Friday’s Riverside

Food in Brisbane more pricey than Sydney? Rhetorical but would love to hear an opinion.
$ 20 for steak, and mashed potato — and I was pleasantly satisfied with the amount provided. Nice view… a well lit tree in the middle, could have produced a perfect dinnerdate-​y vibe with right company. As it was, had a great bonding time with a friend!
Overall, it’s definitely a place you want to try out.

Just had an eye fillet with potato galette and port wine jus, washed down with a Brisvegas Bitter. That says it all, really.
Weird combination of upmarket and downmarket. The food is like pub food, but good quality, though a bit too charred from the signature barbeque.
I don’t know what it’s like in night club mode, but I can only assume it maintains the impression of an ‘80s dive shoved into a nice location and watching the new millennium roll by.

Lunch for a work friends ‘Baby shower’ today.
I made the booking and staff were friendly and helpful. They allowed us to pay individually and had a nice card system to identify who had what when we paid which i think is a great idea.
Views are of course lovely looking over the Brisbane river to Storey Bridge, and we were sat in a corner away from the hustle and bustle which was good. And yay, table service!
Service was a little hit and miss though. While half our party had their drinks in about 5 or 10 mins the other half got completely forgotten about, but cheers to the hostess who then gave us our drinks for free, which took away a bit of the sour taste in our mouths given they weren’t overly busy.
Food was good, I ordered an entrée and a side as a main, being the Lamb and Haloumi skewers which were delicious, moist and almost fell off the stick which is how i like them! Side of beer battered fries which were pretty good too.
Most of the food came out at the same time, so that was nice. The only thing I was a bit disappointed with was that it took about 45 mins from ordering to eating, which when you have an hour for lunch is kind of pushing my digestive limits. Instead of getting to savour my meal i had to eat fairly quickly and rush back to work. Next time i will take a long lunch i think.
Over all good food, friendly staff, good views, will more than likely go back.

Let me start out by saying I have never eat at Friday’s so this is strictly a review of Friday’s for its nightlife.
Friday’s is a fun place for people of different statuses and monetary levels of income. Students and business men come here for after work and uni for drinks. Is a rooftop bar and nightclub. There is a dancing area and one main bar inside and outside. The bathrooms are up kept quite nicely. Walking in any part of Friday’s on a busy night is a hassle as so many people. The music is mainstream pop and is fun to dance to, though finding room to dance will be a struggle. There is a cover charge later in the night. Sometimes there are drink specials, but not always.
The main reason to come to Friday’s is for the AMAZING view of Story Bridge outside. Friday’s is always a fun night, but my favorite times at Friday’s are when I made that my first stop after the pregame, but not my whole night.

The location and the view is good. Music — A lot of 90’s tracks. The dance floor is filled with broken glass pieces. Crowd — I haven’t seen this many desperate men in any other clubs here nor in the middle east.

Where do I start? A friend of mine organised a birthday dinner with birthday drinks here. We started at 8pm and ordered our food. The food took nearly 45 minutes to arrive and it didn’t even arrive all at the same time. I had the Thai beef salad and it was so bland and boring I could not be bothered eating it all and was left hungry. For the price of $ 23 completely overpriced, especially when you have to dig down deep to find a couple of pieces of beef.
We were 15 people and yes, I do understand that things can go wrong and staff mixing up meals etc, but to mix up more than half of our dishes??? And being unapologetic about it? For 2 of my friends it took more than 1.5 hours (!!) to get their steak! While everybody else had already finished their meal (some of them just ate what they were served, even though they ordered differently), they were still waiting. After discussing with wait staff, no one really seemed to bother. When the steak finally arrived, one of them was rare and cold! So we just took it back and asked for her money back, which they did without arguing!
Because it was a birthday, we organised a cake and gave it to staff beforehand. When it was about time for them to bring the cake a waitress came to our table, asking us which cake it was as they haven’t received any! I mean seriously??? It took them ages to «find» the cake and to finally deliver it to our table!
On top of that, when I tried to order a Caipirinha (a very STANDARD cocktail), 2 people behind the bar did not know how to prepare it. So once again, I had to wait ages.
This was just a little bit too much disappointment for us. We stayed for one more drink and went off.
I do understand that this is not a fine-​dining restaurant and their clientele is rather young. But the experience at dinner combined with ignorant and untrained staff is not acceptable and I will definitely not return.

Fridays is the default after work drinks for me and my friends as it is literally the closest bar to my work. And for that, it’s great. There’s lots of outside areas, they have a beer special and they have a cocktail hour on Fridays. We sometimes have lunch here, which is decent, but not great. You can get a $ 15 burger which comes with a beer or wine, so it’s quite good on a Friday lunch. So they’re not reinventing the wheel here, but it is a solid B+. Don’t go out of your way to get here but if your after drinks after work, this place does it well.

