Visiting local pubs is a great way to get to know a city and its culture, and Canberra is no exception. There’s a lot of history to be learned while still having a great time with a cold pint of craft beer in hand. I consider myself uniquely qualified to write about this topic – I love old pubs and I know these venues inside out.
The Old Canberra Inn – Lyneham
Let’s start off strong with a pub that is literally older than Canberra itself: the Old Canberra Inn (OCI). The original slab hut was built in 1857 and was home to a family of Irish immigrants. Until 1887, it served as a coach stop on the Yass to Queanbeyan run, serving beer and food to weary travellers back when Canberra was just sheep paddocks. It became a family home until 1974, when it underwent delicate renovations (still preserving much of the original fittings and architecture) and was relicensed as the Old Canberra Inn.
Its 1887-1974 stretch as a family home means it holds the title as the first pub in Canberra, but not the longest-running.
The Old Canberra Inn Today
The OCI feels like you’ve stepped back in time: low ceilings, cosy log fireplaces and Tudor-style fittings. It’s cemented itself as a Canberra institution that stands the test of time thanks to its family-friendly atmosphere, ample space and leafy beer garden. It has all the amenities and entertainment you’d expect from a modern pub, including great live music, trivia nights, and a QR code ordering system. There’s also a rotating selection of craft beers on tap from small breweries, many of which you’d be hard-pressed to find at other pubs in Canberra.
The OCI is a regular haunt of mine to catch up with friends, and I hardly ever miss a trivia night. However, I do have to warn you that the OCI lacks a certain polish – the stall doors in the ladies’ room have to be jammed shut with incredible force, and I once waited an hour for a bowl of chips. Nonetheless, there’s still a massive turnout on any given night of families, rowdy 20-somethings, and the elderly on their big night out.
Best menu item:The mac and cheese and the chicken wings are tied.
Best night to go: Jazz night is one of the least crowded evenings and home to a community jazz session with some amazing local talent.
The Kingston Hotel – Griffith
The Kingston Hotel, affectionately nicknamed the ‘Kingo’ by most locals, is one of the first licensed pubs in Canberra and another personal favourite of mine. The Kingo dates back to 1908, when it became the first hotel built in the Federal Capital Territory. Unfortunately, this coincided with Canberra’s prohibition, which started in 1911 and ran until 1928, meaning it didn’t officially open its doors as a pub until around 1930.
Since then, the Kingston Hotel has become deeply enmeshed in Canberra’s political and intelligence history. One of the most notable connections the Kingo has is to the ‘Petrov Affair’. In 1954, two Soviet Union spies posing as diplomats, Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov, defected to Australia. The Kingston Hotel was located directly opposite the former Soviet Embassy (it’s still home to the Russian Embassy today) and was used by Petrov as a place to meet with Australian intelligence agents to arrange his formal defection from the Soviet Union.
The historic pub is also known for being home to ‘faceless men’, an Australian political term for when people not in parliament exert political influence behind closed doors. The term was first coined in 1963, when Labor Leader Arthur Calwell and Deputy Leader Gough Whitlam were photographed standing outside the Kingston Hotel, allegedly waiting to hear policy orders from lobbyists. It’s one of the most famous pictures in Australian politics.
The Kingo Today
The pub is still thriving today, with a beer garden, sports bar, pool tables, attached bottleshop, a steakhouse restaurant, and a bistro. It feels like Canberra’s answer to the old corner pubs you’d find in Melbourne or Adelaide.
The bistro serves all the pub grub you’d expect alongside more modern Australian cuisine. It was renovated in 2021 – before that, it had remained mostly unchanged for decades – but still retains its traditional (and slightly dingy) pub ambience, with dim lighting and red tartan carpets throughout.
The hotel attached to the pub offers low-cost and long-term dormitory-style accommodation, and the hotel’s guests are normally streaming in and out of the sports bar. As a result, there’s often a mix of down-on-their-luck types and well-to-do public servants which somehow feels very Canberran to me. It definitely leads to some interesting conversations in the smoker’s area. It’s part of what makes the Kingston Hotel special.
Best menu item: The steak & kidney pie – a pub food staple perfect to have in a classic pub.
Best Night to go: Saturday nights are the best – you can enjoy the bustling atmosphere while still being able to find a seat, unlike Friday nights.
Rose Cottage Pub, Gilmore
Built in the early 1870s, the Rose Cottage is one of Canberra’s most historical buildings and one of the few from the 1800s that’s open to the public. Beyond the ACT, it’s Australia’s oldest known timber slab house still on its original site. The land on which the current Rose Cottage pub is situated was originally part of Cunningham’s Tuggeranong Station from 1857. Since then, it’s changed hands a number of times between private owners, the Commonwealth, and historical societies. It’s currently privately owned and one of Canberra’s only heritage-listed pubs.
In 1966, Murray’s Coach Service began using the cottage as a stopover, but the buildings were mostly left unattended. The cottage was in serious danger of being knocked down in 1975 to make way for Isabella Drive, but historical enthusiasts and potential investors lobbied hard, and the ACT Government rerouted Isabella Drive to preserve the then-100-year-old cottage. In 1980, the National Trust of Australia deemed it a heritage site.
The Rose Cottage Today
Today, the Canberra landmark sits on nine of the original 2,000 acres it once had. The original two cottages are now occupied by a café, the traditional pub, a variety of bars, private function rooms and live music stages. There’s so much going on; it almost feels a bit crowded!
The first time I visited Rose Cottage, I found myself wandering through the crowds a bit aimlessly, looking into nooks and crannies, trying to find the best place to sit and where to order food. I expected more of a spaced-out, garden estate vibe than a compound of buildings. To be honest, I thought I would see more roses and greenery.
The overall vibe of the venue is very laid-back – no need to dress up! There is a huge amount of seating and multiple bars, making it the perfect venue for a casual get-together with a large group of friends. This is especially true in the winter – there are lots of beautiful custom-built fire pits scattered around the acreage.
The family-friendly pub menu is hearty and traditional, with pub classics like schnitzel, burgers, and parmigiana costing between $24 and $27. The portion sizes were generous, and there was only a 15-minute wait for my food, even though it was packed on a Friday night. However, it was nothing to write home about – just slightly below-average pub food.
Best menu item:The schnitty.
Best night to go: Thursdays, when the schnitties are $10.
History, Quirks and All
All three pubs have their quirks, and none of them are perfect. But that’s exactly what makes them worth visiting. Canberra’s newer venues have polish – these ones have character, and that’s not something you can build from scratch. All three of the pubs on the list are definitely worth paying a visit, and there’s a reason why I keep coming back to them again and again.
P.S: This is the first edition in a series of the best pubs and bars in Canberra. Next up: Best pubs and bars for live music!
