Sweaty bodies. Boys with no shirts on. People dancing up in yo' grill. Boys kissing boys. Boys…read morekissing girls. Lasers beaming. This all equates to a standard night at Arq. Arq is a great place to come when you need a night off from the sleazy, drunk, why-are-you-still-in-my-face men who hit on you at every other bar, club or pub in Sydney. It is a prime place to take to the dance floor and move like no one is watching (they're not). Need a confidence boost? Compliments get thrown around here more than men up against the wall. My only complaint is the entry ($20). Are places in Sydney really still insisting that it is privilege to be on their premises? Get with the times people, not even the hottest clubs in New York City charge an entry fee! If you are a boy looking for a boy, you will be found at Arq. If you are a girl needing a night off from boys, you will be found at Arq. If you are a boy looking for a girl, you probably shouldn't but most likely will still be found at Arq. No judgement here. Everybody is out wanting to have a good time.

I'll be the first to admit that gay bars and clubs are not always the best. They are not the most…read morechill places out there and I tend to miss seeing live bands and hearing my favorite rock or indie songs. Having said that if you want to have a wild night out with some of the biggest party people in Sydney then this is the place to go. Arq is a multilevel club in the gayberhood of Oxford street. It's mainly for gay guys (sorry girls) but there are always plenty of friends and supporters here too. I've been a number of times with straight mates who had just as much fun (maybe more so) than me - it's definitely a welcoming place for all types. On the bottom level there is a darker night club style room that to me always seems a bit too small. The smokers alley adjacent to this room is great for chatting to people though. Upstairs there is a huge dance hall with a balcony. Drinks are pretty standard, prices are night club standard. Just remember to check Sydney's current lock out laws and drink laws or you might get stranded outside or not allowed certain drinks at certain times.

Fun drinks and vibe. The bartenders were so fun and easy to talk to. They made sure we had a great…read moretime and kept us comfortable and topped off all evening.

A nice Mexican cantina with great margs! Really tasty and smooth. The coconut one on the house was…read morereally god

Away from the grime of Oxford Street, Lo-Fi provides a safe haven of trendy people, slick drinks…read moreand smooth tunes. The balcony is probably the highlight, with 80% of the patrons drinking, talking and hitting on each other out here. Inside there are lounges running along a significant length of room and allow for a more chilled out lounge session. I usually come on a Sunday when it is less busy but no less enjoyable. The Ginger Ninja cocktail jug is an incredible explosion of lychee and ginger beer. Winner! Upstairs at Lo-Fi Collective there are lowbrow art exhibitions promoted every so often. Checkout their Facebook page (http://facebook.com/pages/Lo-fi-collective/140757972621366) and get yourself to one of the opening nights. Just sit back, have a beer and experience this creative space.

I was blindly led to Darlinghurst on Saturday night after having a couple of drinks. Not knowing…read morewhere I was, my friends and I exited the taxi and went straight up to Lo-Fi, which is located above Kinselas. With no expectations, I was quite impressed with the hip atmosphere and the artsy crowd of attractive 20-somethings. Like a warehouse that skipped on its electricity bill, the place is dark and spacious, but certainly not empty. The bar is clustered, yet colorful, and the blackboard on the wall is scribbled to the brim with food and drink items. They offer a multitude of retro and inventive cocktails, and the hipster bar staff appeared capable in executing these drinks to perfection. There's a large balcony that offers views of Taylor Square, allowing you to spy on the sloppy messes trying to navigate Oxford Street. I felt lucky to be up here. From what I remember, the music was primarily 90s and RnB, all coming from a pretty decent speaker system. I kinda shrugged of confusion when I heard 'errybody in the club getting tipsy,' reminded briefly of when that song was played at my high school dances of yesteryear. So I just busted out my high school moves. Up the stairs from the main bar, there's a whole other room with a large dance floor and high ceilings, decor in the same vein as below. Except that there are ping-pong tables behind the bar! Great thinking.

Attended a Burlesque night. The venue was small and over crowded, to a point where the dancers…read morecould barely dance. The wait for drinks was much too long and even after all the talk about decent cocktails, of the three we had, none impressed - even less the house wine - HORRIBLE. Perhaps it is less crowded for the Jazz or Motown... Perhaps Ill find out. I was so disappointed with the Burlesque.

Mowtown Mondays are amazing, the cocktails are even better. Have to say it was my first time there…read morereally excited for burlesque fridays!

