Looking for some strip club entertainment in Darwin?
Darwin’s adult entertainment scene is small but spirited, with a character all its own. Unfortunately, in terms of numbers… well, it’s pretty dry up in the NT. Darwin currently has just one strip club bar (Fantasy Lounge), and a handful of other venues offering occasional striptease.
In this guide, we take a look at the major titty bar in town, some viable alternatives, as well as the curious history of strip clubs in Darwin – and why you don’t see many these days!
A (Very Short) List of Darwin Strip Clubs!
So, after the closure of Honey Pot and Sinsations, we’re left with just the one strip bar for regular late night eye candy. But, before we check out Fantasy Lounge, here’s something to keep in mind:
Striptease in the Northern Territory is tightly regulated.
Sounds sexy, right?
NT licensing laws require special authorities for adult entertainment, with strict rules on nudity and contact. Venues can host fully nude shows under an “R-rated” license, but no physical contact is allowed unless the venue holds the rare “explicit” license (which, even then, permits only brief, non-sexual contact by invitation).
What does this mean for you? Well, it means Darwin strip clubs are no-touch.
Even during private lap dances, once a dancer is fully nude she has to keep about a one-metre distance from your twitching palms… a caveat of NT law that dancers and punters alike are very aware of!
Fantasy Lounge
The Laneway, 89 Mitchell St, Darwin City NT 0800
https://www.fantasyloungedarwin.com.au/
Fantasy Lounge is the one and only full-time strip club in Darwin… making it, by default, Darwin’s premier gentlemen’s club.
Located in the heart of the city on Mitchell Street’s nightlife strip, it occupies the upstairs space once known as the Honey Pot – Darwin’s infamous former club.
After a long dry spell with no strip clubs at all in Darwin, Fantasy Lounge opened its doors in mid-2021 as a much-needed oasis for adult nightlife.
It’s open five nights a week (Wednesday through Sunday, 9pm until 4am) with a 3am lockout, so plan to arrive before the wee hours if you want entry.
Inside you’ll find a stylish if compact club. There’s dim lighting, a nice central stage with regular dancer rotations and a separate VIP area for private dances. As for the girls, it seems to be a mix of locals and fly-in showgirls (very common as part of tours).
As far as we’re aware, only one of the stage shows goes fully nude… and it’s typically performed by whoever is the ‘headline’ role, at around midnight. Most of the earlier stuff stays topless but not fully nude.
Keep in mind that NT law requires that once the dancer is naked, no physical contact is allowed, so dances at Fantasy are effectively air dances with plenty of teasing but no touching. First-timers might find this a bit surprising, but the dancers good at making it sexy and fun despite the buffer distance!
The atmosphere in Fantasy Lounge depends on which night you drop by. On weekends, it gets a decent crowd of locals, FIFO workers, and curious tourists… especially after midnight when other pubs and clubs wind down. Weeknights are much quieter.
Annnnd…. that’s about it for regular strip clubs in Darwin!
However, there are a couple of other events (and destinations) which offer something ‘similar’.
Winnellie Hotel Strip Shows
34 Winnellie Rd, Winnellie NT 0820
The Winnellie Hotel is a classic Darwin pub in the industrial/commercial area of Winnellie. One that has gained a near-legendary status for its no-frills, high-thrills strip shows on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
“Rough as guts, a throwback to the old Darwin” as one Redditor puts it.
Their website currently advertises the following lineup:
Thursdays and Fridays:
- 1st show: 12:30pm
- 2nd show: 1:15pm
- 3rd show: 5:00pm
- 4th show: 6:00pm (a double act, said to be a highlight).
Saturdays:
- 1st show: 1:30pm
- 2nd show: 2:30pm
From what we’ve seen, these events are typically coordinated with talent from the Territory Showgirls agency. The shows take place in a dedicated area of the pub. There’s no hefty cover charge; it’s usually free entry or just the cost of whatever you’re eating or drinking.
There’s very much a working class old-school vibe at this venue. So think tradies in high-vis knocking off work, truckies passing through, curious backpackers who heard whispers of “Winnellie”, and plenty of regulars who love the gritty entertainment.
“Cherries” Topless Events at Aluna Nightclub
Darwin isn’t exactly stacked with nightclubs, but one of them, Aluna Nightclub & Lounge, moonlights (pun intended) as a venue for special adult-themed nights known as “Cherries.”
