Royal Hotel Harrisville

After departing Gatton (relieved in the knowledge that their Keno was once again operational), we headed to the next stop on the Tour, the Royal Hotel Harrisville

After the slightly club-y big town Royals at Gatton and Toowoomba, we were looking forward to another small town Royal. When we arrived, the pub looked pretty much just as we expected. It had a corrugated metal roof and a big timber veranda wrapping around the entirety of the pub.

What we didn’t expect, however, were the 30 or so motorcycles lined up out front. Nor the bunting-barricaded entrance which made the only way in via a trestle table manned by three large, leather clad, bikie-looking guys.

Apparently a local social motorcycle club was hosting a ‘Show n Shine’ fundraiser for a local children’s hospital. And, as it turns out, they were in general, pretty chill and welcoming guys. There were a lot of them though. This was easily one of the most packed pubs we’ve hit on a Saturday arvo.

We grabbed ourselves some XXXX’s and wandered around to have a look at the pub. This was a really cool Royal. In addition to the aforementioned verandah, there was a good pool area, a big outdoor deck, a nice looking bistro, and a huge back lawn.

On the back lawn, there was something additional we were definitely not expecting: train carriages. That was definitely a first for the Tour. I don’t think they were open for sitting or made up to be accommodation or anything like that (which is a missed opportunity in my humble opinion). But just having them there was pretty cool.

Eventually we wandered out to the big front veranda and found ourselves a table to settle down at. We were zero chance of getting lunch there due to the insane crowds. But the food that was coming out looked really good.

Another big plus was that the veranda had bespoke Royal woodwork. Anyone who has read even a couple of entries of this blog knows how much we love bespoke Royal signage. But I believe the Royal Hotel Harrisville is the first instance of bespoke Royal woodwork we’ve encountered. Which, of course, earns it major bonus points.

Overall, the Royal Hotel Harrisville was a quality pub. I feel like a lot of times we get to a place midday or morning or early arvo and kind of wish we would’ve been able to see what the pub was like on a busy night. This one feels like the opposite to me. I kinda would’ve loved to see what it was like on a typical lazy Satruday arvo with maybe a dozen other patrons.

But even with the hundreds of people we found ourselves there with, it was still a really good pub with a classic feel. It is probably unlikely to crack our increasingly competitive Top 10. But it still sits firmly in ‘would definitely recommend’ territory.

Royal Stats

• Town/Suburb: Harrisville, QLD
• Population: 667
• Date Visited: Saturday, April 5, 2025
• Visited By: Cory, John and Bert
• Beer Sponsorship on Sign: None
• Beer Consumed at Pub: XXXX
• Price of Schooner of Said Beer: $8.10
• Unique Award: Royal with Most Train Carriages
• Tour Progress: 65.2% (88/135)