Kinselas Hotel

Kinselas is a Taylor Square icon, a striking Art Deco landmark in the heart of Sydney's Oxford Street gay village that was a funeral parlor (the headquarters of undertaker Charles Kinsela) from the 1930s until 1982, before its second life as a beloved pub and club. Spread over multiple levels, it pairs a street-level bistro serving cheap steaks, Sunday roasts and calamari with a Middle Bar and a balcony overlooking the square, and an upstairs retro club, its ornate former "Chapel" ceilings still intact. A longtime LGBTQ+ staple, it hosts the notorious Poof Doof party, which takes over the top floor every Saturday, the Queer Folx drag cabaret, plus drag trivia and bingo throughout the week, drawing a mixed gay-and-straight, queer-friendly crowd. Central, characterful and reliably fun, with a prime Mardi Gras parade-viewing balcony, it's a cornerstone of the Taylor Square scene.