Bendigo Hotel

This was literally the first place I went to after I arrived in Melbourne. The «Bendi» is a bar/​venue with a bottle shop and a hostel upstairs. They also serve delicious burgers and pub grub at reasonable prices (meat AND veggie).
If you are into all kinds of rock (preferably punk and heavy) this is your place to go. I immediately felt comfortable here. The bar is in a separate room from the stage, do you can get in for a drink, even if a band is playing and you don’t want to pay a cover charge.
That said, the Bendi is one of the places to see both small local and bigger international bands such as GBH, Xibalba, Leftöver Crack and Lagerstein, just to name a few.
Also: free pool table on Tuesdays.
The atmosphere is just great. There are tons of things to find on the walls (a collection of headwear, masks and whatever might fit as decoration) so if you have an eye for details, here you go.
Go there, have a drink. You won’t regret it!

This pub has probably the best value meal special in Melbourne — a double cheeseburger with chip and a PINT of beer, for the low low price of $ 10. Hands down the best value in Melbourne.
It’s a great place too — lots of skulls decorating the front bar, a decent tequila selection, and live music most nights of the week.

The Bendigo seems to be showing more live music now than it used to and that can’t be sniffed at. It used to be the seediest dive in Collingwood (no small claim), but they’ve managed to reinvent themselves as a bit of a gay venue and a bit of a live music venue in equal measures. This means you get pretty different experiences here on any given night, but they cater to a cross section now, rather than just a bunch of broken old drinking men.
The live music they’re putting on here is for the most part what you’d call ‘emergent’. This is a great thing. On any given bill, you’re likely to see bands you’ve never/​seldom heard of, which can go both ways.
The best thing about the Bendigo are the drink prices. It’s funny how if you follow Johnston Street uphill about 600 metres you’ll pay excessively more for a pint. Such is life, I guess.

The Grouse parties put the Bendigo back on the queer map before the club night relocated to Brunswick, and now it seems Crass is keeping the gays cramming into that beer garden and spilling drinks on the dance floor. Despite being huge, when the Bendigo gets going, it gets full and it goes hard.
As well as gay parties, the pub also hosts a good line-​up of local and touring roots and rock’n’roll bands — it’s a stomping ground for the rockabilly crowd as well as up-​and-​coming singer-​songwriters. In some senses, it’s a home to the outcast — albeit a home that looks like a pub from the set of a German Disney fairy tale (Alice In Hoegaarden).
There’s also a small bottle shop at the front for takeaways, a pool table and a function room for hire upstairs.

CRASS!!!
I ventured to the Bendigo last night with some mates for Crass! A queer-​alternative event hosted by Bendigo.
Bendigo has played host to a-​many gay and lesbian events in the past. BH is all about having a great night out, the venue is always packed, drinks are cheap and theres enough room for everyone.
A great place to kick the night off is at BH for they have always have awesome acts, live music and or DJ’s; you’re always kept entertained.
Theres a large courtyard out back for the smokers and large wooden tables and chairs for larger groups.
On entrance to BH you will find a very small room with a tiny bar and pool table, this is the lobby-​like area before going to the ‘paid’ room. Through a curtain you will find the opening to the rest of the spacious venue.
I do admit, its a tad frustrating that there is only two small bars for the entire venue (two bars altogether, one in the small lobby-​like area and the other in the paid area) but theres usually enough staff to cover the crowd so you’re not waiting too long to down that pint.