New Brisbane

There is so much choice in Brisbane now, there really is, from the city, valley, west end to pretty much every suburb I can think of, there exists one or two venues that you can spend a whole night at. Nevertheless, there is not so much good choice. The City is about as secure as your Job under the new IR laws and it is about as cultured as a tub of white yoghurt, and it only gets worse with places like The Victory still being in business. If you ask me, The Victory lowers human kind to a new form of sub-human species, rolling around the dirt drinking VB while eyeing anything that might (or might not) have legs is not my idea of a good night out. It makes me feel sick to even walk past that place let alone go in there (yes I have been there). There are some exceptions in the City, Jade Buddha (Shadow Lounge) and perhaps, if I am generous, the Port Office, can be worth your time. I shall leave The Valley alone, for it is my second home and just like an ugly kid, as its father, I shall have unconditional love for it. Sure it is ugly and it shares many of the City’s problems, but I blame that mostly on the City goers coming to the valley in mass. So that leaves us with one other central major location for the Brisbane Nightlife Scene, West End.

My friends, West End isn’t like the City, and it is not even anything close to the Valley. Being in West End makes you appreciate Brisbane just a little more, sure the homeless wonder and roam the streets begging for money, and the streets are filled with graffiti and posters, not to mention the smell, but all of this is what defines West End. Brisbane’s most Cultured Suburb. There are a few places in West End that started this trend towards West End’s modern day image of what I like to call the “new valley“. Apart from the many restaurants that have been there for years, The Three Monkeys and the Gunshop Cafe as well as The Pavilion (which although as I have mentioned earlier, is Brisbane’s Biggest Waste of Space), have been there longer than I have been in Brisbane. Nonetheless, there is one venue that really and utterly portrays modern west end in all its glory. The Lychee Lounge.

Lychee Lounge
Unit 2/ 92 Boundary St West End 4101
Phone: (07) 3846 0544

Located on Boundary street, across the road from the Pavilion and next to one of Brisbane’s better pizza shops (Slice), The Lychee Lounge has established itself as one of the more different places in Brisbane. With decor that could resemble a nightmare or a fantasy and an atmosphere that makes you relax and forget all your worries, the Lychee Lounge has become an instant favourite with the West End crowd and has drawn many from the Valley and the City to it’s doors. The venue is relatively small. Limited seating and space in general mixed in with an excellent reputation, can make the Lychee Lounge a little crowded on Friday and Saturday nights. Infact, if you are keen on the Lychee Lounge I would highly recommend going there on a weeknight first or if you can’t, going early on the weekend, say around 8pm on Friday or Saturday. You will miss a lot of the atmosphere of Lychee Lounge if you can’t find a seat. The seating is quite extravagant. At the very end of Lychee lounge, you are invited to a luxurious seating arrangement in your own little private area. A taste of middle eastern and Mediterranean decor does a lot for the Lychee Lounge. Making a booking is essential for large groups. The normal seats in and around the bar are very uncomfortable. Infact, they are horrible, but yet, they are elequont in their purpose. Low, small, and crammed seating arrangements will guarantee that you will be using a lot of table service at the Lychee Lounge.

The service at Lychee Lounge has always been one to remember and praise, with competent and friendly staff who don’t pester you every 35 seconds to order another drink, I can hardly find a fault! And that is saying a lot. The food at the Lychee Lounge has never been the best, perhaps one of the less attractive features of Lychee Lounge, the delay in actually getting your food is what usually annoys me, you could wait in excess of 40 minutes for your food if its busy, thats is simply just unacceptable. Nonetheless, it has gotten better over the last year, but the quality of the food still leaves a lot to be desired. Given West End’s unlimited choice of food, I would recommend a different venue for dinner, then a walk down to Lychee Lounge for cocktails and some much needed relaxation. The Cocktails are superb. Prices are on par with most other places with it comes to drinks and cocktails.

The music at Lychee Lounge can get a little annoying at times, especially if you are sitting right below the BOSE speakers. It can be too loud, or the music can simply not be happening for you. Sometimes there is a DJ, sometimes there is an iPod, and most of the time you can’t really tell (says a lot about their DJs), I suppose its all part of the atmosphere, with Barbie doll heads attached to lights hanging from the ceiling and a Dome that plays tricks on your ears if you sit directly underneath it, you should only expect the music to be a little different. After all, it is West End.

Seriously though, if you haven’t been to The Lychee Lounge in West End, get up and go there tonight. Just grab a few friends and head over there. During the week parking should be easy as you can usually find a parking outside the lychee lounge or across the road. Otherwise, you can always park at Coles parking (near Three Monkeys and Commonwealth Bank). If your going on the weekend, go early, otherwise you’ll be standing all night and that isn’t that much fun. It might be a little hard to find at first, but look for Slice and Subway, it is located between the two.