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gay sydney bars, clubs and drag shows

Darlinghurst / Surry Hills


StonewallStonewall - 175 Oxford St Darlinghurst

Stonewall is the club/ bar that continues to party till the sun comes up, so if your looking for a place to have fun till the wee hours, you have found your pot of gold coins at the end of the gay rainbow.

The club is split into three levels with third floor for cocktails, floor two for dancing and the ground level bar for drag shows, the music is always on, and loud! Between the drag queens and gay boys sweating it out on the dance floor your definitely in for a damn good time!! Stonewall is the club/ bar that continues to party till the sun comes up open till 6AM 7 days a week. This bar has a younger more twinky crowd.


ColombianColombian Hotel - 117 Oxford Street Darlinghurst

An open and airy bar right on Oxford street that operates every day and night of the week. Generally patronised by a mixed crowd but a younger crowd takes over at night time.

The bar recent conversion of an historic building with a pub syle bar on the ground floor and groovy cocktail lounge upstairs. There are occasional shows in the cocktail lounge.


The Midnight ShiftMidnight Shift - 85 Oxford Street Darlinghurst

Midnight Shift is an institution in the gay male club scene and popular with men from all over the globe. There is a downstairs area free which is more social and an upstairs area better suited to dancing the night away. (sometimes there is a cover charge).

Midnight Shift has a video Bar, Drag Shows, Dj’s and a variety of special events each month.The Midnight Shift is on Oxford Street, Darlinghurst and provides the latest hit videos and commercial dance on the dance floor till 6 am.

This bar has a mixed Asian and Daddy kind of crowd.


Slide BarSlide Bar - 41 Oxford Street Darlinghurst

The Slide Bar restaurant and cabaret club offers a variety of wonderful local and international cabaret performances, from Gypsy Bands, circus acts and vocalists there is something for everyone to enjoy.

There is a restaurant serving French cuisine and dinner show packages are available. Slide also hosts special monthly events and late in the evening dj’s turn this cabaret bar into a dance floor.


Phoenix Bar (Exchange Hotel)Phoenix Bar (Exchange Hotel) - 34 Oxford street Darlinghurst

Phoenix is an alternative dance venue, for those who want there music left field, (that means NO Cher or Kylie), then Phoenix is the place you are looking for.

Phoenix also have live international and local bands as well as a host of DJ’s that give this place a great edge and something different form what most of the clubs on Oxford Street offer. Phenoix is Sydney's only gay day club - open all afternoon and very busy from 6am.


The Oxford BarThe Oxford Hotel - 134 Oxford Street Darlinghurst

Recently refurbished, the Oxford Bar has a loyal following of more mature gay men. Bears and those not addicted to the gym find the surrounds comfortable. There is an outdoor deck popular for Sunday afternoon beers overlooking Taylor Square.

Upstairs the Polo Lounge caters to a more diverse crowd and also has shows or can be hired for functions. (capacity to 180)


Palms on OxfordPalms On Oxford - 124 Oxford Street Darlinghurst

Palms On Oxford is Late night venue - often a queue to get in after 1am - a fairly relaxed and not pretentious, crowd. The theme is usually "daggy disco" and if that's what get's you dancing, you won't be able to sit still.

If you are looking for the watering hole of the suburban gay crowd, this could be it. Located in the basement catacomb just down Oxford Street's Taylor Square. Warning: watch your head if you are tall. The ceilings are low in this place!


The Green Park HotelThe Green Park Hotel - Cnr Victoria St and Liverpool St

The crowd here is usually mixed gay/straight. Visitors staying in the hotel mingle with locals. Sundays are when the boys come out to play in numbers.

The outdoor area is comfortable; the heaters and stylish fleur-de-lys wall panelling make it a very appealing place for drinks on a cold winter night. It's a great place to mingle with its vibrant and eclectic clientele that reflect Sydney's cosmopolitan character.


