view, the wit of the company and the sheer tenacity of the beer itself.
This gem of a pub is not actually in Karumba itself, but in Karumba point as it is known locally. It is a tops-as establishment and I would have to say that is has surprised the socks off me.
Hambledon vs Grafton Hotels, Edmonton QLD
Posted by Mike in Pubs, Queensland on 7 February, 2010
Head to Head Shoot Out!
Which Would you Choose? – Read On!
These two pubs are perched on either side of the Bruce Highway / Mill Road Intersection. A busy intersection it is too, and in times past, not only were they separated by the Mill Rd, but also by a Railway Branch Line, and Cane Railway, that once ran down the side of the Grafton. So getting from one pub to the other, especially after imbibing the offerings of any of the establishments, was always going to be a hazardous exercise. Shrugging aside the risks, Andrew and I were determined to do this head to head review for our reader.
Alpine Retreat Hotel (Warburton, Vic)
On a recent trip to Victoria, this was the last non urban pubs visited. We had intended to stop and drink at, and review far more than we did, but for some reason, many of the pubs were not open. Visiting Hotels early in the week in some of the smaller and quieter locations around the state had possibility of discovering later than usual opening hours, in some cases not until 4.30 pm. Because I can’t review them here, the photographs on their impressive external edifices have been posted into the Facebook Classic Pub Group . So having got that off my chest, let’s look at the Alpine retreat.
Boorhaman Hotel (Boorhaman, Vic)
AKA The Buffalo Brewery
One amazing feature about Boorhaman, is there is really nothing there, except for some farm houses and a pub. I am not familiar with the area, so stand to be corrected, but it appears as if the Pub is located somewhere between where the maps describe as the actual location of Booraham, and Peechelba East. What I am getting at is there is no town or similar surrounding infrastructure, just this pub on a single lane road in the back blocks of Victoria’s North East. This is not a bad thing, for a hotel anywhere is like an oasis in the desert of life, and more so this place, as we reached it by bicycle.