If you’re in town at the right time, Cherries: A Topless Affair at Aluna is a don’t-miss titty-fest that brings a slice of strip club action into a regular nightclub setting with some pretty emphatic hedonism.
These are pop-up stripper nights rather than a constant fixture, and they are typically held on long weekends or special occasions every couple of months. In 2025, Aluna has run a series of Cherries events with great success. The last one was held over the King’s birthday (Cherries 3.0) and was a four-night extravaganza of topless entertainment from Thursday through Sunday.
These events are quite the spectacle.
Topless waitresses are flown in from around the country to serve drinks and mingle with the partying crowd. There are choreographed stage performances and themed shows featuring anywhere from 4 to 8 dancers (known as cherries, of course).
Aluna turns one of its lounges into a VIP topless lounge area, and they’ve spiced up these events with extras like wet t-shirt contests, jelly wrestling (they did a wild “Jello Wars” on ANZAC Day one year with Cherries girls), and day-and-night party sessions.
Tickets are normally around $30-$50 and spaces are limited.
Keep an eye on Aluna Nightclub’s socials for any upcoming Cherries nights.
The Territory Showgirls (And Where To Find Them!)
We can’t talk about the Darwin strip scene without mentioning the famous Territory Showgirls.
This is the agency working tirelessly behind the scenes (and on stage) to keep the Top End entertained. Territory Showgirls is Darwin’s only locally owned adult entertainment agency, run by industry veterans and powering many of the top strip shows in town, from pub circuits to private events.
If you’ve enjoyed a stripper’s company in Darwin outside of Fantasy Lounge, chances are Territory Showgirls had a hand in it.
And if you need to book a private event, this is the best place to turn.
They can hook you up with topless waitresses, lingerie or bikini waitresses, nude waitresses, and promotional models. They can arrange one or multiple showgirls to perform strip shows… ranging from a tame topless tease to an ultra-raunchy X-rated show (humiliating the groom-to-be, perhaps?!), even duo shows with two performers for double the trouble.
They also do themed packages, like a poker night with a topless dealer, or a waitresses-and-show combo for a backyard party.
Territory Showgirls runs the weekly “Showgirl Circuit” in Darwin’s pubs:
- Winnellie Hotel Motel – Thurs, Fri (lunchtime & knock-off), and Sat (afternoon), as detailed earlier.
- Howard Springs Tavern – A pub in the rural area, with Wednesday night shows at 7:30pm and 8:30pm.
- Hidden Valley Tavern – In Berrimah, hosting shows on Thursdays (4:30pm and a 5:30pm duo) and Fridays (1:00, 1:45pm and evening 5:30, 6:30pm), plus a couple on Saturday arvos.
- Frontier Hotel (Punters Bar) – A Darwin CBD pub, with a couple of Friday arvo shows (around knock-off time 4:00 and 4:30pm).
This regular circuit means you can catch a Territory Showgirl performance almost any day from Wednesday to Saturday by hitting the right pub at the right time.
Strip Club Culture in Darwin
Darwin has always had something of a frontier town feel to it and the traditional haunts of red-blooded Aussie males may not always have sat well with a more progressive and modern Oz.
Until a decade or so ago, Darwin’s bars and pubs had a reputation for having strippers as part of the décor with the locals referring to the dancers and performers as the ‘Northern Territory Ballet Company’.
The term was part of the local lingo and drinkers who were headed to a bar with strippers would simply say they were heading to the ballet!
These bars and pubs were very popular with visiting sailors from US, Japanese and Aussie warships as well as locals from the many outlying cattle stations. But, as the ringers and jackeroos are replaced with a more ‘refined’ customer, including many women, the days of ‘strip and prawn’ – customers could pay a few dollars for a plate of prawns and a beer whilst watching a strip show – may have gone forever from Darwin’s city bars.
One of the oldest such venue, the Don Hotel, closed in 2002 and was seen as the last pub of the era of the ‘ballet’.
Other popular venues included the Petty Sessions Bar (also known as Sweaty Passions) which was popular with legal and government fraternities.
Whilst the days of the ‘ballet’ are now a thing of the past, there are still a couple of good pubs in Darwin and some great companies that can provide private performances.
But, sadly, the strip club scene itself is small.
It’s Fantasy Lounge, a Showgirls Tavern or bust.
What do you make of Darwin’s titty bar scene? Have we missed any popular destinations – or gritty old taverns?
Let us know your experiences!
