Next stop on our honeymoon was Fiji. We stayed at the wonderful Outrigger on the Lagoon, Nadi. It is Fiji’s first 5 star resort and it was a great place to stay. We were upgraded as we were honeymooners and they brought champagne and canopes to the room every evening. There is a very relaxed night-life in this resort and it is generally quiet in all the bars of the resort bar one which has live music at night. This is the Vakavanua bar next to the Vale Ni Kana restaurant. We were in here on two nights of our holiday. Table service is provided if requested and there is a great selection of beers, spirits, wines and cocktails available to buy. There is no beer on tap available but i was drinking bottles of Fiji Gold which was a very nice beer. The bar itself is quite small but there are comfortable seats available around the bar. The band that were playing were very good and i went up and sang a few songs with them on one night! The bar staff were friendly and efficient in this bar.
The toilets that i used were in very good condition and were very big. They are the toilets used for the restaurant and bar. It was a nice bar to sit in and listen to the band and meet people on holidays from around the world. We met some very nice Australians here.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Drinks rating: 7/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: I would highly recommend anyone to visit the beautiful Fiji and to stay here. It was a brilliant place.
What a milestone we have reached. There are 451 pub reviews done since we started just over 3 years ago. Not bad for two of us!!
Eoin and Ryan
Fanny O’ Reilly’s, there is a name for an Irish bar! This pub is located in Kuranda, Cairns. This is the rainforest and you can’t escape the old Irish bar. When we visited Kuranda this was one of the first sights as we walked up the hill to the village. We popped in for a drink after we did a river cruise and visited the koalas. There is a smoking section outside and there is indoor and outdoor seating available in the pub. There is an oval shaped bar in this pub and there appeared to be a good lot of beers available on draught. I was driving on this particular day so i had a coke and Jen had a glass of while wine. Something i noticed in this bar was ice that surrounded the bottom of the beer taps, i also saw this in a bar in Melbourne.
We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. I noticed lots of Irish memorabilia on the walls as i walked to the toilets. The toilets are small but were ok. I noticed a poster on the wall of the gents giving 10 reasons why beer is better than women! There is a bar food menu available but we didn’t try it. If you visit Kuranda make sure you take the scenic train up and the amazing skyrail down.
Toilet rating: 6.5/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: Fanny O’ Reillys is not a place you can miss if you visit Kuranda. It is worth popping into but don’t be too upset if you don’t make it in.
While we were in Cairn’s, Australia we visited this pub twice. The Cock and Bull is a big English pub and casino which serves very big meals at great value. There was a guy on the door who appeared nice as we walked in. There is a few sections in this pub and there is an abundance of seating available. The first night we headed in it was quiet and we sat just across from the bar. I had a pint of Carlton and Jen had a glass. The drinks were served in the glasses with the handles. We used the pool table that was available and a guy came in and challenged me to a game of pool. I played him and won which was great but he was pestering us a bit so we moved to another part of the pub on the advice of one of the bar maids. To be fair all the bar staff we encountered were very friendly. There is a big smoking area available at the front of the pub and that was busy with people.
The second night we headed in there was Karaoke on and i took the opportunity to partake as usual and did well. The pub was packed on that night especially the back bar where the karaoke was taking place. There is a pool table available as well in here. The toilets were not great. There were two i used and they were small and somewhat smelly. I have to say that i really enjoyed visiting this pub and it was very handy as it was just a short walk from our hotel. It was fun.
Toilet rating: 5/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: The Cock and Bull is a bit outside the centre of town but it is well worth a visit.
Next on our roundthe world trip was a visit to the beautiful Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. We stayed at the mercure harbourside hotel about a five minute drive from the centre of Cairns. It was a great hotel to stay at and i would highly recommend it. We rented a convertable car while we were here and it was great and easy to get around. We visited the hotel bar twice during our stay. The Blue Mango bar is small but has loads of seating available outside as well. I don’t think there is draft beer available here and i was drinking bottles of Carlton and Jen had a few glasses of wine. One one occasion when we were there, there was a guy playing a guitar and singing for the crowds entertainment and he was very good.
The toilets that i used were in very good condition as you would expect for a big hotel. The bar itself is joined onto the hotel restaurant but we didn’t eat there. It was a nice place to have a relaxing drink without having to go too far.
Toilet rating: 7.5/10
Drink rating: 6/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: The Mango bar was nice to visit while we were in Cairns.
