Trivia Nights in Geelong

About This Guide

Geelong has a strong pub trivia scene — the city's pub culture is built for it. But finding a trivia night that runs consistently, with specific enough details to actually plan around, is harder than it should be. Most pub websites say "trivia — check our socials" without committing to a night or time. This guide covers four venues where we can confirm the schedule with enough specificity to be useful: the night, the time (where available), what deals run alongside it, and the honest caveat about what to verify before you leave home.

Trivia schedules change — a big live music event gets priority, a holiday Monday shifts the week. The venues below have all run their trivia programs for at least one season and show no sign of stopping. Know a great Geelong trivia night we've missed? Tell us and we'll add it.

Geelong Trivia Nights at a Glance

1. Elephant & Castle Hotel — Jackpot Trivia Every Thursday

The Elephant & Castle's Jackpot Trivia is the most consistent weekly trivia event in the Geelong CBD — and the one with the most at stake. The jackpot grows each week until someone claims it, which means a Thursday night in a quiet run can have a genuinely substantial prize on the table. It runs every Thursday from 7pm, combined with the venue's $24 Parmi Night, which makes it the best dual-deal evening in the city: dinner sorted before the quiz starts, tables to book ahead so you don't scramble for space.

The venue itself — a Geelong CBD institution since 1891 — is the right size for trivia: big enough to have serious competitive teams, small enough that you can hear the questions without straining. Walk-ins can join at the bar if the tables are gone, but if you're bringing a group, the booking advice is real — Thursday fills up. Closed Monday and Tuesday, so Thursday is the venue's mid-week anchor event. The beer garden is one of Geelong's best: the trivia crowd spills out there in the warmer months.

2. Belmont Hotel — Best-Value Trivia Night in Geelong

The Belmont Hotel runs its trivia night on the first Tuesday of every month, and the deal around it is the best-value trivia package in Geelong: free entry, $15 parmigiana, $25 jugs, and $8 wines. That's a full group evening — food, drinks, and the quiz — for less than a dinner out without the trivia attached. The 1920s art-deco building gives the night the right atmosphere: a rooftop beer garden you can retreat to between rounds, a properly restored heritage venue, and enough space for multiple teams without the crowd feeling crammed.

The monthly schedule is the key thing to lock in. Set a recurring calendar reminder for the first Tuesday of each month — the Belmont's trivia doesn't run every week, and the deal doesn't apply on other nights. The venue runs live music and DJs every Friday and Saturday, so if you're building a pub week around Belmont, trivia on the 1st Tuesday + live music on Friday is a coherent plan. High Street, Belmont — easy parking, a 10-minute drive from the CBD.

3. The Grovedale Hotel — Weekly Tuesday Trivia at The Juke

The Grovedale Hotel runs trivia weekly on Tuesday nights in The Juke — the open-air garden bar section of the venue, separate from the Pioneer Kitchen bistro and The Members End sports bar. It's a different atmosphere to the CBD options: est. 1859, a traditional large-format pub on Torquay Road, and the open-air garden setting gives the trivia night more room than a pub function space. The Grovedale's trivia is a Tuesday local's fixture — quieter in profile than the Elephant & Castle's jackpot format, but consistent and close to home for anyone in the southern suburbs.

Time and booking details change seasonally — check the Grovedale's socials or call before you go. The Wednesday steak night (grass-fed porterhouse from 5:30pm) is a useful reference point for the week: if you're already planning a Grovedale visit, Tuesday trivia and Wednesday steak makes a two-night run worth the drive out to Torquay Road.

4. Barwon Club Hotel — Regular Trivia at Geelong's Live Music Pub

The Barwon Club Hotel runs regular trivia nights alongside its packed live music, DJ and comedy calendar. The schedule varies — unlike the Elephant & Castle's fixed Thursday slot, the Barwon Club's trivia dates around its entertainment program, which means a week with a big ticketed show may shift the quiz to another night. The upside: the Barwon Club trivia is hosted in one of Geelong's most characterful venues — a pub operating continuously since 1859 across The Bandroom and The Barn, with a crowd that takes its pub nights seriously.

For the Barwon Club, the practical advice is to check their socials or call (03) 5221 4584 before planning a trivia trip — the schedule rotates. The Monday Parmi Night ($22) is a fixed anchor for the week, and is worth combining with a trivia night in the same visit. South Geelong location, easy parking, open 7 days.

Plan Your Trivia Calendar

The structure of Geelong's pub trivia scene means two of the four venues have fixed, reliable schedules. Plan around those first, then add the others when you've confirmed dates:

Know a pub doing great Geelong trivia that isn't listed here? Tell us and we'll verify and add it.