I recently hosted a function at the refurbished Bourbon. I paid the minimum spend and they didnt deliver on the on our agreed contract. They had not enough bar staff, we had to wait more than 20 mins each time to be served a drink and the management staff on the night who were supposed to be handling our function and handing out drinks never did a thing, when I asked about it they were telling me they were just too busy. Overall a very unprofessional establishment, with inept staff. Apparently glamourous but it isnt really, an ugly crowd downstairs too! Don't bother with it.
review by: KinksMourn another passing folks, the Bourbon has been replaced with something one correspondent described as "bland, soulless, loud". We'll be looking into it.
review by: JasonThe Bourbon and Beefsteak is King's Cross's most famous pub. Created mid-century during The Cross's massive wartime boom, The Bourbon originally catered heavily to American servicemen stationed here, as it still does when the US Navy berths at Woolloomooloo.
These days it's heavily frequented by Cross locals, blow-ins, backpackers, tourists after a bit of sanitised danger and the occassional pubguide reviewer!
Our review visit starts with a slightly dazed wander around the large upstairs area - it is about 2am, after all, then we gravitate to the downstairs pool tables, where I take Trent to the cleaners in an awesome show of form. OK I was drunk.
There's a bit of a 'club night' going on downstairs and it's loud and brash, mostly 18-22 year old kids with the occassional Cross-ite thrown in to the mix for good measure.
Be warned. Beer is expensive. we were paying club prices for Cascade, but it seems the market is happy enough to bear it, the place was full.
The Bourbon never closes. Much is made of the fact that it doesn't even have a front door. It does, however, have pretty decent security staff, so it's not so much a danger spot as some folks would have you believe. If you can stand the prices, you have to go at least once, just so that when your American friends ask if you've been there you can say yes.
review by: pubguide staff