Victoria Hotel

So I have been here twice now and I am now sitting with very mixed feelings.
On the first visit the atmosphere was PUMPING. The large beer garden out back was full on a Friday night, the beers were basic but cheap and there were a couple of TVs splashed around playing whatever sport was in season at the time (I think it was football).
My partner and I left ecstatic — we’d finally found our local pub!
However we returned yesterday and are now feeling a bit funky about it all. The courtyard was full… of children. Don’t get me wrong, I like kids but on a Sunday afternoon I’d rather just sit in the sun with a couple of jugs and some good mates, rather than listening to screaming rugrats. Secondly, we ordered a parma, which wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t that awesome pub quality I was hoping for.
The guy behind the bar is really what sealed the deal though… The two times we went up to the bar he said nothing and simply stared and waited for us to speak… I appreciate efficiency but a simple «g’day» wouldn’t have gone astray.
Damn it, Victoria hotel! I had such high hopes!

The Victoria Hotel is just so laid back & friendly, you might mistake it for your own backyard, that of course, with the option to have a beer on tap & some food brought to you!
Nothing flashy on the inside, but a nice outdoor seating area out the back and a few out the front too.
A great place to have a chat with friends, while drinking a local Brunswick beer or cider.

Big screen for footy fans, solid pub food, nice range of beers. I’m drinking the Holgate IPA as I write this.
Décor and furniture are cheap, but do the job. Good for a cheeky beverage especially if you’re a sports fan.

Great local pub, bit off the main strip so always plenty of tables and space. They have good cheap pub grub, pool table, ping pong and various events. Mixed crowd is also great :)

The Victoria Hotel has captured that Brunswick brand of shabby charm to a tee. Delightfully grungy, it has a real all ages appeal that so few venues are able to capture. The lights are grim and the floor is grimy, but the staff are sharp, the bar well stocked and the drinks flowing all night. Not to mention trivia nights, drink specials and regular gigs. The food is delicious, and so much more with your standard pub fare. There are vegan nights with a range of curries as well as a rather gourmet trio of dips and the ultimate steak sandwich.
With the added bonus of the eponymous hostel upstairs, you’re always guaranteed a truly mixed crowd and an awesome night out.

Oof.
This place has seen its day. I went for a gay night, and it was one of the saddest things I’ve seen in Fitzroy. When you’re looking for a similar night out, this is not a place to go. The gay bars are better in Fitzroy or St. Kilda or even Prahran.
I saw a drag show with one performer who did more than one song with one outfit. Is this amateur night?
The crowd was kinda sad too. If you’re gonna be falling-​down drunk, do it after midnight, at least. It made me feel like I was back in high school where you drink before you go out and then don’t drink while you’re out because it is ‘too expensive’. Oof.
The only saving grace was that the drinks were decently strong for the money, so while I was trapped there with my friends I could at least enjoy myself until plotting our escape.
Done.

It could be argued that The Victoria Hotel is Brunswick’s best «undiscovered» pub. Open everyday from noon, it’s a low key pub minus the gimmickry/​wank on which some venues rely.
Good beers, good cider, good wine, and a good range of spirits: the foundations of a good night/​afternoon out. The Victoria Hotel operates as though it’s already your local tavern (though clearly, it is already for many people). The band room is open and relaxed, with a slightly higher plinth than its’ immediate competitors, replete with a retro black and white tiled floor. The heated outdoor area has been overhauled sometime in the last few years, with simple wooden benches fringed with only a hint of low key vegetation.
One warning: the flush in the women’s toilets can be a trifle confusing when operating in a state of intoxication. However, never fear, instructions are near. Also, it’s only very, very, very, mildly confusing. It won’t take more than a microsecond of a double take to work out.
Casual and friendly, it’s the perfect place to while away a good few hours in good company.

I’ve only been to the Victoria a few times, mostly on quiet nights, but the one impression it’s consistently left me with is how friendly it all is. It doesn’t have the biggest beer garden in the suburb, and it doesn’t have an extensive beer list or a particularly fancy kitchen. But it does have some of the most easygoing staff I’ve met in Melbourne.
They’re not necessarily incredibly chummy, but they’re certainly happy to chat with the locals.

As I write this, their website is still under construction but hopefully by the time you read this, the site will be up and running.
I’m a fan of any pub that has a ping pong table so big tick for the Victoria for taking care of peeps who like a paddle with their pint. There is also a fantastic beer garden with seats under shelter and seats under the sky for after-​ping pong relaxation.
When I first started coming here, the kitchen hadn’t opened and they allowed us to order food from take-​away joints to eat in with our drinks. Now that the kitchen is up and running, the menu consists of standard pub fare and that’s not bad at all.
Great beers on tap, a fine selection of wine and the usual spirits, free wi-​fi plus a regular line-​up of local bands makes the Victoria deserving of repeat visits and long stays.

When you first wall into the building you’d be forgiven to think there was about the be Happy Days revival with roller-​skates and more, but fear not, the black and white tiles do that to the most of us. Instead what is here is a average sized pub and music venue for the West Brunswick folk.
The beer garden holds an arcade game or too, so those without conversation skills can still waste a few hours out the back. The menu is your standard pub feed — burgers and parmas and fries, oh my!
The brews are standard, with cider joining the taps, a good house red and opportunity for spirits. Most weekends a band plays, and if it doesn’t take your fancy being round the corner for dining and drinking cuts out a lot of the sound.