Nightlife
For such a relatively small city, with a reputation for being quiet and sleepy too, Adelaide has a surprisingly vibrant nightlife. If you want a choice but don’t want to stagger too far then cruise along Rundle Street in the city centre. If you drink beer, ask for a ‘schooner’. It’s the same size as a ‘midi’ in New South Wales, which makes it about half the size of a New South Wales schooner.
Bars: A stroll down Rundle Street will lead you through many pub doorways. One of the best is The Austral, at 205 Rundle Street, a popular watering hole which features an outdoor seating area and bands and DJs on weekends. Another Adelaide favourite is the Belgium Beer Café, 27-29 Ebenezer Place, one of a chain of Belgium-style drinking holes that relishes dark wood, mussels, chips with mayonnaise, and great beer – including a recipe developed by Trapiste monks. Also highly recommended is The Port Dock Brewery Hotel, 10 Todd Street, North Adelaide, known for its classy wood-and-bare-brick interior, as well as its tasty seafood pub grub and the five beers brewed on site.
Clubs: The city’s largest venue after the Adelaide Entertainment Centre is a multi-level Heaven Nightclub, at 7 West Terrace, an event complex clogged with bodies, bars, and several dance and chill out rooms. Meanwhile, Adelaide's leading underground music venue, The Cargo Club, at 213 Hindley Street, attracts dance-club DJs and music acts from all over the country and overseas too. More seasoned is Waves, in the Hyatt Hotel, an establishment nightclub that attracts well-at-heel guests and townies to its mix of dance and retro sounds.
Live Music: Unlike Sydney where ‘the Pokies’ (or one-armed bandits), have led to a dash for cash and the subsequent closing of music venues, Adelaide is still a big supporter of local bands. The icon in the music scene is The Exeter, at 246 Rundle Street, an old-style classic with a beer garden out back and bands playing throughout the week. Another of the city’s leading live music venues is the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, at 59 Port Road, Hindmarsh, which hosts bands and singers almost nightly, and provides gourmet pizzas and pub grub too. The there’s the Crown & Sceptre Hotel, at 308 King William Street, a landmark with a stage that looks out into a beer garden, and a hip, up-market crowd with a liking for funky music and DJs.
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