Pretty cool and trendy pub in Canberra. Came here for the weekend with some friends, two of which…read morehad been and raved about the cocktails. The cocktail menu was pretty extensive and every drink sounded amazing. They all cost $15 which isn't bad compared to drinks in Sydney. For my first round, I got the So Ho Lychee flavored drink - YUMMO! And the thing with the cocktails are, you can actually taste the alcohol, they don't skip. I tried my friend's Cherry Blossom drink, very yum and very strong! My next drink with the Japanese Geisha Drink which had midori and sparkling champagne - very tasty as well. Later in the evening, an R&B singer started performing and she was really talented. This is a very cool place to hang out and have a cocktail!

A true gem in Canberra. Great whiskey selection, friendly staff, I love the warm atmosphere of this…read moresmall upstairs speakeasy. I spent an evening drinking whisky, eating cheese and listening to jazz. Hard to beat. If you like whiskey or mixed drinks, this is the place to go. I'm an American and I arrived in Canberra on a Wednesday afternoon. The first thing I did when I got to my hotel was Google "Canberra jazz" and Hippo Bar was the top hit. It's located right in the heart of the city center, but its vibe is very different than the touristy stuff around it. It was dark and cozy with a film noir atmosphere. If a complex murder mystery had erupted in front of me, I would not have been surprised. They are skilled mixologists too. One bartender made a drink where he filled a rocks glass to the brim with water. Then half-filled a small brandy glass with some brown liquor, lit it on fire, began spinning the brandy glass on top of the water glass, then started shaking in something from what looked like a pepper shaker, causing sparks to fly within the brandy glass. He did this for a lot longer than I expected. It was quite a show. He finished by pouring the singed brown liquor into a new glass and grating what smelled like cinnamon on top. I was impressed. The only disappointments were the wine. I had two glasses to start and both choices were mediocre. They are clearly focused on mixed drinks and whiskey. The food choices were minimal as well. I enjoyed a cheese platter, but it wasn't a meal.

This is my new favourite place in Canberra. Lunch specials, amazing food and friendly staff with…read moregreat service makes the perfect combo. Also, I fully recommend for a fun night out, cocktails are amazing, live entrainment on point and heaps of activities on the pool table level. Guaranteed not to disappoint.

Good steak. Good oysters. However, I have been a few times with guests who normally can hold their…read moreliquor and order the Long Island iced tea; they can never keep it down, and rush too the toilet which is pretty far away before their meal even arrives. I don't recommend people order that cocktail. I'm thankful I don't drink alcohol. Everything else is good and will stay down. I highly recommend their meat. Staff are nice and atmosphere is well spaced out so you can actually hear people and have a conversation with them. Probably not so good if you don't want to talk to people, which is normally the case if you ordered one of their Long Island iced teas. All my reviews are standardised to the following star ratings: 1. Customer service I.e. friendly, easy to book, etc. 2. Accessibility I.e. location, decor and scenery, easily assessable or flexible, etc. 3. Work, health and safety I.e. clean, safe, etc. 4. Quality of goods and/or services I.e. good food, good movers, etc. 5. Comparison to similar for location - I.e. would I recommend this above other places

I made the mistake of assuming that I would not need reservations for one person on a Saturday…read morenight in Canberra. Marble and Grain was full in the dining room but they have a great bar area with lots of tables. The staff was efficient and quick, ordered at the bar and got a steak and a calamari appetizer in about 20 minutes. Both the calamari and the steak were very tasty but outside of garnish did not come with any sides such as a salad or vegetables. Great restaurant but gave 4 stars due to the relatively high prices for the small portions. Everything else was great though.

