Overview
How do you make one of New Farm's favourite watering holes even better? Spending $5 million on a massive refurbishment, expanding to include a new bistro, restaurant and conference centre, and adding a 40-square-metre green wall will do the trick. That's what you'll find at the Queens Arms Hotel, which has reopened for trading after a huge revamp.
Welcoming thirsty patrons back through the doors since March 17, the QA boasts plenty of fresh additions. Gone is the drive-through bottle shop, with the laneway bistro taking over the space. Expect popcorn prawns with sriracha mayo, chicken schnitzel burgers, slow-roasted lamb, onion and rosemary pie and five types of pizzas on the menu. Plus, Botanical Bar and Kitchen ranks among the joint's different eating spaces, offering full table service, while the James St Conference and Function Centre provides plenty of room for exactly what it sounds like.
When you're giving a 130-year-old pub a facelift, however, balancing the old with the new is paramount. That doesn't just mean keeping underground bar and late-night supper club Farrier trading, but showing the heritage love in the decor. As QA owner Chris Condon puts it, the renovations "celebrate our long-standing history and exciting new aesthetic."
The makeover keeps one eye on the past and one on the present by maintaining original materials such as flooring, brickwork and timber, then pairing them with glass and greenery. Taking nine months to come to fruition, the Apollo Property Group-designed and built revamp also features a new a state-of-the-art kitchen that not only cooks up meals for QA patrons 20 hours a day, but services the new adjoining Sage Hotel as well.
Find the Queens Arms Hotel at 64 James Street, New Farm. Check out their website and Facebook page for more details.