12 May 2010

Palms on Oxford: Gay Nightclub, Darlinghurst (8 May 2010)

Basement, 124 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010


Gay-friendly daggy disco

I think I may possibly be the one and only food blog that will ever post about Palms but if you can eat or drink at a venue then I'll pretty much blog about it — and besides they play excellent retro music. For a gay-friendly experience that's definitely more men than women (about 10-1) you'll find Palms playing all the right tunes of the 70s, 80s, 90s and top 40 dance music to get you in the party atmosphere. It's one of the few standing clubs on Oxford Street that's still free entry but you'll need to get in by 10.30-11 pm as lines get really long very quickly towards the middle of the night. Bar staff are efficient and energetic although the demand for drinks can still make you wait a bit — especially when it's crowded and hot. It's the first time I noticed they have a bar food menu of four items which is quite limited. Palms reminds me of a gay version of Randi Wix in terms of the down-t0-earth crowd, tacky decor and abundance of fun retro music but it's a little freaky how they both have palm trees as their illustrative logo.

Other gay-friendly clubs on Oxford Street:
Slide

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Gay friendly, Fun retro music, Free entry, Unpretentious
CONS: Long lineups depending on when you go, Pricey drinks, A bit tacky in a good way if you like that sort of thing
MUST TRY: Not drinking on an empty stomach

Tacky snake lights decor

Black smirnoff $12.50, House sparking $8


Menu

Flag decorations

Lineup outside

6 comments:

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

I'm not a bar or club person so I would never go to Palms but I have had the El Circo degustation and show at Slide.

I'm also not a night person so staying up until midnight is rather a daunting ask for me (and K)!

Look at that line snaking across the front of Pink Peppercorn though; I don't think the restaurant would be very happy even though they'd be used to it. :-)

Simon Leong said...

hi joey, what's the el circo like at Slide? sort of cabaret shows isn't it? i think pink peppercorn is sort of closing by about the time that the lines get really long at Palms. perhaps peppercorn could serve entrees while waiting though and make more money hehe :-)

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

Hi Simon,
I really like Slide, and yes, it's more of a cabaret/circus type show. The food is good, and at times inventive, but it's more the show that's interesting.

Simon Leong said...

hi joey, i didn't even know Slide had food. sounds like a great night out of entertainment :-)

john@heneedsfood said...

Oh dear, I remember going to Palms when I was still in my twenties. It's still there!? I need to go to Oxford Street a little more often

Simon Leong said...

hi john, it sure is still there. not like The Albury which is now a Puma Store i think, The Flinders Hotel which has changed about 3-4 times i think and The Exchange which is now Phoenix. Also you might know there's no more Newtown Hotel or Imperial Hotel aka 'The Ippy' in Newtown and Erskinville. also Palms has changed as well. still as tacky as ever hehe :-)

Simon Food Favourites Map

View Simon Food Favourites in a larger map Key: BLUE - Location visit and review PINK - Simon Favourites and places offering something special

Small Bars in Sydney map


View Small Bars in Sydney in a larger map