Kiama pubs, bars and clubs for drinks, live music and dinner

Find your way around Kiama's pubs and bars

Kiama's drinking scene is small and easy to get around. The two old pubs sit close together in the town centre, the Leagues Club overlooks the park on Terralong Street, and most of the newer cocktail and wine bars are on or near Collins Street. The Bowling Club is a little south of the station, closer to Kiama Ridge Waters.

From the apartments at 2 Surfleet Place, the town centre is about a 25 to 35-minute walk, or a 3 to 4-minute drive. For a country pub lunch, the Jamberoo Pub is 14 minutes inland. For craft beer, Stoic Brewing in Gerringong is about 9 minutes south.

Settle in at the Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel at 49 Manning Street was built in 1891 and is still pouring, according to Kiama Library's local history. It's the closer of the two old pubs to Kiama Ridge Waters, about a 25-minute walk (2.1 km).

The bistro runs a menu by Thomas Chiumento that mixes pub classics with coastal dishes made from local ingredients. The hotel's website lists bistro hours of 11.30am to 8pm Sunday to Thursday, and 11.30am to 8.30pm on Friday and Saturday. There's a separate bar menu too.

Friday is the big night. Live music starts at 7pm, and Destination Kiama's live music page also lists Sunday afternoon sets from 2pm to 5pm. The Kiama Power AFC meat raffle runs on Fridays. Members get a 4pm to 6pm happy hour on weekdays, and the hotel also has budget rooms you can book on its website. Hours and prices change, so check before you go.

Drop into Tory's on Terralong Street

The Kiama Inn Hotel on Terralong Street goes by Tory's around town, and its own Instagram account uses both names. Kiama Library dates Tory's Hotel to 1888, three years older than the Grand, and notes it's still operating.

It's a main-street pub about a 29-minute walk (2.4 km) from the apartments. The pub doesn't have a working website, so check its Instagram for the bistro hours and who's playing that week.

Eat and drink at the clubs

Kiama's two clubs are the easy choice for a family dinner, a cheap meal or a group that wants room to spread out. Both run courtesy buses in the evening, which saves the walk home.

Kiama Leagues Club at 109 Terralong Street looks over the park from its main lounge and outdoor area. Destination Kiama lists Sails Bistro for lunch and dinner seven days, two children's play areas, a sports lounge with TAB, and a weekly program of trivia, poker, bingo and raffles. The club's own site also lists the Cedar Cutters Sports Bar and Restaurant. Live music is on every Saturday night and Sunday afternoon under the name Live in the Lounge.

The Leagues courtesy bus is free for members and patrons. It runs from 4pm Friday to Sunday and from 5pm Monday to Thursday, with a north run on the hour and a south run on the half hour. Call 4232 1777 to book a pickup.

Kiama Bowling and Recreation Club at 100 Shoalhaven Street is about a 24-minute walk (2.0 km) from the apartments, on the corner of Noorinan Street just south of the station. The air-conditioned clubhouse has the Summit Bar and Grill, TAB and Keno, and free pool on Sundays from 1pm to 6pm. Barefoot bowls parties on the grass greens need no experience or equipment. Its courtesy bus runs Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm.

Order a cocktail at Kiama's small bars

If a pub isn't your thing, Kiama's small bars are mostly a short stroll from each other around Collins Street and the harbour. They suit a pre-dinner drink, a date night or a long weekend afternoon.

Little Betty's at 1/55 Collins Street is a neighbourhood cocktail bar with a wine list built around small Australian producers. It's open Thursday to Monday from 3pm until late, with a 3pm to 5pm happy hour of half-price tap beers, bubbles, martinis and oysters. On Mondays the chef's Feed Me menu is $70 for three courses and dessert.

Uncle Fuku sits in an old workers cottage at 2/42 Collins Street. It's from the team behind Miss Arda and pairs Asian street food with cocktails and a karaoke room called the Tone Deaf Temple. It opens Thursday from 3pm and Friday to Sunday from 11.30am, with happy hour from 3pm to 6pm, bottomless brunch on weekends from 1pm to 3pm, and DJs on Saturday nights from 9pm. A 10% weekend surcharge applies.