Our next stop on the honeymoon was the fantastic Ayres Rock in central Australia. It is a truly amazing place and was a brilliant experience. I would recommend any one to head there and see the sun rise and set over the rock, its magical. We stayed at the Desert gardens hotel in the Ayres Rock resort. It is a basic hotel but very comfortable and clean. The heat was unbearable at times while we were here. The hotel bar is Bunya Bar. It is an open space, more like a lobby with a bar. There is no beer available on draught so we had a few bottles of Carlton beer. Myself and Jen entertained ourselves with the chess and draughts table. There is bar food served and although there is not a great selection, the food is very good. We also ate in the buffet restaurant and that was quite nice.
The toilets are off the bar and they were alright when i checked them. Again they are basic but were in good condition. It was a good experience to stay at the hotel and have a few drinks in the bar.
Toilet rating: 6/10
Drink rating: 6.5/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: Its nice to be able to review a bar in such a remote part of the world.
Another pub we visited while in Sydney was St Patrick’s Tavern. It is also located on King street in the city. There are steps down to this pub. There is a bar area and also restaurant and casino area. It was very quiet the night we headed in, in fact there were oonly two others inside. I was served efficiently as there wasn’t anyone to contend with at the bar. The bar man didn’t utter a word as he served the drinks. Jen commented that this was possibly one of the most boring pubs she had ever been into, i was inclined to agree. The bar area is quite small and there are only high stools available to sit on. I had a pint of Carlton and Jen had a glass but it seemed that the pint glass i got the drink in was smaller that your usual glass.
The toilets were basic but clean. Apparently the restaurant is quite good although we didn’t stick around to find out. It is a seafood steakhouse restaurant. Thats about it!
Toilet rating: 6/10
Pint rating: 6/10
Overall rating: 6/10
Final comment: This is a pub that lacked atmosphere on the night we headed in. On a busy night it may be very different.
Our next stop on our honeymoon was Sydney. It is a fantastic city with so much to do and see. We had only four days here and that is certainly not enough to see and do even the main attractions. We stayed at the impressive Grace hotel that is steeped in history. It is very centrally located and the hotel pub is PJ O Briens. It is on King street. It is a big pub with an upstairs area available. The pub grub there is very good value and you get very generous portions. There are plenty of seating areas available and they were needed as the pub was very busy on the occasions that we headed in. The bar staff were generally efficient and friendly except one guy who found serving people a chore, or so it seemed. The drinks i tried in this pub were a pint of Guinness which wasn’t great, Stella Artois and Carlton beer. There appeared to be a lot of people heading here after work. There is plenty memorabilia on the walls for you to check out here. There are two entrances, one from the hotel and one from the street.
The toilets were a good size, in very good condition and had two cubicles available for use. They were located up stairs. It is a good pub to watch a match in. It was a very good overall experience visiting this pub and i would highly recommend it if in Sydney.
Toilet rating: 7.5/10
Pint rating: Varied but a good 7/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: PJ O Briens is a good city hotel bar.
Another karaoke bar that we visited in Melbourne was FM karaoke bar. As far as i remember it is on Bourke street. We actually went there at about 11pm but were told but the very friendly bouncer on the door that there was no rooms available until 12:15am. I had heard of these karaoke rooms in the past but had never actually been into one. Myself and Jen went off to another pub to have a drink and arrived back at around 12am. We had a drink in the relatively small and basic bar downstairs. We were told that the karaoke room or booth would cost us 30 Australian Dollars for an hour. The staff in this bar were all Asian and were extremely friendly and professional. We were shown up to our room at the exact time we were told and given a brief demonstration on how to use the equipment. You basically just had to work a remote control and sing away. There was flashing lights and drinks being brought to us. There was a huge number of songs to choose from, thousands in fact. We were delighted and sang away for the hour.
I didn’t get to see the toilets so can’t comment on them. All in all this bar was a fantastic place to visit and we really enjoyed ourselves. The drinks weren’t to expensive and we drinking bottles of Tiger beer which was lovely. Most definately one to check out if you are in Melbourne.
Drink rating: 7.5/10
Entertainment rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: FM karaoke bar was one of the best pubs we visited on honeymoon because of its uniqueness. While myself and Jen were there we were saying what a great idea it would be to open a place like this in Cork. There is a huge gap in the market. Guess what, the Mardyke entertainment complex have just this month opened their own karaoke booths for hire. I guarantee they will be a massive success and i will definately be checking it out!
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