Five to try: ‘Fair dinkum’ country pubs just hours from Brisbane

From a century-old establishment with an infamous 5.5kg Road Train Burger challenge to another old pub once used by Cobb & Co coaches, we’ve found five classic hotels you can head to.

We've uncovered five classic country pubs that you can plan a day trip from Brisbane around.

Fancy a day trip out of Brisbane, or maybe an unusual weekend away? We’ve uncovered five classic country pubs you can head to.

Bull and Barley Inn, Cambooya

Mick Dewar is the publican of Cambooya's Bull and Barley Inn. Picture: Kevin Farmer

This adorably quaint little pub to the south of Toowoomba is everything you could want in a country pub. Its charming colonial vibes, sweet accommodation reflecting its history and a pub menu covering every possible taste, makes it well worth the journey. First built in 1902, and lovingly restored along the way, The Bull and Barley Inn has found its groove in recent years and is beyond proud of the comforting, small town country hospitality. From the great steak offering, all 150-day grain fed beef, to their specialty schnitzel topped with prawns, scallops, avocado, hollandaise and creamy garlic sauce, their menu is a lesson in classic pub favourites with a fancy twist.

61 Eton St, Cambooya

Nindigully Pub, Nindigully

Inside the iconic Nindigully Pub that was built in 1864.

It might be way out west and admittedly a fair drive from the city but if you haven’t heard of the Nindigully Pub, where have you been? This epic outback pub is doing everything right, drawing in tourists, travellers and locals alike, and for good reason too. Two hours west of Goondiwindi, “The Gully” is one of the nation’s oldest continually licenced hotels, and beyond its status as a prime watering hotel, with a menu featuring countless beers and wines made by the owners themselves, boasts a truly whopping food offering. Bigger really is better here, with a kitchen specialising in all things super-size, from the insane 5.5kg Road Train Burger, said to feed four to six people, to their mega, novelty shaped burgers.

Sternes St, Nindigully

The Woombye Pub Woombye

One of the Sunshine Coast’s classic pubs.

The Woombye Pub is soaked in a rich history, but has undergone a recent and impressive facelift. Patrons of eras gone by included those on the Cobb & Co coaches, heading north to Gympie to take advantage of the booming gold rush, with the original Woombye Pub the first accommodation along the route. With a menu highlighting some incredible local produce, with favourites like flame-grilled spatchcock and camembert and prosciutto cordon bleu, along with an extensive wood-fired pizza offering, and one of the coolest pub playgrounds in the Sunshine Coast, it’s a clear favourite for families and food-lovers alike.

3 Blackall St, Woombye

Apollonian Hotel, Boreen Point

The biannual schnauzer picnic at the Apollonian Hotel, Boreen Point, gathered about 37 schnauzers and 40 people.

The Apollonian Hotel, north of Noosa, is a country pub not to be missed. The Apollonian has made a mark for itself in recent years, both for its quirky group meets, like knitting groups, car shows and dog meets, to its impressive food offering, with whole spit roast feasts and its impressive beef. Beef products at this Boreen Point spot are sourced from the hotel’s own farm just up the road, from the top-notch steaks and bangers to the bone broth used to craft nourishing soups and sauce bases. Live music fans are well catered for, as the pub honours its building’s history as the last late 1800s timber music hall hotel buildings in existence with regular performances.

19 Laguna St, Boreen Point

Rudd’s Pub, Nobby

Often described as a “fair dinkum country pub”, Rudd’s Pub takes more than the usual pride in its rich history, and it is one of the coolest things to find yourself absorbed in. Every wall, and even the roof, at Rudd’s, halfway between Toowoomba and Warwick, is adorned in relics of a time gone by. From photos and press clippings, to a 3D model of the pub, to an epic Rudd’s Pub Lager tap wall, it’s impossible to take it all in on a single glance. The pub was so named for author of the book series Dad n’ Dave, Steele Rudd, who is said to have written many of the book’s stories inside the pub. The bites here exude every bit of that classic pub feel too.

45 Tooth St, Nobby

Originally published as Five to try: ‘Fair dinkum’ country pubs just hours from Brisbane