Honky Tonk Blues — Restaurant in Fremantle

Went to see a friend play in the band. Was not let in because we were playing a “drinking game”. We were playing a pub bingo for our friends 22nd and the only square that involved drinking was to “take a shot”… and as if that was going to cause an issue at a bar?!!!! We weren’t drunk, rowdy or causing a nuisance (proven by the two three pubs and clubs we went to afterwards), 2-3 drinks max over the course of the night and we all had our ids ready for entry. Also the bouncer not believing we were mainly there to see the band even though we able to name the entire band and the instruments that they played… Anyways, sorry if the response is a bit long-winded but I am really upset due to the rude nature of the bouncers and them making our mates performance! Super disappointing and unfortunately they missed out on a 10 person party planning on getting food and drinks. Had to take our business to Varsity instead… :(

Edit: Thanks for the response, but feel like you may have missed the point of the review… I’ll try and reiterate the main points but basically what I was trying to say was that it really wasn’t a drinking game, and the security team were rude and condescending to us, not just “strict”.

Again, there was one square with “take a shot”. Every other square was things like eat a pretzel, win paper scissors rock against a stranger, take a photo with a neon sign. All the squares were kept pg for this reason and were all personally chosen to cause no issues or conflicts at the bars we visited or the people we interacted with during the night.

Our encounter with your security staff was the main thing that left a sour taste in our mouth. They were rude, didn’t communicate why we weren’t allowed in, and they were condescending (not just to us but everyone I saw them interact with). They also made us answer stupid questions about the band and then when we answered them correctly they laughed it off and kicked everyone out anyway. Again, they also threatened to kick out other people in the line (who weren’t even apart of our group) simply because they were talking to us. We have absolutely no problem with a strict security team, but a condescending and rude security is a no go for us 🙅‍♂️!

Would love to visit again because it’s honestly a great venue, both for an eat and a drink, as well as listening and dancing to some catchy live music (we’ve been a few times), but unfortunately we don’t want to because of your...

Not usually one to leave a bad review, but I feel this is important—both for public safety and to have my voice heard.

I was once a frequent patron of Honky Tonk and even recommended it to many others. I love live music—it’s my happy place—and I’ve travelled all over the world to enjoy it. So it really saddens me to write this, but my experience here has taken a serious turn.

There have only been three times in my life I’ve felt unsafe in a crowd, and twice that has happened at Honky Tonk. The venue is simply not suited for the number of people they cram in. Security has very little visibility to half the room, and I’ve witnessed people drinking from their own flasks more than once. When I’ve brought concerns to the attention of staff or security in the past, it was appreciated—but things have clearly changed.

One of the last times I visited, I asked security for help with an aggressive patron, only to be kicked out ourselves. The excuse? “Elbows were thrown.” But when the space is that packed and people are encouraged to keep drinking, it’s almost impossible not to brush past others. We were just trying to stand with our group after grabbing drinks, when an intoxicated girl—who had already pushed several people—decided we were in her way. Instead of intervening, security turned on us. That’s not how you look after your patrons.

Honky Tonk is supposed to be a place for music lovers—not a backdrop for influencer selfies and staged videos. My husband was accused of being racist for saying, “young people like you” to those girls—and we were both banned. That accusation, along with what I believe is false information being spread about me by staff, is incredibly upsetting.

For context: I’m someone who hands out water at festivals. I go out of my way to compliment staff, chat to bar and tech crew, and support live music communities. I’m not writing this for attention—I’m writing it because I’ve had countless conversations around Perth lately where people say the same thing: that Honky Tonk is overcrowded, rough, and security is poorly managed.

Perth doesn’t have enough great live music venues. It’s a real shame that the owners didn’t have the courage to talk to loyal patrons when we asked for help, or to ensure their security team truly had people’s...

Just plain rude and offensive woman on the door. She put her hand up at us like “speak to the hand” and proceeded to speak to us like she expected us to behave badly. Waving her palm at us “What’s going on here?” Yes, we were laughing and enjoying ourselves as it was a birthday celebration. There was no hint of impolite behaviour, but we were treated with disrespect immediately. We were in the heart of Fremantle’s entertainment district which is designed for people to enjoy themselves, but it appeared that laughter and a theme of tennis headbands a group of professional 50+ year old women, is cause for concern and being instantly branded as potential trouble! The manager was called and he instantly granted us access. Thankfully he could see sense. We entered and were told that we needed to behave ourselves as we walked past the door people. Never before has that been uttered to any of us as we enter an establishment. This was at 8pm! We were shown to a table but the woman who was wiping our table continued with the same dismissive attitude toward us. The purported high standard of behaviour required by us was then somewhat contradicted by only offering Prosecco in a can!!! The staff attitude diminished our sense of fun and put a complete dampener on the wonderful camaraderie our group had been enjoying. We decided as a group to go and spend our money somewhere else where we would be welcomed. The Old Court House welcomed us and treated us with respect and engaged with us with a sense of fun. We were granted free entry into the disco and danced the rest of the night away, thankfully leaving behind the degrading experience of Honky Tonks. Recommend avoiding Honky Tonks if you are a mature group of women as we are obviously stereotyped...