Okay, so I'm drinking gin, eating popcorn chicken and listening to James Brown. Life is very good…read morefor me. What you need to do is walk through QT's in-hotel barber shop, let your eyes adjust to the VERY dark venue and then make your way to bar. YaY! I suggest you look at the cocktail menu, laugh at the hilarious names and then choose a Cucumber Dill Collins. I then suggest you buy a bowl of popcorn chicken, high five your best mate and sit yourself down on one of the comfy couches. The staff are friendly and beautiful. The soundtrack is all types of good. Everything tastes delicious. Hooray for Lucky's Bar!

Awesome bar!! Held a function here great bartenders,…read moredelicious appletinis and great music nothing to complain about!! Love the decor, love entering through the barber shop and love all the fancy glassware in the cabinets!

Lovely atmosphere on a summer's evening. Good selection of…read moredraught beers. Two for one pizza is great value. Mexican 9/10. Bombay 6/10. I'll be back.

Debacle has a deal every Monday/Tuesday - for buy 1 get another pizza free! Their pizzas are…read moregourmet-made and delicious, especially the Bombay one :-) The atmosphere is great too ~ with projector on ...

THE TIPSY BULL. CANBERRA we stopped here for a…read moredrink after a day of sightseeing. Had read about it and it had good reviews. I see why. Hard to describe as it appeared more likely to be a BBQ/Burger/ Beer venue. We found that outdoor ambiance on a Friday, after work, happy hour type time.. But we found tons and tons of Gins. Who would ever believe there could be so many! Seems Gin distilleries are the new Brew Pubs of Australia At any rate, how do you choose from 50/60 gins? Well, you have one of the incredibly knowledgeable staff ask what you usually drink, suggest similar choices and some different tastes you might like. I chose one for its shock value. It was made with ants only found in one place in the world, Northern Australia, of course. I was told the ants tasted like lime. Yeah right, but damn if they didn't. As a snack we had some incredible Sourdough Bread with a whipped concoction of Ricotta Cheese. Really great. The place was filling up with others coming for early dinner so we left, quite satisfied, happy with our find. Can't address the actual food here, but judging by the increasing crowd it must be good. Strongly suggest making a reservation. I do have a question, though. Just how cold does it have to get in .Australia for you guys to actually light all those outdoor heaters you have?

There are a bunch of folks already complaining about customer service here -- let me add to that…read more Back in Canberra for dinner with my mum, book an outdoor table -- get there, told that's not what I booked, that couldn't tell you when, but that we can't leave because we pre-paid. It's clear they're using this mechanism not to make sure people turn up, but rather, to hold them hostage when they let them down.

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.

Beer is great, lots to choose from. Nice setting. Great…read moreatmosphere and music. Will go there again.

We made reservations on NYE for 5:00pm for 7 people. Our table was ready when we arrived. This was…read moreour first time here and we really enjoyed it! The decor inside was very cool & unique. There were heaps of beers to choose from. We ordered the fish tacos. They were DELICIOUS & full of flavor.

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.

Good pizza except parm cheese shaker filled with salt ruined pie! Why would anyone, the…read morebartender, fill a shaker for cheese w salt!!!

We visited this establishment and were instantly greeted with exceptional service! We placed our…read moreorder at the bar and found a table out on the patio. Our service was fast and the food was great! Good atmosphere with several TVs hung to watch sports.

Fun restaurant with very friendly staff with great decor for a Pub. Wood sticky tables and mostly…read morestools for seats. Both of us had the ribeye steak and both thought the steaks were just ok, lots of gristle and not super flavorful.

My wife and I found this place during a weeklong stay in Canberra. It is near the Central Bus Stop…read moreand City Central, surrounded by many other eateries, shops, etc. This is your typical Irish bar, featuring Giuness beer, but they have plenty of other beers on tap including our favorite: BentSpoke Crankshaft. Food is good and the seating, inside and out, is pleasant. One thing to watch for are the homeless and beggers. During one afternoon we saw several people trying to beg for money; one woman was brazen enough to ask specifically for A$2, then proceeded to walk throughout the outside eating area, drinking what was left in abandoned glasses and eating what food was left behind. This is a minor annoyance but something to be aware of and expect. If we ever make it back to Canberra you can expect us to visit this pub again.

