Live Music & Entertainment

Port Macquarie After Dark: Bars, Live Music and Nightlife

There's a version of Port Macquarie that most visitors discover on day one: the beaches, the coastal walk, the morning coffee. And then there's the version that opens up after dark, a genuinely buzzing bar and live music scene that punches well above its regional weight. From sundowners on the Town Green waterfront to late-night dance floors, craft brewery taprooms and distillery cocktails, Port Mac after dark usually has something happening. Sure, it’s not ‘big city’ nightlife, but that’s not why you’re here!

PORT MAC AFTER DARK: QUICK GUIDE

Best waterfront venues for Sunset Drinks

Little Shack, Florence Jones Cheese & Wine, Jimmy’s Bar, Chop n Chill, Zebu Bar, The Beach House, Boathouse Bar, and further south - Moo & Bean at North Haven, and Laurieton United Services Club.

Best live music venues

Finnian's Tavern (AHA Best Live Music Venue NSW, 2024 and 2025), the Glasshouse, Panthers, Laurieton United Services Club

Best breweries

Moorebeer Brewing Co and Black Duck Brewery, Lake Road Industrial Estate

Best cocktails

Birdrock Bar and Grill, Jimmy's Bar at The Westport Club, Little Shack

Best gin bar

Port Macquarie Distillery

Where locals drink/After Work Drinks

Moorebeer Brewing Co, Tacking Point Tavern, Royal Hotel in Kew, Beechwood Hotel (hinterland), Little Shack. Also, Flynns Beach Surf Club & Tacking Point Surf Club both have bars open on Fri/Sat arvo/evenings.

Best late night venues

Altitude Nightclub and The Macca (Port Macquarie Hotel) has DJs til late on weekends. Tacking Point Tavern and Settlers Inn are open to 2am Fri/Sat nights and Westport Club has service until 3-4am in some sections of the club.

Start Here: Sundowners with a View

The golden-hour ritual in Port Mac begins on Town Green, the riverfront lawn that anchors the CBD waterfront. It's one of those places that makes you feel like you're exactly where you're supposed to be. Start early, stay late.

Florence Jones Cheese and Wine Bar

📍 SHOP 4/74 CLARENCE STREET, OVERLOOKING TOWN WHARF  |  WED-THU 3PM-8PM, FRI-SAT 12PM-8PM, SUN 12PM-6PM

Go the other direction from Town Green and you'll find Florence Jones, a beautifully renovated independent wine and cheese bar overlooking Town Wharf. Owners Bronny and Suzanne have built something genuinely special: an expertly curated selection of boutique wines, craft beers, artisan cheeses, pates and charcuterie, with alfresco tables facing the river.

Build your own platter from the deli shelves, ask Bronny or Suzanne to guide you to the right wine, and watch the Hastings River turn gold. You can also get this goodness to take away, for a seriously bougie picnic.

Jimmy's Bar & Lounge at The Westport Club

📍 25 BULLER STREET, PORT MACQUARIE | UPSTAIRS AT THE WESTPORT CLUB [INSERT TRADING HOURS]

Head upstairs at The Westport Club and you'll find Jimmy's Bar & Lounge, where things get a little bit fancier without any of the fuss. Think plush seating, epic cocktails and over 100 whiskies glistening behind the bar. It's the spot to level up your evening, whether that's a girls' night, a date night or a proper after-work wind-down. Cosy nooks, big river views and plenty of room for the whole crew.

The Beach House Hotel ('The Beachy')

📍 1 HORTON STREET, TOWN GREEN  |  OPEN DAILY FROM 10AM  |  FREE SUNSET SOUNDS LIVE MUSIC SUNDAYS 3-6PM

Port Mac's iconic waterfront pub, The Beach House (The Beachy to every local who's ever been here) is the natural starting point for any evening out. Perched on the Town Green with panoramic Hastings River views, it's a beautifully restored heritage pub that makes you order a second drink before you've finished the first.

Coastal dining, handcrafted cocktails, and that unbeatable golden-hour glow from the terrace. Sunday Sunset Sounds (free live music from 3 to 6pm every week) is a Port Mac institution. If your night starts anywhere, it starts here.

Little Shack Cafe + Bar

📍 BREAKWALL, TOWN GREEN  |  CHECK SOCIALS FOR HOURS  |  DOG-FRIENDLY OUTDOOR AREA

Stroll towards the Breakwall and you'll hit Little Shack, a cafe-bar with fringed umbrellas, coastal energy, and cocktails that taste better with salt air in them. It's casual-chic in the best possible sense: the kind of spot where you go for one drink and end up staying for three. Live music pops up regularly, and the vibe swings from relaxed afternoon session to lively evening crowd as the night develops.

Zebu Bar

📍 TOWN GREEN PRECINCT  |  OPEN DAILY, COCKTAILS FROM NOON

Zebu is popular with corporate visitors and tourists for its great position at Rydges on the Town Green waterfront. Foreshore views, cocktails from noon to late, and a bar menu with Italian flavours.

