New Brisbane

Yes, Teneriffe, I know its scary isn’t it? So much for the traditional West End, Fortitude Valley or Brisbane City venues! This one is all the way out in Teneriffe. Picture my surprised face when we finally found Girder, on what appeared to be an upper-class version of Milton’s Park Road. Sure there was no red Ferrari parked outside, but the endless number of Mercedes and BMWs made up for that. So there it was, with a massive sign on the outside, you are sure not to miss Girder if you drove past.

Girder Bar
36 Vernon Terrace, Teneriffe.
Brisbane
Tel: (07) 3257 0402
Fax: (07) 3257 3667

I hate to admit it, but I am not the sort of person that likes change, and unlike our editor here, Teneriffe isn’t a regular hang out. So as we walked past the countless restaurants and bars, I was amazed, what’s going on!? When did the nightlife take of in Teneriffe? Why didn’t someone tell me! I already knew as I was walking towards the entrance to Girder that I would be coming here again; it was that feeling of “oh my, something new in Brisbane” that really pushed the right buttons.

Once we sat near the Bar inside Girder, I started looking around trying to get a feel for Girder which has only been open since December last year. I asked the owners what venue occupied the building previously, and to my amazement the answer was nothing! Talk about a gold mine! Teneriffe isn’t exactly the poorest suburb in Brisbane, and (as the owners pointed out) it has one of Brisbane’s highest disposal incomes (and lowest number of kids). Its really hard to explain Girder to be honest, the place prides it self on the wine menu and unfortunately, wine isn’t generally a choice of mine, but with 18 pages to pick from, there was almost no reason to get anything else. Wine was all that mattered! Nevertheless, the food menu also presented some interesting choices.

We tried the Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre, the Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz and a few more as the night went on. Time after the time, the waiters came over to check how things were going, took our orders, brought us our food, our wine, and even water. How much more can you ask for? I have to give Girder a top rating for service. We were there on a Friday night when Girder was relatively busy and at no time during the night was there a queue to get a drink. The Bar staff were quick, polite and exceptionally well dressed (black isn’t in anymore). I don’t know how many times I have mentioned this but having good staff can be the difference between being a really good venue and being just another venue, and the staff at Girder were simply exceptional.

Girder was host to a wide age group of people, mostly the mid-late 20s early-mid 30s crowd filled the venue, while a few early 20s and over 40s lurked in the corners. What Girder did show was that no matter where you go, drunk people are still drunk people, rich or not. Perhaps the best comparison to make to Girder is The Sunbar in the valley, although the orange glow of Sunbar left Girders rather dark themed presence a little behind, everything else was in Girder’s favour.

Girder is an odd name for a bar, it is named after the steel girder that sits as the centre table of the bar, but regardless of the name, Girder is a big wake up call to other venues around Brisbane, there is no need to be in the valley or city anymore, if the service is good, the price is right and the atmosphere is even better than people will come! It is fantastic to see venues such as Girder providing such excellent choice around Brisbane. If Teneriffe is as alien to you as it was to me, then I can assure you that you will be surprised to see the venues crowded with what seems to be the right crowd in Brisbane, if you ever find yourself wandering around the Valley on a Friday night and asking yourself where have all the people gone? The answer is Teneriffe!

Girder is definitely one of Brisbane’s upcoming venues, with excellent staff, a massive wine menu and a great atmosphere, I am confident that Girder will become a common choice for Brisbanites looking for a venue with a focus on customer satisfaction and an extensive wine menu. If you are sick of Brisbane city and Brisbane valley, get yourself to Teneriffe and give Girder a go.