For those looking for a review of the food at the Highbury, this is not the review for you.
The Highbury Hotel may wonder why they struggle to get a crowd (other than a dozen high-viz clad patrons between 3 and 5pm), but I can tell you exactly why this is the case.
1) It is apparently impossible to get the footy on TV on a Friday night (we're in SA, people!). On one such occasion, there were 7 patrons in the hotel and 15 screens. Most of said screens displayed TAB (racing), an old movie on channel 9 (two screens) and a static screen of upcoming fox sports broadcasts. Despite asking twice, and being assured the footy would be displayed, it never happened.
2) The "the back door is open" alarm sounds constantly. And judging from what staff members have said in the past, it's because "someone is out the back having a smoke". A high pitched beeping sound every 3 seconds is not what you want to hear when you're trying to enjoy a beer while wondering why the footy isn't on TV.
3) All of the pool cues are broken. The staff warn you of this when you place the deposit (for broken equipment), but never seem to bother replacing said equipment. "These are the least broken ones" is not something you want to hear when you're paying $2 per game, while also wondering why the footy isn't on TV on a Friday night.
4) The staff clearly would rather be doing something else. Apparently it is far more important to finish a conversation than to serve a patron. It's amazing how much you can learn in 30 seconds while waiting for such a conversation to finish. If I wanted to know who was 'seeing' who, I would watch The Bold and the Beautiful.
5) Drink prices are ridiculous. $8 for a pint of mass-produced beer with no atmosphere is criminal. If one was able to watch the footy while drinking beer, it wouldn't be quite as bad, but see 1).
6) Once the bar staff get bored, last drinks are called. This can be as early as 8pm on a Friday night. If you're lucky, it may extend to 10pm. While this may sometimes be dependent on the number of patrons present, it often seems arbitrary. If the footy was on TV, there would probably be more patrons present. But they'd still probably close early.
7) Drinking at home is cheaper and probably has a much better atmosphere. Also, you can watch the footy. read more