The Holy Grail is one of Canberra's best known nightspots, more for political reasons than anything else, but it was well known before any of that. It is a club located in one of Canberra's wealthier suburbs, Kingston. Kingston is only a few minutes east of Parliament House, so is dominated by people involved in politics, including Parliamentarians,and the people living in the area.
As a result, the crowd is older than you'd expect for a nightclub. Most of the people coming through Holy Grail are mid 20s and older, right into the 40s and 50s. As a result, suits (early) or shirts are the dress. Throughout the night the dress is smart. It is, however, a very different type of venue.
Throughout the afternoon and evening it is a restaurant with a popular bar. The afterwork crew roll in for this part of the day. After dinner, the venue darkens, the band fires up, and the night begins. About that time, a few more of the locals roll in. However, the crowd here stays a little older.
My visit to the Holy Grail was relatively short, so the details following may not be perfect. The venue appears to have two levels. Upstairs wasn't firing at the time, so we didn't check it out. From the appearance, upstairs appeared to be a very cruisy sort of a club. You can see heaps of lounges and moody red and orange lighting. I think someone suggested that the music is fairly groovy funk and R&B, but don't quote me on that.
Downstairs is where we focussed. The restaurant area is at the front of the venue. It has an open front until the entertainment fires up. The front half of the venue is tables and chairs for the restaurant. I have a feeling they move that back to create more space in the middle of the venue later. The middle of the club has a very nice looking bar.
The back of the venue is a stage and dancefloor. The stage hosts a band, which played a ton of '70s and '80s tunes. I have some recollection they may even have played a few from before that era, The Beatles perhaps? Whatever was played, you knew every word, and it was ideal for a slightly older crowd.
Strangely, the band seemed to use quite a bit of lighting. There was also lighting in the ceiling, of a fairy light style. It all created a fairly clean but positive atmosphere.
I am not sure if there is a covercharge, as we arrived before the front was closed. From what I recall, the drinks were fairly reasonably priced.
The Holy Grail does a fantastic job of providing entertainment for a more mature crowd.
