Stonewall Hotel
Stonewall is the thumping, glitter-stained heart of Oxford Street: three levels of drag, DJs, go-go boys and cocktails that somehow keep flowing long after your voice has given up.
This bar is now closed
The End of Stonewall
In March 2026, the Stonewall Hotel entered voluntary administration, with a notice from Vanguard Insolvency Australia taped to the venue's front door. The news landed as a shock, coming just weeks after Mardi Gras for one of Oxford Street's best-known queer venues — and less than a year after its acquisition by US-based Pride Holdings Group, which had called the deal a "bold new chapter" for the venue. The timing was especially jarring given the pub's 27-year history as one of Oxford Street's longest-running gay venues, and it came just as Stonewall was expanding with a new Newtown sister venue.
Step in off Oxford Street and you’re straight into the street-level public bar, all neon, mirrors and pop anthems. Early evening is peak catch-up-with-the-girls-and-the-gays hour, with happy hour deals, locals staking out their usual spots, and drag hosts warming up the room before things slide from chatty to chaotic.
Diva Bar is the more intimate, cocktail-forward counterpoint to the main floor — a social lounge just off the public bar where you can grab a booth, sip proper cocktails, catch drag between sets, and mingle close enough to the dressing room door to see which star might emerge next.
A Name With a Riot Behind It
Stonewall Hotel takes its name from the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York — a flashpoint for modern LGBTQ+ liberation. On Oxford Street, that name carries extra weight: this strip was central to Australia’s own Stonewall moment in 1978, when queer resistance erupted onto the streets of Sydney. Every pop anthem, drag number, and late-night singalong here sits on that lineage — joy, defiance, and visibility hard-won.
Upstairs, the cocktail bar is where shirts vanish, cages fill, and house DJs push the tempo from singalong to sweat. The crowd skews mixed and friendly – tourists in fresh Mardi Gras merch, seasoned regulars who’ve been coming since Kylie dropped by, and everyone in between – all funneled onto a heaving dancefloor under lights that flatter almost everyone.
Keep climbing to Hello Darlings and the VIP spaces for cabaret, boylesque and late-night parties that get darker, louder and more Berlin as the night goes on.
As of 2025, there are plans by the new owner to transform the upper level into a male strip club (see New Owner, New Vision below).
New Owner, New Vision
Stonewall entered a new chapter in 2025 after being purchased by an American hospitality group, signalling fresh investment and a broader international outlook for the Oxford Street institution. Under its new owners, plans include a Bali location and the transformation of the upper level into a male strip club, Johnsons, modelled on the group’s Florida-based venues.
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Location
175 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010
Contact
+61 2 9360 1963
Email
Hours
Wednesday
4:00pm - 2:00am
Classic Stonewall Wednesday with cheeky meet-and-mingle vibes, drag shows and DJs warming up Oxford Street.
Thursday
4:00pm - 2:00am
High-energy drag, camp pop and pre-weekend dance floor action across Stonewall’s multi-level bars.
Friday
4:00pm - 4:30am
Peak-night drag showcases and late-night DJ sets turning the whole venue into a packed queer dance playground.
Saturday
4:00pm - 4:30am
Wall-to-wall party energy with drag, go-go dancers and DJs soundtracking one of Oxford Street’s busiest nights.
Sunday
4:00pm - 2:00am
Easygoing but still extra, with Sunday drag, DJs and regular themed sessions like CHAPS taking over upstairs.
Pictures
© 2026 Apollo Social