Bars and Nightclubs
Darling Harbour, Sydney

Pontoon Bar

201 Sussex St (Access via Darling Harbour), Darling Harbour, NSW
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If you are looking for a great time out, then make The Pontoon Bar your destination. By day or night, rain or shine, it’s a great place to be! Since opening, The Pontoon Bar has quickly established itself as one of Sydney’s most well-known venues. With its futuristic interior decor, stunning water views and its relaxed yet vibrant atmosphere.

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Perfect Fridays @ Pontoon Review

Review by Shirley Liu

The location of Pontoon Bar is one of the best in Sydney – situated right in the heart of Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour. Ever since the closing of Flow Fridays @ World Square Pub, Syndicate Events have strived to create a better clubbing experience for Sydney – and Perfect Fridays accomplishes that for sure.

You will not be able to walk past this club without feeling like your missing out on something. There are loud chatters, girls laughing and music pumpin’ from the inside. The chairs, tables, lights and umbrellas you see from the outside will make you curious as to what to expect. The building boasts of its two levels, two dance floors and two bars, though upstairs is only open for special event nights.

Lining up in the queue is effortless; it feels like your walking slowly up to the club. The security and staff there are very efficient with getting large crowds through! Beware of your attitude at the door, with security denying anyone entry if you’re not co-operative. Standard entry is $25 (average) and if you’re on the guest list, its $20 before midnight. To be on the guest list, email all names to [email protected] so you can save that $5 for other things in life.

What’s special about Pontoon is the décor and the layout of the club – the main dance floor is also connected to their veranda which means not only is the music pumping inside, but outside as well. Of course, you would be exhausted after all that dancing, so the veranda is the perfect place to relax, have a smoke or drink.

With an L-shaped bar stretched across the floor, there is no difficulty lining up for drinks. The only thing irritating the guests is that the bartenders are quite slow at mixing drinks – so get the group and buy in bulk! The prices of the drinks are average with a huge range of beverages ranging from long islands, shots, pre-mixers or just soft drink.

The place is dimly lit, with a set of party lights above the DJ’s box and smoke machines. By midnight, the dance floor is full with girls and boys dancing to their favourite RnB hits and partying hard – so it’s no wonder why the atmosphere in the room is so intense. The crowd is dominantly older university students with an Asian background and it has to be said, with its strict dress code there is no shortage of well-dressed people. There will be no doubt you’ll be back again!



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Pontoon Review


Review By Ben King

Let me start his review by saying if you are looking for a place full of 21+ patrons out to have fun and meet new people then simply put… you have found a home.

Funnily enough, we ended up at Pontoon by accident. Me and 3 mates were supposed to have a quiet one at the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel, however after a few drinks, we looked for greener pastures. After a quick chat, we deemed that Pontoon was both the closest nightclub and away we went in a semi drunken stupor across the bridge.

For those who have never seen Pontoon, it is stylish in it’s simplicity. Half the bar is outside, half inside within feet of Darling Harbour and the array of luxury boats dotted on the water. After being interrogated by the bouncers (and we mean interrogated) we were let in and the fun began. ensure you get in.

The dance floor only kicks off at 10.30pm or so, the great thing about Pontoon is the fact you can still kick back, watch a game of footie, grab a reasonably priced bite to eat and wait in anticipation for the girls to arrive. If you are heading to Pontoon with a group of guys, it is strongly recommended you get there early (8.30pm) and dress smart casual as the bouncers are pretty picky with who they let in. As someone who is a bit of a regular, I can say this is not an effort to be pretentious, rather to prevent violence which used to be overly common at this hotspot. I can say however that those days are over and the only reason people go there now is to have a good time.

So after a few drinks, the dance floor filled up with a countless sexy girls and we were in heaven. After a few more Jagerbombs, we hit the dance floor having a great time. As has always been the case with Pontoon, there was a hen’s night going on, which added a little bit of side entertainment to the night. (For some reason, every Saturday there is at least 1 Hen’s night going on here).

So anyways the rest of the night remains a bit of a blur, however without question the clientele who go to Pontoon are there to have a good time and are definitely not afraid to try and meet someone new (if you know what I mean). The only downer on the night was that the bouncer’s, in an effort to keep the peace are a little bit overzealous, so behave yourselves.

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