Top Beer Gardens in Canberra

Back in the day, beer gardens were a place for repose, conversation and the occasional furtive snog. In a climate that serves the al fresco habit, these places were a quieter, often better version of the pub to which they were adjoined.

Well. Those darn smoking laws changed all of that.

This is not for a minute to imply that smoking in bars is a good thing. It’s a horrible practice that makes everyone cough and smell like hangover for a week. But, the prohibition certainly moved smokers to the outdoors and there they remain forming early wrinkles and cancers and screwing up beer gardens for the rest of us.

There are a handful of places that do not allow smoking in their beer gardens. Look for them! Of course, true smokers regard these places as mandarins of the Nanny State. True smokers think that no one can feel their toxic waste when it’s outside; not even if they blow it directly in your face.

But, sometimes they’re right. Sometimes, beer gardens are so spacious and well designed that smoke barely interferes with the lovely tang of clean air. Sometimes, the smell of the barbecue grill and the melancholy twilight and the little hint of the city that peeks through the sky make it all worthwhile. Cough, cough.

If you find a place that is not a glorified ashtray and upholds the traditions of the Oz beer garden, stick to it. And, invite us along!

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