It’s an incredibly momentous time in Brisbane history: the pub on the corner of Brunswick Street and St Paul’s Terrace in the Valley is finally turning into something that isn’t a complete and utter pisshole.
You might have fond memories of what was formerly the Shamrock Hotel, the Step Inn and the Underdog, but you have to acknowledge that that place has pretty much always been a dank filth cavern barely worth the 90 seconds it takes to walk there from the train station.
But all of that is about to change, with a big ol’ arcade bar set to jam itself into the downstairs of what was theoretically at one stage a stunning heritage pub.
Netherworld is a joint venture between pinball wizard James Angliss and duo Ben Nichols and Kieran Ryan, two of the owners of Brisbane’s literal best bar, The Scratch, and it’s going to freaking yuge, with over 15 pinball machines, 25 arcade machines, a big stack of board games, a diner-style kitchen, and a lengthy list of beers both craft and normal.
Nichols says the idea for the bar was inspired by a particularly good night in the States:
“A trip to Barcade in Brooklyn a couple years ago really cemented it for me. I had a hell of an evening with a few damned good beers and many more arcade machines, but thought that New York was an awfully long way to go to experience that again.”
Not a huge nerd? That’s super weird, but whatever I guess, there still should be a place for you there:
“You can waste the night away just bashing pinnies, fighting your pals on one of the many 90’s fighters, sitting in a corner bar away from the machines just enjoying good drinks or stuffing your face with the fun diner menu we’re putting together. Hell, you’ll be able to go and have a good time and not even touch a game.”
It’s still under construction but I assume it is going to look more or less exactly like this:
It’s due to open in a few months and should pave the way for an incredible two-part pub crawl between a night of arcade fun at Netherworld and some boozy mini-golf at the newly opened Holey Moley just around the corner.
You can follow their progress and check for updates as they put the place together by following them on Facebook right here.
Photo: Supplied.
