Minque is a very impressive feeling venue. It looks and feels like a great club. It has an attitude and a style, and is located in the wealthier part of Canberra. It is not totally disimilar to a micro version of Chapel St in Melbourne.
The crowd is very trendy. As is normal for Canberra, the crowd appears a little older. I suspect the 18-23s go to Club Havana, just over the road, but it leaves Minque with the 23-30s which dominate Canberra's nightlife. Most are professionals or public servants. It also allows the club to have that style, but with a more friendly feeling. Dress for Minque is fairly strict, so it is the sort of place you want to bit in a bit of effort, and you probably want to leave the jeans at home.
The night of this review, it was not that busy. It seemed to be picking up around 11 or so, but by that time, we were going to move on, as we were trying to visit as many venues as possible in the one night. I have a feeling that Minque varies around from night to night, as its reputation is much, much better than what we saw this night.
Minque is one odd shaped room, with three or four sections. It uses a lot of steel colours and lighting effects, to create a great mood. You enter basically straight onto the bar. It is right in the middle of the club. To the right is a section that is a lounge and bar area. Towards the back of the room are some pretty intimate booths, complete with candlelight. This is a great spot to be with a partner.
The other side of the bar is a more open lounge area facing the dancefloor. It is not a big dancefloor, and it opens onto the street. The dancefloor moves to a fantastic mix of current dance tunes, commercial, top 40, R&B, funk, and maybe even your odd party classic. It is one of the better commercial mixes I have heard anywhere. Much of it is easy-going groovy stuff.
The night of this review, there was no covercharge, and I suspect they don't have one. Drink prices didn't seem to ruffle the feathers too badly either.
I really liked the feeling and attitude of Minque. Between the styling of the venue and the music, I thought it felt right. It certainly presents style.