Cin Cin Wine Bar at 6/4 Tingira Crescent, near the Little Blowhole, is the closest bar to Kiama Ridge Waters at about a 19-minute walk (1.6 km). It pours unique wines with grazing boards and meze. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, from noon on weekends, and runs Bottomless Weekends: book a two-hour slot on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Destination Kiama lists live music on the third Wednesday of the month from 7pm.

Yves Social is the restaurant and bar at The Sebel, on the corner of Shoalhaven and Minnamurra streets. It looks over Kiama Harbour and the Pacific, with a bistro menu of local produce and a terrace for long lunches. Hours and prices at all four change, so check before you go.

Catch live music through the week

Most live music around Kiama happens from Friday to Sunday. Destination Kiama keeps a running list of venues and acts, and the times below come from it and from the venues' own sites. Line-ups change weekly, so check the Destination Kiama live music page before you head out.

The Sebel's own events page lists Sunday Sessions from 2pm to 5pm, while one Destination Kiama page shows 1pm to 4pm, so confirm the start time if you're booking lunch around it. For a quieter evening, our Kiama at night guide covers sunset spots and late dinners.

Drive out to the Jamberoo Pub

The Jamberoo Pub at 12 Allowrie Street is the country pub most people mean when they talk about a long lunch out of Kiama. It's about 14 minutes' drive (11 km) from Kiama Ridge Waters.

There are three places to eat: a traditional dining room in the old pub, the Johnny Warren Museum with its football memorabilia honouring the late Socceroo, and a big outdoor beer garden. The menu sticks to hearty pub classics. Live music runs on Sunday afternoons from 12.30pm to 3.30pm.

Kiama Library's history of local pubs notes that Jamberoo's Commercial Hotel was built in 1857 and remodelled as a Tudor-style inn in 1953, and that the Jamberoo Pub on Allowrie Street still trades today. Make a day of it with Minnamurra Rainforest, and see our Jamberoo village guide for more. Someone will need to drive, so plan who stays on the soft drinks.

Head south to Gerringong for craft beer and sunset sessions

Gerringong is about 10 minutes south by car and has three good reasons to make the trip for a drink.

Stoic Brewing at 6/45 Rowlins Road is a family-owned brewery started in 2018 by father and son Steve and Andrew. You drink among the brewing vats, with beer and cider made on site. It opens seven days, serves coffee from opening and pours beer from 10am. Hours vary by day, so check its site.

Gerringong Bowling and Recreation Club sits at the south end of Werri Beach, between the holiday park and the surf club. It serves lunch and dinner to members and guests, has barefoot bowls and a playground, and runs Saturday Sounds live music in the evening.

The Courtyard at The Co-op, 18 Belinda Street, is an alfresco space with wood-fired flatbreads, seasonal dishes and local South Coast musicians on weekends. Walk-ins are welcome, but booking ahead secures a table. For more places to eat, see our Gerringong cafes and restaurants guide.

Raise a glass to nearly 190 years of Kiama pubs

Kiama has been pouring drinks almost as long as it has been a town. Kiama Library's local history records Smith's Inn on Manning Street from around 1838, and the Steam Packet Hotel opened in 1842 overlooking the harbour. Hunts Brewery started on Manning Street in 1858.

Not every pub survived. The Royal Hotel on Terralong Street burned in the 1899 Terralong Street fires along with 15 other buildings. In April 1920, local quarrymen went on a beer strike over higher prices, with up to 300 men at the rallies. Five weeks later they were back in the hotels, and prices hadn't come down.

Plan your night and the trip home

Kiama Ridge Waters sits on a residential street outside the town centre, so plan the trip home before you start. The walk back from the Grand Hotel takes about 25 minutes and from the Leagues Club about 34 minutes. Phone the Leagues Club or the Bowling Club when you arrive to ask whether their courtesy bus covers Surfleet Place.

For a group night out, eat in first and walk to a bar afterwards. Each of our three-bedroom apartments sleeps six, with an open-plan kitchen and a BBQ. For a bigger crew, you can book several apartments on the same site through Stay Together. Check-in is from 3pm and check-out is by 10am. Most of our apartments take pets, so read our pet-friendly guide if the dog is coming too. For dinner ideas, see where to eat in Kiama.