Best Places in Newcastle for a Session with Your Girlfriends

Want to add a bit of friendly competition to your girl’s night? Go old-school and play ten-pin bowling or zap your girls in laser skirmish at Strike Bowling Bar. Celebrate your strike marathon or commiserate your gutter balls back at the bar. After some liquid courage, you can book a private karaoke room for only $40/hour and bust out your best Aretha Franklin impression. Make sure you have time and secure your bookings online. Strike is conveniently located next door to Max Brenner - just in case you’re hanging for some waffles.

Dress-up and get classy at Newcastle’s most elegant wine and tapas bar. In its past lives, the historic building was the premises of a wine and spirit merchant and brewing company, home to the Air Force Club and most prominently an intellectual hub for Newcastle. You can sit back in leather lounges and appreciate the beautiful architecture - or more importantly, the tapas and wine menu. The Chocolate Mocha Tart will make your tastebuds tingle. The sizeable alcoholic assortment caters to everyone in your entourage. There’s rare wines for the aspiring sommelier, martinis for those who like it dirty and naked and cocktails for those who want to stick to the classics.

What girl doesn’t love an opportunity to dress-up, drink champagne and wear a fancy hat? Race days are a girly favourite. Make sure your luckiest pal picks you a winning nag. Races are held on the first and last Saturday of the month, with some exceptions for special events.

Enjoy drinks on the waterfront at the oh-so-chic Silo bar at Honeysuckle. If there’s a cheap-skate in your posse, 4-6pm is happy hour every day. You and your entourage can chow down on $10 pizzas and take advantage of $3.50 glasses of champagne and the $8 cocktail special. All your favourite cocktails are available, some with a twist, and the Mid Lounge Crisis mocktail is perfect for your designated driver pal.

If a sophisticated Sunday is what you and your circle are after, head to Bacchus for high tea. The elegant, heritage listed building is steeped in history. In the 20th century, the operatic notes of its owner Dame Nellie Melba filled the air. High tea is served once a month between 1pm and 5pm. The decadent gourmet patisseries and canapés are accompanied by a glass of sparkling French wine. If you’re craving a tipple, there’s a terrific cocktail list too.

If a lunch time girly catch-up is more your style, an afternoon at The Junction Hotel is on the cards. The crisp white interior is complemented by a tranquil water feature and a spacious layout. The menu accounts for all different tastebuds. Seafood Sally, Diet Dianne and Fussy Felicity can sit at the same table. Try out their famous salt and pepper squid or flavoursome lamb tenderloin salad. The Ladies Who Lunch deal combines two of my favourite things - finger food and bubbly. Cheese, antipasto and dessert platters are all on offer with a bottle of Chandon NV Sparkling from $30 per person. All platters can be altered to suit dietary requirements, so your vegan lactose and wheat intolerant buddy won’t go hungry.

You want to make sure you’re looking your sexiest on your girls night out. On those evenings when your hair just won’t go your way and your eyeliner pencil breaks, feeling like a babe is a bit far-flung. You need the lovely Sculpt team to wave their fairy wands and save your frizzy-and-smudged-mascara butt. Located at Cooks Hill, one of the main hubs of Newcastle fashion and lifestyle, Sculpt is the only place in the city to offer an express blow dry and beauty bar. You can quickly get your roots touched up, your hair styled and make-up professionally done and be transformed from unsightly to look-at-me! You and your girls can get fabulous GHD curls and tantalising smoky eyes together then swig Japanese Slippers at the Delany Hotel.