United Nations of Beer

Eimeo Pub

by Jane Turner
(Beer Delegate, QLD, Australia)

Eimeo Pub
Mackay, Queensland, Australia

Any tourist who asks a Mackay local where to go for a beer, they always say "The Eimeo". (Pronounced I-Me-O.)

Undeniably, it's got a magnificent view. One of the best overlooking the Coral Sea, where you can drink your beer and relax with mates while gazing at the water and islands in the distance. In fact, most write-ups on the Eimeo pub gush and enthuse to a sickening sweetness about "million dollar views" and a "must go to pub".

Personally, I have been to the Eimeo Pub four times since arriving in Mackay and I don't think it's a place to boast highly about. Perhaps I was extremely unlucky all four times, but I found the bar staff unfriendly, unhelpful and uninterested.

I found the décor lacking, the table and chairs old and uninteresting and the wire fencing surrounding the beer garden more like having a beer on a construction site.

It certainly didn't convey the "Welcome, relax and stay" atmosphere I had hoped for.

The loud music being played over the speakers stilted any hope of easy conversation and just everything about the place reminded me I was being ripped off by the high prices for mediocre food and beer.

The longer I stayed at the Eimeo, the more I found wrong with the place. In fact, it distracted me from the view.

I find it such a shame the Eimeo can't convince me that it's worth being there. The view experience can't make up for the brew experience.

STREWTH! Read Shaun Cornwell's furious reaction to Jane's Eimeo Pub review. Not EVERYBODY disagrees with Jane, it has to be said...