Chop 'n' Chill

📍 TOWN GREEN WATERFRONT  |  CHECK SOCIALS FOR HOURS

Right on the lawn at Town Green, Chop 'n' Chill does Southeast Asian street food meets American BBQ with genuinely inventive flavours, a fully stocked bar, regular live music, and a Wicked Cake Cabinet that earns its capital letters. Pet-friendly patio, kid-friendly menu, inclusive options for vegans and gluten-free guests. One of Port Mac's most versatile casual venues.

Live Music: Port Mac's Surprisingly Good Scene

Port Macquarie has a live music scene that regularly surprises new-comers. It's earned, not accidental: a cluster of venues that genuinely invest in local and touring acts, and a community of locals who actually show up.

Finnian's Tavern

📍 CBD  |  CHECK SOCIALS FOR WHAT'S ON

Finnian's Tavern, a CBD live music venue on the Port Macquarie waterfront, has won the Australian Hoteliers' Association Best Live Music Venue in NSW two years running. Their commitment to live music is the stuff of local legend!

Throw in good old Irish craic, mouth-watering charcoal-grilled steaks, and friendly bar staff, and you’ve got all the elements for a great time. Finnian's hosts both local acts and touring names, and the energy on a big night is genuinely electric. Whether you're there for a killer dinner before the band kicks off or you're searching for a dancefloor DJ, the Finnian's crew will look after you.

Moorebeer Brewing Co

📍 18/35 MERRIGAL ROAD, LAKE ROAD INDUSTRIAL ESTATE  |  THU 2-8PM, FRI 12PM-LATE, SAT-SUN 12-5PM

Port Mac's locally-owned independent craft brewery is one of those rare finds: a brewery that's also a genuinely excellent bar with a genuine lineup of local musos. Seventeen taps, a strong cocktail list, and Char Bar's food truck for sustenance. Live music runs through regularly in the relaxed taproom. It has the feel of a neighbourhood local that the whole town has quietly claimed as its own.

The Beach House Hotel (‘The Beachy’)

📍 TOWN GREEN

DJs on weekends, and live musos for the Sunday arvo sessions. Watch the sun set over the river. Indulge in some people-watching. Bliss.

Panthers Port Macquarie: The Tapp Bar

📍 1 BAY STREET  |  OPEN 7 DAYS  |  FREE WEEKEND LIVE MUSIC

Perched on the Hastings River at Panthers, The Tapp Bar is the place for industrial-chic vibes, handcrafted cocktails, woodfired pizzas, share plates, and free weekend live music. The riverside setting is spectacular at dusk, and the club's multiple dining spaces mean you can move through the evening across different rooms and different moods.

The Glasshouse

📍 CLARENCE STREET  |  SEE GLASSHOUSE.ORG.AU FOR WHAT’S ON

For ticketed gigs and touring acts, the Glasshouse is Port Mac's premier arts venue. International touring acts, intimate performances, comedians, musicians across all genres. Check the program before you arrive. There's a good chance something is on.

Where the Cocktails are Shakin’

Port Mac's cocktail scene has quietly grown into something worth talking about. A handful of venues are doing genuinely creative things behind the bar.

Birdrock Bar and Grill

📍 103A WILLIAM STREET  |  OPEN 7 DAYS FOR DINNER; WEEKEND LUNCHES

Right in the CBD, Birdrock Bar and Grill is where modern Australian cuisine meets French-inspired technique and a cocktail list that takes itself seriously. The Bottomless Lunch (four courses with two hours of wine and draught beer) is a Port Mac favourite for groups, but the bar is worth visiting on its own terms. Sophisticated without being stuffy.

Jimmy's Bar and Lounge

📍 UPSTAIRS AT THE WESTPORT CLUB, 25 BULLER STREET 

Head upstairs at The Westport Club and the vibe shifts considerably: plush seating, over 100 whiskies behind the bar, creative cocktails, and epic Hastings River views. Equally good for a girls' night, a proper date, or an after-work wind-down. Watch the sailboats glide past as the master mixologists get to work.

Little Shack

Sip from a coconut under fringed umbrellas while you soak up the sunset. Often has DJs and musos.

📍 TOWN GREEN - BREAKWALL

The Beach House

Perfect for people watching and watching the sun set over the river. The Beachy is a Port Mac icon.

📍TOWN GREEN

Rock Salt at the Marina

📍 PORT MACQUARIE MARINA

Also at the Marina precinct, Rock Salt is a popular riverside option that catches the after-work and pre-dinner crowd well. Good drinks, solid food, waterside tables.

Venues worth knowing beyond Port Mac

Keep an eye on the Bago Maze and Winery socials for their popular monthly outdoor music events. Take a picnic blanket and spend a chilled afternoon at this stunning property.

Laurieton United Services Club is the Camden Haven's premier entertainment venue, pulling in touring acts for ticketed gigs that draw crowds from across the region.

The Royal Hotel, Kew is thirty minutes south of Port Mac, just off the highway in the tiny village of Kew. A beautifully restored heritage pub with live music on weekends, crackling fires in winter, cocktails, and a beer garden that makes you want to book a room upstairs and make a weekend of it.

Find more local food and drink guides at discoverportmacquarie.com.au.