All posts tagged: nightlife

on the big screen

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      Nowadays, what with the high value of the Australian dollar compared with many major world currencies, Australia is one of the more expensive countries in which to live and travel. For some reason, cinema tickets are particularly pricey in this country; you’ll pay around $18 for a standard adult ticket and up around $22–$25 for 3D films. But where there’s a will, there’s always a way. Most cinemas have a ‘cheap-arse’ day, always at the beginning of the week, when ticket prices are slashed. Here’s a run-down of inner-city Melbourne’s cheap-arse cinema days and times for your cheap-arse viewing pleasure…   Cinema Nova Address: 380 Lygon St, Carlton Cheap arse: Mondays Tickets: $6 before 4pm, $9 after 4pm   Kino Cinemas Address: 45 Collins St, Melbourne Cheap arse: Mondays Tickets: $7 all day   Sun Theatre Address: 8 Ballarat St, Yarraville Cheap arse: Mondays and Tuesdays Tickets: $10 ($3 extra for 3D)   Astor Theatre Address: 1 Chapel St, St Kilda  Cheap arse: Wednesdays Tickets: $10   Hoyts Cinemas Address: Various Cheap arse: Tuesdays Tickets: $11.50   Village Cinemas Address: Various Cheap arse: …

1000 £ Bend

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  I discovered this cafe a couple years ago, just after it first opened. It was big, bare, cheap and different — the new kid on a city block that’s generally off-limits to the budget-conscious. Today, 1000 £ Bend is still big, relatively cheap and different — just with a few extra chairs, tables, lamps and lude scribblings on the bathroom walls that have gathered over time. The intervening years have given this cafe space to settle and find its groove — that groove being a blase hangout for Melbourne’s alternative crowd who have been shoe-horned out of their Fitzroy/Northcote/Brunswick homes and flung into Melbourne’s all-too-mainstream CBD. Despite its city location, you won’t find a suit in sight, although free Wi-Fi makes this a popular workspace so during the day the place becomes a sea of laptops. Behind the cafe area in the front is an enormous room used as a quieter work space — when it’s not being used to house exhibitions. Upstairs is a cinema, where free film screenings take place every Sunday. There’s also free live music on Sundays from 2pm-4pm. Food here is mostly of …

town hall hotel

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    Tucked away in North Melbourne’s very cute Errol Street is the Town Hall Hotel, an unassuming little pub that gets a lot of things right. The front bar is suitably dingy for a casual drink — a very casual drink. As the Town Hall’s own website says, you’ll feel right at home here ‘if you’re the kind of person who feels uncomfortable in the foyer of the Hilton, but not self-conscious about a gravy stain on your collar’. Wander around the back and you’ll find a great little beer garden — a lovely spot for a quiet beer or an al fresco meal in summer. But it’s the Town Hall’s central dining area that particularly tickles my fancy. It’s cosy, intimate and shabby enough to put you at ease. An open fire burns in winter and there’s always a tea-light candle on every table, lending just a touch of romance. The food here is generally pretty good, with main meals mostly around the $15–$20 mark. A great choice for a hearty pub meal …

be happy

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– This post is dedicated to happy hours in bars and pubs across Melbourne. I’ll keep updating this page as I come across new specials.  Please note that I can’t recommend all these venues because I haven’t visited them all yet. I’m just the messenger here…    – The Workers Club Address: 51 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 3065 VIC Happy hours: 4pm–8pm, Mondays & 4pm–7pm, Tuesday–Sunday On offer: $2 pots on Mondays (until 8pm) and $5 house wines, $7 Bulmer pints and $7 Fat Yak pints Tuesday–Sunday – Thornbury Theatre Address: 859 High St, Thornbury 3071 VIC Happy hours: 5pm–6.30pm, Thursday–Saturday On offer: Half-price drinks – Bar Etiquette Address: 408 Sydney Rd, Brunswick Vic 3056 Happy hours: 5pm–9pm every day On offer: $2.50 pots, $5 pints and $10 jugs of lager, ale and cider – Wesley Anne Address: 250 High St, Northcote Hill Happy hours: 12pm–6pm every day On offer: $12 jugs of Gypsy Cider and Boag’s Draught – 1000 £ Bend Address: 361 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne 3000 VIC Happy day: Tuesday, 4pm–11pm On offer: $2.50 pots of Carlton – Angler’s Tavern Address: 2 Raleigh Rd, Maribyrnong 3032 Vic Happy days: 11am–late, …

the alderman

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    It’s what every neighbourhood needs: a simple, no-fuss bar where you can have a simple, no-fuss drink. The Alderman reminds me a bit of Joe’s Shoe Store in Northcote – the type of place where you can immediately tell that many of the customers are firm regulars. There’s a beer garden out the back and a small central room featuring an open fireplace that’s kept lit during winter – a warm heart to this unpretentious little watering hole. Note that this is not the place to come for a wild night of getting trashed on happy-hour drinks; in fact, The Alderman doesn’t have a happy hour (for exactly this reason, according to the bar’s owner). Drink prices here are fairly standard: Beck’s on tap is $5 for pots, $9 for pints and $15 for jugs; house wines are $6.50 per glass. You can get cocktail jugs ($23.50 for a mojito jug) and spirits are around $7.50–$14. This is a lovely spot for a quiet drink and refreshingly audible conversation.   The Alderman Address: 134 Lygon St, Brunswick …

bar etiquette

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–   This must be one of the most underrated bars in Melbourne. Or at least the bar furthest under the average Melburnian’s radar. Nobody seems to know about it –  even many locals who live in the area are oblivious. It’s true that Bar Etiquette isn’t particularly noticeable from the outside; the street-front is tiny, and it seems almost to blend in with the shops around it. It’s a bit like that hide-out house in the Harry Potter books – the one that’s jinxed so that humans (sorry, muggles) can’t see it. The eye runs up the street and somehow slips over Bar Etiquette without even registering its presence. This particular jinx doesn’t just affect the bar’s exterior, either. When you step inside, what looks like a small watering hole magically keeps on growing and growing. Out the back is a small beer garden, but if you wander upstairs you’ll feel as though you’ve rudely stumbled into someone’s share-house. There are three rooms up here, each filled with comfy couches – all a bit dingy and scroungy, but …

joe’s shoe store

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    I was at Joe’s Shoe Store the other day and happened to ask the bartender whether they have a website. He looked at me doubtfully. ‘God no,’ he said. ‘We’re not that organised.’ That pretty much sums up this cosy little bar in High St, Northcote. Not unorganised, as such, but definitely low-key. Small, simple bar; small, simple beer garden. No fuss. The Shoe Store’s forte is a large selection of local and imported beers and wines, and you can order gourmet pizzas at the bar which come direct from Meine Liebe next door. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere is uber relaxed. This is a great place to kick back, listen to some vinyl and enjoy the little things in life.   Joe’s Shoe Store Address: 233 High St, Northcote Vic 3070 Tel: 9482 7666 Damage: Pot $5 / pint $10; house wines $7; cocktails $12-20   Read more reviews at