I have great memories of my friends and I going clubbing on Friday nights. They were an essential part of our student lifestyle. We loved every bit of it — music so loud that made you wish you knew sign language and which would render you half death and make your voice sound like you had been hit by a severe cold the next day and a dance floor so packed with moving human bodies that would make you lose half your drink within 5 seconds of moving through the crowd. These were the good old days however I have to admit that I am not a fan of the clubbing experience anymore.
The clocks ticks away, years go by, people change and so have I. I have evolved into someone who would rather go to a cool bar or pub, grab a seat, chill, catch up with mates while drinking piss.
I loved my time at Fridays because it gave me a bit of both the past the present in one place. Based on Eagle Street facing the river and close to Brisbane CBD, Fridays is a restaurant/​bar where professionals meet up after work for dinner and drinks, where non-​brisbane locals such as myself go to chill and check out what the fuss is all about with Fridays and members of Gen-​Y, who are really young at heart, go to have a ripper of a night on the dance floor.
The interior is massive a couple of bars, a huge dance floor with a DJ turning up the heat and comfy couches/​tables. The terrace is huge and gives you a stunning view of the river and the lit-​up bridge — perfect for either catching up with friends over a drink or getting better acquainted with your date!
They have a smaller made-​up bar setup outside where you can get a beer or basic cocktail such as G&T. It was raining and a bit nippy when we went but I can only imagine how awesome it would be on a warm summer night.
I definitely recommend it and, who knows, those who (like me) have moved on from clubbing might actually realise that they have it in them for a last dance for the road!
Quick note: They charge about $ 10 entry fee and be sure to dress appropriately — smart casual, no sneakers or boots etc.

I remember hearing so many people say «Aw man, I love Fridays, its such an awesome place» after hearing all this praise, I thought alright, I guess I will check this place out. I am sorry to say it bluntly– but I did not get what the big deal was about. I am sorry kids but hanging around with a bunch of jokes and girls having conversations about fake tanning is not my sort of thing.
I was lucky enough to get in for free the one time I came here (I have friends who seem to have connections, I just go with the flow) but I found it pretty ridiculous that there was a cover charge for a club that did not offer any entertainment apart from DJs, I am used to paying a cover charge when there are live bands playing, not DJs. When I entered the place all I noticed was a huge crowd of people dressed up so they could get massively wasted and do the same thing they could do in a pub, it just seemed like a waste of effort really. I also did not feel like I fit in as well, there were far too many girls in skimpy dresses and heels that looked like they had tried way too hard to look good.
I’m sorry guys, I just do not like Fridays but if you want to love it, that’s fine with me. You just will not be seeing me there in the future.

I’ve always thought it such a shame that hellhole like Friday’s occupies a space with such a nice view. I’ve been dragged into Friday’s a few times in the years since I turned eighteen, but I’m pretty sure you won’t see me in there again. For one thing, the cover is ridiculous. Why would I want to pay to go inside and spend more money on very basic drinks and dodging the jocks and jockettes that push their way around like they own the place. Well, they probably do own it since they spend every weekend there, and they can have it. I can do without being appraised and bossed around by the security guards at the door, as well as the vomit smell that perpetually emanates from the carpet (especially in the confined space of the stair well, yeesh!).
Maybe I’m being unfair but this place is definitely not my scene, and I think it’s a pretty nasty place. Still, it obviously appeals to lots of people considering it’s always packed. There are too many thick-​necked yobbos and platinum-​haired girls to allow for a nice atmosphere, and I’ve seen numerous examples of pretty appalling, rude behaviour happen here.
If you’re willing to brave it all for a glimpse of the Story Bridge, you have my admiration, but make sure you get out before you get spewed on.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the Valley. If I say otherwise, you can throw in my face the fact that it’s my Friday/​Saturday night destination pretty much every week. But I do need a breather from it now and then. Sometimes our relationship gets slightly too indie and claustrophobic and when it gets to that point, I like to bail to the city, and when that happens, I like to bail to Friday’s.
I like to bail to Friday’s because I can put on a really nice dress and a pair of heels that are WAY too high and feel glamorous and fit in spectacularly. I like to bail to Friday’s because I can subtly soak up the sight of boys in ironed collared shirts and laced-​up going out shoes. I like to bail to Friday’s because it lets me experience a world so different to the Valley, yet a world I love in equal measure.
Sometimes it’s the most pretentious of venues and I never like to pay a cover charge wherever I go, but Friday’s is still somehow different; we have a mutual understanding. Sometimes I just can’t resist the allure of friendly bouncers and riverside views in a drinking venue. I love it because it’s a change of pace and because it allows you to circulate around effortlessly with all types of folk from after-​work-​drinkers to overly zealous 19 year olds who want to spruce up in a collared shirt. I’m not doing it justice, because that’s not all it’s about but I honestly don’t care and I love it anyway. I’m the first to be overly critical of pretentious nightlife venues but I love Friday’s. I’m going to get a little romantic here and say I don’t love Friday’s in spite of its flaws, I love it because of them. And because I get to dress up and feel just as pretentious as everyone else when I go there, what can I say.

