UC Refectory - Bruce, Australian Capital Territory

Peter S.

Pretty good place to see bands coming to town in Canberra. The sound is generally great (unless you happen to watch YAI who decided to put a bank of subs at centre stage 😂). Always a good view no matter where you're standing. And during summer, it's fairly cool inside.
The big downside of the venue is drink selection and public transport. The beer choices are ordinary. The public transport even worse. If you stay at the only motel in Belconnen, it's only 2.4Km away. Yet to do a bus you need to walk 10min to the bus, then a 10min ride and another 5min walk. If you chose just to walk, it's about 30min LOL. Your best bet is to just drive there and grab Macca's on the way back.

Karlene B.

The band we seen (Midland) & their support(Travis Collins) did a fantastic job at entertaining us at such a small venue hosting international country Midland. The acoustics were good in the building, but there was a lack of seating, which makes it difficult for some to attend performances there. I took my mother who is in her 70s, someone did find her a seat.

Alistair N.

Staff were helpful and friendly. The ability to sit upstairs to watch bands helped is securing a positive experience.

The venue fails because it was not overly accessible. First there disabled parking was temporarily fenced off making it an obstacle course to park. Then someone who was probably working there was illegally parked in a disabled spot. There was no direct entry to the venue from where tickets were checked. We were met with stairs. So we had to back track to through the waiting crowd because quickiest and direct footpath to the disabled lift was blocked by another car. Before we made it to the disabled entrance it was another obstacle course because there was no clear pathway for a wheelchair. It downgraded the experience for someone in a wheelchair.

Thankfully the band was worth it.

Andrew S.

Plenty of parking. A great venue for close up concerts. Good bar. The poles can be a bit of a nuisance from the back but a venue with great sound.

Trent R.

Great venue for up close and personal gigs, highly recommended

Dave S.

If you want to see live music at the Refectory, don't bother unless you live on campus. The parking is terrible and if you go in the wrong carpark it could set you back $10 per hour. Free parking is available, but it is limited and hard to find. And ignore anything that says there will be food options - there will be corn chips at the bar to meet RSA requirements and a vending machine that will be empty by an hour into the night. There will be no pass-outs, so you can't even do a food run, while the bar staff point out that there is a pub right next door.

Beer is expensive, which is expected. Unsure of the cost of Doritos - they didn't even bother putting the price on the menu.

On a positive note, the security types did a good job with a medical episode in the crowd, which is why this is a 2-star review.

Adrian S.

Nice small venue, not great sounding but quite intimate.
Just be sure to get a good spot early with a clear view away from the pillars.

Declan C.

Decent venue with good Aussie bands always on. Only downside is that they shutdown selling grog quite early at many gigs (in the middle of the show)