Used to be amazing. Unfortunately it's no longer the gritty, underground club it once was and is…read moreinstead a sterile bar that happens to have a dancefloor. The primary cause of these issues is staffing and security, which the venue unfortunately hugely struggles with. Security are all externally provided and they are inconsistent in ability and approach. They don't understand the vibe of the venue or its clientele, and don't have the chance to build up a rapport with locals and regulars. I recommend avoiding this place, and would warn against pre-purchasing tickets: you just don't know who is going to be on shift that night and therefore what the vibe is going to be.

The bouncer did not let us in providing no legitimate reason except "I don't want you in here and I…read moredon't need a reason." Literally, no reason, we were sober, polite, well-dressed young professionals. It was pure discrimination and profiling. If I could give 0 stars, I would.

Don't go! Manager is on a hair trigger to create trouble!…read more Security forcibly manhandled us out of the club, because the manager thought we were high on drugs or heavily drunk. (I had a lemon lime and bitters, other 2 had a cyder. No other alcohol prior to visiting the club. And aren't the drug-taking type!) Even after explaining we were perfectly sober to the security guard, the manager said no to re-entry, and decided to change his story to "erratic" dancing endangering other people! We are in our early 60s! Our dance was hip-hop moves! It's a dance club! How do you determine what dances are acceptable and others not?? Manager just decided to target us for some unknown, and nonsensical reason. We are owed an apology and what we got back was nasty responses from a manager who is very vindictive. Other recent reviews are also showing similar stories of bad judgment calls, making stuff up out of thin air - All part of Michael the manager!

Went out to enjoy this establishment with some friends but we weren't let in because of our race…read moreand nationality. They said we don't do big groups and security showed me their policy and I read it and no where there said anything about big groups. Moreover, we were not even that large. When I went to ask as question the security guard refused to talk to me and brushed us off. While another group behind us was let in. I would not recommend going.

I came to try there Show case lunch and we tried various dishes…read more The Hawker Plate which had BBQ pork and hat yai Crispy chicken and satay chicken. The chicken satay really stood out for me,it's not your average satay stick! I was told it was marinated and you can tell when you see the yellow colour seep through most of the chicken,this is a must try! Everything I had was nice which included the Thai Style Spaghetti with Crispy pork belly, Jerk Chicken (thank goodness it wasn't crazy spicy like I had in this Jamaican restaurant but it had a nice kick to it) Beef Rendang and Chicken and Mushroom Pesto Pie We shared sum roasted Veges and the other dish that really impressed me was the Vietnamese Salad with Crumbed Fish,the dressing and the flavours all combine really well together We had the mocktail version of Dutch Kitten which has a Apple,pineapple,lime combination and the Green Tea Berry! I prefer the latter and I prefer the less sweet option Disclaimer: thank you for the invite and being a guest to try there winter menu by 80 Proof/Tim and Katey,appreciate it!

Very chill and cozy place to hang out (Can't comment on weekends, but its nice to hang out during…read morethe week after work). The tacos are nice, and the drink selection good. The place is a bit hard to find but I guess it could be a good thing because its also a nice place thats not too noisy to have a conversation.

Just another loud and dark club, although the atmosphere is full, loud, and cosy, you'd think that…read moreit would be fun and interesting. The dance floor is a little too big for the crowd, and the odd columns around the venue make it feel disjointed and dancing feel forced. The strange stairwell makes you feel that you're walking into an awesome venue, and cover charge must imply that something great is happening downstairs. But, unfortunately, all that is just buzz, it's not that great, it's a bit of a try-hard club. I wouldn't only recommend this place to someone whose interesting in dub, or interested in drugs, or not interested in talking to people. It's not my scene, but it may be yours - no judgement.

If you like your clubs hot, dirty, dingy, loud and underground, you'll like Candy's. Step down into…read morethe cave-like club, the loud music and energetic dancing crowd immediately engulf you. Candy's is a real underground club, it provides a unique offering of both live music and dance music. It's also quite an unpretentious club, in terms of decor and clientele, the atmosphere is pretty relaxed, with a fun and friendly vibe. The music is pretty loud though so don't expect to have many in depth conversations. The low cave-like ceilings, and a variety of nooks and curtained off areas, central dance floor and overall bunker style gives the club character and adds to the experience. Worth a visit, Candy's has great staying power, managing to hold its ground on the Cross night scene for years.