In the course of one while heading outbound from Canberra on international business class travel, I…read moretested out four lounges between Canberra and Sydney. The Qantas Business Class Lounge in Canberra was by far the best of the four. Canberra International Airport, serving, of course, Canberra and the surrounding areas as the capital of Australia is small, but that's what makes it great. Never have I experienced an easier or cleaner airport. The Qantas lounge is no exception. Large and bordered entirely on one side with windows, with tall ceilings, white surfaces, and dark carpets and furniture, it presents an upscale and airy environment to spend time before a flight. The food and bar area is largely self-service unless you want harder stuff or beer. The wine and food sections are self-serve. The food itself was varied in style and substance, but all good. During my couple of hours in the lounge, I enjoyed lumpia, kale Caesar salad, and small finger sandwiches. I chose to enjoy the food alongside Champagne -- the only lounge serving actual (meaning French) Champagne of the four lounges I tried this day -- not even the Qantas business lounge in Sydney served Champagne. Maybe it was a good day for Canberra or an off day for Sydney. Either way, Canberra won the day. This lounge is absolutely worth arriving at the airport early for a pre-flight chill out.

Ahhh refuge from the main terminal, because theres not too much variety for food around nor is…read morethere any free wifi in the airport main terminal. So for a good feed selection and internet, the best bet is to head into the lounges. The Qantas Business lounge at CBR is actually quite good, just a notch better than the Sydney and Melbourne Business class lounges. I guess they do need to impress the people who run the country being that Canberra is the Capitol of Australia (No - it's not Sydney, like most foreigners believe.)

I used to come here regularly when I did drink. The caterpillars are pretty good if you're a…read moredrinker. There's plenty of space and cushion lounges if you book. My friends and I had a great new years 2021 here. Service is very friendly and they recognise your face if you are a regular. We've also had a few work functions here over the years and the nibbles are tasty. All my reviews are standardised to the following star ratings: 1. Customer service I.e. friendly, easy to book, etc. 2. Accessibility I.e. location, decor and scenery, easily assessable or flexible, etc. 3. Work, health and safety I.e. clean, safe, etc. 4. Quality of goods and/or services I.e. good food, good movers, etc. 5. Comparison to similar for location - I.e. would I recommend this above other places

Canberra is a boring public service-inspired grey wasteland of nothingness! NOT!…read more This little hidden gem is precisely what the doctor ordered. I and her majesty went there for our wedding anniversary last Christmas Eve and today for a get together pre-Mothers day. It's a spectacularly cozy cocktail lounge with superb staff, premium drinks menu, awesome 'light' food menu and quirky Alice in Wonderland-inspired decor. Staff are always ready with excellent advice on drink choices. My favourite is the Diplomatico Reserva Rum Old Fashioned. "Tipsy Tea" is a high tea with a cocktail twist served every Saturday afternoon. Awesome couple of cocktails served with a course of savoury nibbles then a course of sweets (oh, so sweet). All for a very reasonable per person price. Suits a more mature clientele. In a hidden but nice position right in the centre of town.

We came here for a pre dinner drink. The staff are amazing and very switched on, we were asked…read morenumerous times if we needed to order drinks or required a table, excellent service. This is possibly the best service we have received in a very long time, it rarely exists in oz anymore. Well done management keep up the good work!

So-so. Half of the food was great, the other half wasn't. The barramundi was tender and…read morewell-seasoned, the potatoes were very good, the greens were not good (sauteed spinach, French peas, green lima-looking beans, asparagus, green squash- it was like the chef said, "throw every green thing in a pan together and cook them all the same way despite the fact that these are individual vegetables with individually appropriate methods of preparation. Don't argue with me"), the chicken was kinda yuck. Unimpressed by the beer selection, but my G&T was great (and giant- I got the summer Gran Mare special, which is a huge G&T with two oysters on the half shell for $15). Next time I think we'll spring for the tapas instead of the full meals. The service is great- friendly host staff and attentive servers, even on a Friday night. Tons of seating, and each little nook of the place is individually styled and it feels like your table totally belongs to you, like it's "your usual table". The patio is a gorgeous spot to catch a sunset, and it's dog-friendly. Don't bring your kids unless they're exceptionally un-kid-like; some of the cocktails served are literally on fire.