Brisbane
You're flying out of Brisbane Airport, you have 90 minutes to kill, and you'd like to do better than a Pret. Good news: airport drinking has improved more in the last five years than the previous fifty. Pre-flight drinks at Brisbane Airport range from chain reliability to surprisingly polished hotel-style bars in the airport hotels. This is barsforKings's editor-curated guide to drinking better at Brisbane's airports.
South Brisbane · $$$
Brisbane's most awarded cocktail bar.
Fortitude Valley · $$$
Speakeasy hidden behind a phone booth.
Fortitude Valley · $$$
Tailor-themed cocktail bar with a serious whisky list and one of Australia's longest amaro programmes.
West End · $$
Whisky-and-cocktail bar with the largest whisky selection in Queensland.
Want a real drink before flying? The fastest play is to get to airport hotels next door — most run polished bars that beat anything post-security. We list them at the bottom. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, see our shortlist of bars in Brisbane proper at the end.
Plays for Brisbane Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
Pre-flight drinks, hotel-bar reviews, and the openings we're watching across 200+ cities. Friday mornings, no filler.
Looking beyond Brisbane? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.