Suzie Wong's Good Time Bar

Suzie Wong's Good Time Bar is a cool Hawaiian-themed dive bar in an historic Fortitude Valley building, accessed by a retro refrigerator door, behind which is the coolest place in Brisbane to let your hair down and listen to live music. 

Inside, the neon-lit main bar has seating along the exposed handmade brick wall, which is awash with vintage posters and collectables. There's a bandstand in the front corner, whilst further inside, a lamp-lit wallpapered room is a cosy place for group gatherings. Out back, there's a pocket-sized courtyard with surfboard-shaped benches.

Being a "good time bar", five nights a week at Suzie Wong's, punters can hit the dance floor to live music, from acoustic sets to bands of every music genre from rock'n'roll to country and western, blues and funk. Music is piped throughout, so even if you're in the courtyard, you can still hear the band.

On Friday and Saturday, there's acoustic acts from 7.30pm and bands from 10pm-2am, while on week nights bands play from 9pm.

With so many good times to be had, here are some of the nights you won't want to miss: 

Jam Nights (2nd & 4th Wednesday of the month) - Join the amazing house band up on stage if you're up for it, and either play along with the house band with an instrument of your choice or get on the mic and sing your heart out! 

Wild West Wednesdays (1st & 3rd Wednesday of the month) - A dedicated wild night of country music with the bands rotating each week. It's a wild, fun night where you'll get to hear some of Brisbane's best country artists perform on stage while you kick back and knock down a few Jack Daniels and fresh apple juice, or get your boot scootin' on!

Pan Am Sundays - Turn back the clock to the good ol' days when Pan Am ruled the West Coast skies and West Coast Coolers, Guava Breezers and Jager Bombs were the coolest drinks at the airport bar. Bands rotate weekly and the fun goes until late with drink specials all night. This Sunday night event is a favourite haunt and frequented by a lot of hospitality workers blowing off steam after a hard week!

There's no food served at Suzie Wong's but the drinks menu is what the good times are all about. Start with the signature cocktails, perhaps a Hawaiian flavour such as Blue Kahana Shot (Nusa Cana tropical island rum, coconut and lime), Suzie's Colada (Havana Club 3yo and 7yo rum, coconut, lime and bitters), Suzie's Death (3 types of rum, pastis, apricot, apple, pink grapefruit and fire), or the popular Unsolicited Life Advice (tequila, capano banco, lime, jalapeno and watermelon).

For beer drinkers, there's 4 beers on tap, including Suzie Wong's House Lager and Hawaii's Kona Big Wave Golden Ale, Blue Moon Belgian White and Young Henrys, while cans and stubbies include Kana Longboard Island Lager and Rock Pale Ale, Estrella Damm (Spain), Budweiser (USA) and Australian craft beers from Mountain Goat and Gold Coast's Balter brewery.

There's also a unique selection of boutique wines (red, white, rose, orange and sparkling) by the glass or bottle, including Whistler Thank God It's Friday shiraz, Motley Cru pinot grigio and Tar and Rose prosecco.

Nice to know - Suzie Wong's is owned by Drunken Monkey Group (the savvy folk behind Brooklyn Standard and Fat Angel Sports Bar and Grill).

Need to know - You need to open the heavy outer entry door to find the fridge door. Pull the handle and enter!

The menu may have changed since our visit.

Check out our guide to all of the best bars in Fortitude Valley.

Still thirsty for more suggestions on where to grab a drink in Brisbane, head to our comprehensive Eat & Drink section HERE! Cheers!