ARQ BarARQ - 16 Flinders Street, Taylor Square Darlinghurst

If Noah had have been gay this would have been the discothèque he built to help every little gay boy and girl in the land learn how to party in style! ……..No the club doesn't float! but when you have few hundred people grinding on a dance floor you certainly feel the earth move in biblical proportions!

Between Talent Shows, Drag Spectaculars and some of the finest DJ's in Sydney, ARQ has something a little special for everyone. If your in need to feel like your getting the VIP treatment you can relax in the lounge areas on the mezzanine level or you can dance till dawn on the ground level where the music never seems to stop.


The Beresford HotelThe Beresford Hotel - 354 Bourke Street Surry Hills NSW

Probably the newest addition to the Inner-City Darlinghurst Metro sexual scene - this recently revamped bar pub and restaurant has had a lot of money spent on it to attract the "right" crowd.

A spacious outdoor courtyard is a welcome rarity in Sydney's inner city pub scene. Drinks are expensive ... but go with the décor and furnishings that are very up-market... Another favorite watering hole for gay boys on Sunday afternoons if you like a crowd.

Sydney's best looking men are drawn here on Sunday afternoons from around 5pm. Head upstairs at around 10pm for a pumping dance floor.




The Bank Hotel

heading to newtown or erskineville?

The Bank Hotel - 324 King Street Newtown (next door to Newtown Station)

The Bank Hotel has just undergone a 2 million dollar facelift and my god the surgery was a complete success, this place has gone from bomb site to Bombshell! What seems to be a small bar from the front, labyrinths into three levels. On the lower ground level you will find the delicious Banks Thai which is one of the best Thai restaurants in Sydney, they also serve a bar menu which is available from all levels of the hotel. Ground Level has two bars and an outdoor seating area and level two feels like you have walked into a vogue fashion shoot. Black Velvet vintage lounges with a Dance Floor and DJ booth you feel like your worth the 2 million it cost to build and not like the 20 bucks you've got in your pocket!

The Imperial Hotel - 35 Erskineville road, Erskineville

The Imperial Hotel is a short walk to King Street Newtown and a 15 minute cab ride from Oxford street or you can catch a train to either Erskineville or Newtown and then a short stroll to the hotel. The Imperial Hotel is best known around the world as the bar used in the famous movie Priscilla Queen Of The Desert. It lives up to it's reputation with some of the best drag shows in Sydney from three adored and award winning entertainers Miss Farren Heit, Wyness Mongrel-Bitch and the infamous Mitzi Macintosh, Thursday to Saturday (9pm till late). Tuesdays is Bingay (adults Bingo), hosted by the Mitzi will leave you laughing all night and all money made on the night goes to the AIDS council of NSW. Bookings are essential. You can sit back in the Priscilla Lounge and drink some of the coolest cocktails in town! or play pool in the public bar area from 3pm till late every day.

The Sly Fox Hotel - 199 Enmore Road Enmore

The Sly Fox Hotel is a five minute walk from Newtown Station. The Sly Fox is popular spot for the girls with this hotel offering a girls night on Wednesdays. The main bar turns into a dance floor with a host of local DJ’s as well as Drag King performances. There are also nights offering live entertainment as well as the popular Karaoke Friday with Will.

The Newtown Hotel - 174 King Street Newtown

The Newtown Hotel has just reopened in 2013 - and is - HUGE! Bringing in a massive gay and lesbian crowd in the inner west - this is probabaly one of Sydney's largest pubs with a gay crowd every day of the week. Newtown is know an Sydney's alternive hip suburb - a rough and tumble colelction from all walks of life. Head to the Newtown Hotel on weekends for drag shows, heaving gay and lesbian crowd set over floors and floors, rooms and rooms. There is also a great restaurant onsite 'The Animal', a huge wrap around balcony, outdoor courtyard on the first floor, and private rooms for hire, including a caravan. Yes. A caravan. Inside. This place is very relaxed and a much friendlier alternative crowd to the mainstream gay bars on Oxford Street.