Super cool hidden speakeasy. It is almost impossible to find, but worth it once you get there. Long…read morecopper bar, nice lighting and well made drinks.

Nice smooth drinks as welcoming as the atmosphere, which can be romantic, fun, raucous or relaxed…read moredepending on your mood. Dim lighting, comfortable seating and just as nice by the bar as it is on the tables near the small stage. A great place for an old fashioned and a good long talk with your date or your friends.

Pretty darn hip y'all. Eighty Six is definitely one to hit while you're living/visiting Canberra…read more Its a small but well formed space and the best seats in the house are for sure over the kitchen. Order one (duck bun) or two (another duck bun) starters and watch young chefs show off their skills. Eyeball their creations and let that help you decide what to order next. At a glance the menu could be Italian - scratched onto a dark wall in white chalk - but when you read (el loco hot dogs, ceviche taco) its more City of Angels (Ghetto Beef) meets mod Euro (sangria ragu parpadelle). My one dish recommendation is the Lemon Ricotta gnocchi with asparagus. *Drool* . I just need to get over the prices! Is all Canberra this way?? EightySix feels like a passion project of the new school cool. Dude chefs. Dude food. Dude music. Dude, it's good.

86 in restuarant parlance means "we're out", however, here 86 is "in" It's hard to snag a table…read moreeven in somnambulant Canberra unless you book in advance. A friendly staff is there to greet and seat. Everyone was knowledgeable about the menu, what went into what and how it was prepared. Good job of enlightening the crew who all knew what to do or feild any question. Plunk this hot spot down in New York or LA and blows the clouches of Momofuku or Trois Mec. The physical plant is warm and the atmosphere sizzling. Prime spots are at the bar just 18 iinches away from the kitchen infantry mad prepping and plating a constant assembly line of the good stuff. And good stuff it is. The menu changes quicker than Bruce Jenner's gender, so if you really lust after something (the food, not Jenner), go twice in a week. The Vitello Tonnato was a deconstructed version, and me, personally, I prefer it as if Marcella Hazan made it. Straight forward as it was originally created, but here the separated components really work and give you a chance to savor each layer of flavor. Like moving the egg off the Eggs Benedict. Ghetto Beef was nothing any self respecting ghetto dweller could ever afford. A ghetto in Canberra? Paleeze. A ghetto of YUPS and DINKS maybe. Cutsy name notwithstanding this was a terrific dish. Chunks of spoon tender Wagyu beef and aioli all spread out over a plate of Rocket. Cauliflower with Dukkah was perfect too. Crisp florets dusted with house made North African spice took me back to my days in Cairo (and I thought nothing would get me back there). A Pickled Terrine of Pork with Tartar Sauce tickled my fancy as well. This was surprisingly good. No surprises or duds in this place as everything was spot on. Then it happened. I watched the cook in front of me at the bar whack off the crispy end of a freshly grilled Roo Tail. Into the trash bin it went. It was all I could do to keep from lungeing like a Manchester United Goalie over the counter to collect those tasty chef's nibbles. You'd pay extra for them "Burn'd Ends in Chicago or Kansas City. Having that snipped tip tossed was such a waste. (Just ask Bruce Jenner). The chef smiled and said the Roo medallions needed to be uniform in size for presentation. Next time I plan to take my own BBQ fork and spear them before they're dispatched. Finally, Banoffee Pie landed before me. A Dulce de Leche Tart, Banana, Whipped Cream and Crushed Pretzels was decadent but even so, leaned to the light side if such a dessert can manage it. And it got washed down with a brace of Espresso Martinis. Frangelico, Amarettto, and Espresso in a glass. After two of those I was both wobbly and bolt upright at the same time. The full bar is solid and rocks. I'm no mathematician, but I know I can always count on you, 86.