This is going to come as quite a blow for fans of pokies, leopardskin bikinis and female wrestling, but notorious Sydney watering hole The Oxford Tavern has cleaned up it’s act. The number of unemployed strippers in suburban New South Wales has spiked alarmingly since the bar in Petersham – part of the area aptly nicknamed the Inner (Wild) West – decided to make the move upmarket. Local ATMs are no longer dishing out withdrawals exclusively in small g-string-friendly denominations, and shareholders in jelly producers and inflatable paddling pool manufacturers can be found huddled around flaming oil drums beneath the highway overpass, swigging methylated spirit and cursing their luck.
Now the only Swinging Tits to be seen at The Oxford Tavern are on the cocktail menu (the place obviously hasn’t completely mended its ways), and the animal print is where it belongs, still attached to the animal. Having said that, the place is still first and foremost a neighbourhood boozer, decorated accordingly, with beer, beer and more beer a house speciality, sports on the box, and Rita’s Lounge in the back open till 3am. Food is classic pub grub – hot dogs, steak and schnitzels – plus a couple of gourmet additions in keeping with the venue’s classy new personality.
