Bar Century Review

Review By Kelly Teng

If there is ever an award for the university student's paradise, Bar Century would take out Gold, Silver, and Bronze for its pure ability to tick all of the boxes. Similar to its George Street counterparts, Star Bar and The Pavilion, Bar Century provides a place to pre-drink, drink, and get drunk.

The first thing that I always notice when I go into Bar Century and walk up the stairs is that there are always drunk people stumbling down them, no matter what time of night it is. To me, that's always an indication that the inside is going to be filled with drunk people too, and drunk people means energy, energy and more energy. Of course, this is definitely the case when you step foot on the first floor: the bar is always busy, the crowd is always talkative and there's always a group of people ready to dance and go crazy. The range of people here is pretty broad but the one thing that unites them is that every single person is there to drink and have a good time.

With Bar Century being a uni student paradise, the one thing that it does extremely well on is cheap drinks...and when I say cheap, I mean so affordable that you can walk in with $20 and walk out smashed off your face. All night long, drinks are $3 and jugs of schooners are under $10, making it the perfect place if you're looking to drink but not spend a fortune on delicious cocktails. Of course, the alcohol quality isn't the best at $3 a pop, but trust me: after a few drinks, you won't even be able to taste the difference between top-shelf tequila and Bar Century tequila. The bar is always ridiculously packed with people queuing for a drink, which means that you'll always be able to strike up an interesting conversation while you're there. Bar staff are also friendly and efficient, making it a lot easier to deal with these long queues.

After so many drinks, stumbling into the bathroom is mandatory and Bar Century has enough facilities to manage their crowd. Being spread over a few levels also makes this easier, and the bathrooms - while not always the cleanest - are always useable and decent enough (unlike some other bars and nightclubs in Sydney). Bar Century also has a bit of pokies and pool, for anyone that might feel bored with the crowd that is constantly drinking and partying away.

The rest of Bar Century is fairly standard: each level is dimly lit, and seating can be scarce. The biggest perk about it though is if you're not happy with the floor you're on, you can always change: this means that it's a constant shuffling back and forth between levels, but you always have the option of moving somewhere else. Their music is mainstream all the way, and the bar is simple yet functional. While Bar Century may not be the trendiest bar in town, it will always be a place that provides consistency...and it's always the best place for pre-drinks on a Friday or Saturday night, that's for sure.



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A 2nd Review of Bar Century

Review by Isaac Ohlin

I’ve always had a soft spot for a really cheap drink. In high school, this meant heading down to the park with three bottles of Passion Pop and a case of Passiona before hitting up that insane seventeenth birthday in your mate’s parents’ garage. This was a time-honoured tradition, one that I passed down to my sister, who then passed it down to my even younger sister and so on and so forth. Upon turning eighteen, I embarked on my first forays into the weird and wonderful world of Sydney’s nightlife. As any naïve and impressionable teenager is bound to do, I spent more than a few nights paying a fortune (at least to me, at that time employed as head Manager of Deep Fryers at Stanmore McDonalds) at bars that didn’t even play Eminem or the Chili Peppers. The solution to my financial woes? Bar Century.

Bar Century is perched on top of a Hungry Jacks, at the corner of George and Bathurst Streets in the middle of the CBD. A flight of twisting spiral stairs leads to the bar, and at any time, there is bound to be a soul or two stumbling down this tiled death trap. The black door on the second level landing is the entrance to the bar. Going further up the treacherous steps leads to the World Square backpacker hostel. On entering the bar a potent cocktail of sweat, grog and vomitus awaits, just like a high school house party. The bathrooms aren’t always that clean, gradually becoming less hospitable the older the night gets. There are a few pokies outside the toilets, but these seem to be used more as a place to sit, as on a busy night seating options can be a little scarce. The brown and beige carpets remind me of my grandfather’s favourite Sunday vest.

The main draw of Bar Century is the $3 drinks, a deal that lasts until 10pm, before prices increase sharply to a princely $4. The alcohol may not be premium brand, but after six schooners for the price of entry at Establishment, no one seems to mind. Consequently, the bar attracts a fair mix of punters looking for a fiscally responsible day or night on the town. The CBD office crowd in suits can be seen cavorting with teens headed to Kings Cross, while the traveller horde from upstairs are a mainstay, outgoing, uninhibited and keen to party. One German fellow told me a particularly riveting tale about the time he broke up with his girlfriend after falling in love with the ocean, whilst on a mushroom trip in Thailand. Needless to say, he was drinking alone. The crowd choose the music by way of jukebox, and no matter what the track, the uber-friendly and laidback bar staff joins in the Australian version of Coyote Ugly.

Bar Century is a bargain-basement drinking mecca, be it midday before you head to the Big Day Out or at 3am when you’re being escorted from the venue by the bouncers for playing One Direction on the jukebox, because it’s on the banned list of songs behind the bar. It may not win any awards for presentation, but it offers a welcoming, unpretentious and thoroughly enjoyable venue for revelry without having to take out a second mortgage.

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