If you are looking for that place you can stay out till 5am and still have a full dance floor in the city then this is exactly the place you need to be. They have 6 bars, a million places to sit and drink and a dance floor with some of the most horrendous music you will ever experience. But hey, you probably won’t remember anyways so who cares in the end? Heard that Rhianna song for the 4^th time? Oh well, just grab another drink and embrace another night out in the Brisbane CBD for what it is.
Friday and Saturday nights are the standard nights to expect a large crowd of people. Usually they will all be very intoxicated and keen to party. Keep an eye on your wallet when buying drinks, basic spirits are $ 8.50 and cocktails can range anywhere from $ 15 – 25. Also there is a $ 12 cover charge after 11pm so take advantage of that. For the guys venturing there, make sure you wear a collared shirt and leather shoes, the bouncers are notorious for sending away people not wearing the appropriate clothing.

I had a great many nights at Friday’s before I finally discovered how much better the Valley was than the City for nightclubbing. Before the Valley, I didn’t realise that it wasn’t the norm to have an excessive number of middle aged men standing around the dance floor watching girls in short dresses have a dance. When I still frequented Fridays I put up with the seedy guys trying to complement my shoes and buy me drinks. Once I visited the Valley clubs, however, I had a serious change of heart. No longer did I want to suffer a tiny sweaty dance-​floors and repeats of John Farnham songs. No longer did I want to pay cover charge for a place like Fridays when I could get into a super-​club with 3 times as many dance-​floors and five times as many bars for the same price in the Valley. Sorry Friday’s, we had some good times but you’re just not good enough any more.

For me, Friday’s a place to go for a bit of no nonsense fun with some of the better views offered by a Brisbane nightspot. The music is by no means unique or special, but they do tend to pump some old favourites that I can get down to in an ironic way.
But for most of the patrons there’s not a hint of irony at all — to them Friday’s is the best thing since GHD hair-​straighteners or sanctioned sporting violence. That explains why there’s such a big line to pay the relatively high cover (considering there’s no real show to speak of) every Friday and Saturday night.
A word to the sartorially wise-​guys. To get into Friday’s as a blole you want to dress like a football player in off season. This means tight collared shirt with sleeves possibly rolled to accentuate any ‘guns’ you may be in possession of, blue jeans and pointy leather shoes (snake, crocodile — faux or real — will be considered a plus). Just be warned that thus attired, you will rule yourself out of the admission stakes to many of the clubs in the Valley.

AH. So HERE’S where the rich kids ended up!
Friday’s. A staple of the private school-​turned 18 year old. It’s also the local haunt for the inner city, white collar working bachelors, drowning their sorrows on choosing law instead of architecture, but alas, at least the views of the city by the river are pretty. You’ll find it hard to dislike a bar that overlooks the river at night and when it’s not inhabited by kids who can’t hold their liquor, though despite that it can be a pretty nice place to sit down and have a whiskey with a friend or significant other. From what I hear it does great cocktails (though I’ve never been able to justify $ 25 for a drink no matter how fun it looks) and the bar staff seem to know what they’re doing.
I once attended a function during the day and it was also very nice. The catering was great and the food was what you’d expect for a mid-​day birthday celebration, though I did eat a meat pocket thing and it burnt my mouth. I thought it was deliberate act upon the serving staff but I let it go because the bar tab on offer was generous.
For me, I like live music, good whiskey and quiet conversation. Friday’s is really none of these things, but it IS nice and pleasant if you allow it to be.

Boom boom boom let’s go back to my room, so we can do it all night and make it feel right… echoed in my head as the taxi driver dropped my friend and I off. I think he started singing as well, not too sure, can’t remember. Great night!
The cover charge is a bit on the high side at $ 12 but if you have dinner there and stay, you get a cool stamp and don’t have to pay. There are many an awkward dance, a first pump, a gyrating hip dance and as always the group time-​walk here… the place has been renovated, but the memories will always stay the same.
It’s a middle between the backpacker Down Under Bar to what was Mary Street back in the day (closed now) and it has ridden the wave and come out flying with techno colours. I do miss the live band area that they have now renovated but the music is still pumping and I do love a beat.
You won’t find too many daggy looking people here, but more dressy club goers looking around or in some cases looking at themselves in the mirror. I’ve had many a great conversation with the bouncers as well about heel-​wearing versus flats, and i’ve always left feeling happy.
Definetely a place to check out when you’re crawling the clubs in Brisvegas.