Good Company among WA’s best shopping centre pubs

It’s just after midday on a pleasant Thursday.

The alfresco area at Good Company, the Three Pound Group pub nestled between Karrinyup Westfield and the sprawling car park, is speckled with groups of mums, with bubs, enjoying a husband-free wine and share plate.

A couple of older ladies indulge in a beer and dissect the big issues, while several tables are full of blokes, either “talking shop”, or on their own scrolling on their phones while sipping a cheeky beer.

Yes, it’s a pub, but not as we know it.

These days a major suburban shopping centre needs dining and drinking options as much as they need those big department stores such as Kmart, Big W or David Jones.

As any regular shopper can attest, getting in and out of centres like Karrinyup Westfield or Westfield Carousel — finding parking, finding your store in the confusing maze of stores and then finding what you came for in that store — can take hours. And a girl, or guy, has gotta eat. And, maybe, drink.

Beyond the parking being free at these labyrinths, there’s not a lot different to visiting the city centre, which used to be the major precinct for retail, entertainment and leisure.

Dr Christina Lee, senior lecturer in English and cultural studies at Curtin University, says urban sprawl has seen the suburban shopping complex replace the city centre as the “one-stop shop for all their needs”.

“Under one roof you can go to the cinema, browse your favourite high street brand, take the family mini-golfing, do your weekly grocery shop, and have a meal afterwards at one of the dining outlets,” she says.

“For the time-poor, being able to bundle daily chores with leisure can be a lifesaver.”

The popularity of the pubs, which often open outside of retail hours, in these major shopping centres shows how these precincts have become important places of commerce, consumption and leisure in their own right, Dr Lee adds.

“Major shopping centres are attractive to pub operators because they are established places of leisure and entertainment that are easily accessible and attract a wide clientele,” she says.

“The increasing number of family-friendly pubs not only shows how pubs today have a more inclusive attitude in terms of their customer base, but it’s also effective marketing.

“Pop a playpen in the venue and include a kids’ menu, and you’ve got something for everyone — adults and children.”

The pub is dead, love live the pub.

Here is one of the best boozers located in WA’s big four suburban shopping centres.

Click here to find out The West Australian food reviewer Simon Collins’ top five shopping centre pubs.

GOOD COMPANY

Karrinyup Shopping Centre

Three Pound Group also run The Camfield and The Elford. Like those venues, Good Company has about as much warmth and soul as an Ikea cafeteria.

On the other hand, it’s spacious, user-friendly and you don’t need an Allen key to enjoy a cold beer with good food.

Wrapped around the outside of the dining precinct of Karrinyup Shopping Centre, Good Company pours more than 20 beers spanning Swan Gold and Guinness to the pointy end of WA craft. There’s a big focus on other beverages, in particular Aperol spritzes and other favourites of ladies that lunch — and bottomless brunch.

A mix of high and low tables, and big screens are spread across this sprawling venue that can hold 700 people.

The location away from the stores means locals can hit Good Company and not set foot in Big W or Zara.

Good Company in Karrinyup Shopping Centre. Credit: Supplied

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