Now Open: Brighton Hotel Is Back with a New Beer Garden and Bistro After a Five-Month Renovation

Over the past few years, almost every pub in Brisbane has undergone a revamp — or that's how it feels, at least. Many of those makeovers have come courtesy of Australian Venue Co, which has been renovating a heap of its watering holes around and near the River City. Brighton Hotel is the latest, getting a new lease of life in the northside coastal suburb. Cue a new beer garden, a new bistro and a new sports bar for the spot on Brighton Terrace.

AVC has also rolled out the remodelling crew to The Wickham, the Cleveland Sands, Salisbury Hotel, the Crown Hotel in Lutwyche, Royal Hotel in Nundah, Bribie Island Hotel and Capalaba's Koala Tavern since 2021; yes, the company has been busy. At Brighton Hotel, which is freshly reopened as at the beginning of May, sprucing up the place took five months — and now patrons can reap the benefits.

In the beer garden, picnic-style seats await, as does festoon lighting — plus, because the pub has relaunched just as the weather gets cooler, heaters as well. You won't miss the outdoor area, as it is the first part of the venue upon arrival. Expect it to be particularly busy when spring and summer roll back around.

Two skylights brighten up the bistro, which also features greenery. Sit down for a meal and you'll have chargrilled Australian king prawns with confit garlic butter, buffalo cauliflower tacos, beef and pork rissoles, wagyu beef burgers, chicken schnitzels and chicken parmigianas, and roast of the day among your options.

From the grill, four steak choices range from 180-gram eye fillets to 500-gram rumps. And for dessert, baked custard tarts, plus the candied ginger and sticky date pudding, should tempt tastebuds.

Visiting the sports bar means choosing between booth and high-table seating, and having whatever game happens to be on as either a drawcard or a backdrop on the big-screen LED TVs.

Also, because the venue is also a motel — so, if you want to turn the trip 20 minutes from Brisbane into an overnight stay, you can — its rooms have had a makeover as well.

Whatever day you head by, you can take advantage of menu specials. Happy hour runs from 3–5pm Monday–Thursday with selected schooners and house wines costing $6, $10 cocktails are on offer between the same times on Saturdays and Sundays, $20 steaks and trivia are available on Tuesday evenings you can tuck into a $19 roast on Wednesdays, for instance.

Brighton Hotel is also celebrating its reopening over the weekend of Friday, May 17–Sunday, May 19 with live tunes, a barbecue, a meat raffle, a prawn-peeling contest and more.

Find Brighton Hotel at 196 Brighton Terrace, Brighton — open from 10am–1.30am Monday–Saturday and 10am–1am Sunday. Head to the venue's website for more details.