throwing vinyl at mary: X & Y Bar: There's a Fish Tank in the Bathroom!

My friend Miss N and I made plans to have dinner, but wanted to meet for drinks first. Miss N suggested we go to X & Y bar as neither of us had been there before, and she was interested in checking it out. It turned out to be an awesome bar and an awesome night and we never did end up having dinner. Rather we decided to "beer on" and then go for a slice of pizza.

Located a 648 Ann Street Fortitude Valley, the X & Y Bar was once Pinocchio’s Restaurant, owned by the Bellino Family (which I am told were sort of Brisbane's answer to the mafia). Pinocchio’s Restaurant was the hang out of choice for dirty cops, white collar crims and other members of the Brisbane underbelly.

At Pinocchio’s Restaurant you could have a meal, some drinks and then head upstairs to the gambling den. The restaurant even had an escape hole in a brick wall out the back for the illegal gamblers (and other illegal types), just in case any good cops turned up. 15 years after the Pinocchio’s Restaurant closed, the place was turned into X & Y Bar, and the escape hole is still there but covered over.

Interesting history aside, X & Y bar has what we all should want in a bar - great music, great booze, great people, and yes there are fish tanks in the toilets.

One of the first things I noticed about X & Y when I went there was that the music they were playing was not shit! They were playing Hendrix, which was refreshing seeing as a fair few places in Brisbane don't play Hendrix or anything much older than 1980 for that matter (prove me wrong Brisbane, and dancing queen by ABBA does not count!)

As the night went on Miss N and I got to chat with some local DJ's and members of indie bands that were playing that night. They all seemed really chuffed to be playing at X & Y and had a lot of friends and fans there to support them.

The next think I noticed was the place looks like the inside of an old warehouse, with pipes sticking out of the walls and graffiti on the walls. I don't know much about design and I don't know if I really care that much about design but it looked cool.

Tha bar staff were uber cool and very friendly, and they bent over backwards to make us both the best fucking Jam Donut shots I have ever had in my life. Not to mention they also provided us with lots of beer, beer and more beer. They also didn't mind Miss N (a bit drunk at this point) jumping on the empty stage and having a dance.

I am a smoker, and most places in Brisbane these days have small awkward smoking areas so when they get busy you are practically smoking the cigarette of the guy next to you. X & Y however had a great smoking area with comfortable black couches to sit on and a view of Homer Simpson and Moe on the wall.

Miss N and I met some people who had been at a protest against early lock out in Brisbane (early lockout is basically our government wanting to stop people from getting into clubs and pubs at around 2 in the morning). A girl pointed out to us that bands who play in the earlier hours would be the ones to suffer, if people can't get in to see you then you won't be seen. I am not sure if that is true or not but I might have to see if I can speak to some of the late playing local talent and get their opinion. Another girl raised a valid point: