Vic Best nightspots to go in Melbourne

[Bomberboyokay]

Quite liked Lounge for a while. Fondness dropped right off upon realizing we were only going there so some friends could smoke ****ing cigarettes on the balcony with 200 people with the same idea. Standing room only outside one hot night while indoors was half-empty was the tipping point.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Quite liked Lounge for a while. Fondness dropped right off upon realizing we were only going there so some friends could smoke ******* cigarettes on the balcony with 200 people with the same idea. Standing room only outside one hot night while indoors was half-empty was the tipping point.

Yeah it's basically a place to dart and because it's basically closed it, it absolutely ****in reeks. No breeze. It's nice in the arvo when you sit down about 2pm but I wouldn't go there on a Saturday night or anything. Still.

 

[Mofra]

https://www.residentadvisor.net/news/42931

Lounge closing. There you go. It was half-obvious by charging borderline 12 bucks for a schooner of Furphy, but it's still a pretty noted venue and there aren't many RMIT students or young office workers who wouldn't have ended up there longer than they anticipated. What's that about impermanence?

Jesus, I'd forgotten that place was still open.
Especially given Goldilocks (and that bar underneath it) is open so close-by

 

[BotsMaster]

Silent Alarm what do you think of those places that are a bottle shop and bar in one?

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

Just sounded like the owners of the joint want to build something. Whoever runs Lounge will be back somewhere you would think.

Chinese student housing no doubt

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Chinese student housing no doubt

"Manhattan style luxury apartments" = studios and one bedrooms with paper thin walls

 

[Silent Alarm]

"Manhattan style luxury apartments" = studios and one bedrooms with paper thin walls

Studios are sick, love a loft vibe, but only when it's cheap. Which was their initial purpose. But they aren't.

 

[AFDogs]

Where are people going these days?

CQ shut its doors. Can't believe it lasted as long as it did.

 

[JG22]

Where are people going these days?

CQ shut its doors. Can't believe it lasted as long as it did.

Didn’t know that, only temporarily

Republicas usually decent this time of the year but haven’t been down this summer

 

[HahnPremium]

Tikii bar. Swan street between church and burnley street.
Sometimes closed for no apparent reason. sometimes open with nary a soul.
But. I weekend a month (its never stipulated exactly which weekend of the month) shit gets weird.
The closest and most apt description I could give it is that it feels like youre in the David Lynch movie blue velvet.
Very surreal. a genuine across the board range of ages.
You can witness a barely post teenage girl emo chatting to a bloke with a Carmen Miranda headpiece on.
And then inexplicably watch them tango to a strong samba beat.
Mushrooms optional.

 

[Dylan8]

Didn’t know that, only temporarily

Republicas usually decent this time of the year but haven’t been down this summer

Bit quieter with the Espy open

 

[Silent Alarm]

Bit quieter with the Espy open

How is the Espy?

A beer ally said it was pretty crappy. Went to order a bowl of chips and was told to go about two stories higher to do that, then to order beers back downstairs because that bar hadn't opened yet. Apparently feels like The Espy as opposed to the Esplanade, shortened to the Espy. Corporate.

 

[Dylan8]

How is the Espy?

A beer ally said it was pretty crappy. Went to order a bowl of chips and was told to go about two stories higher to do that, then to order beers back downstairs because that bar hadn't opened yet. Apparently feels like The Espy as opposed to the Esplanade, shortened to the Espy. Corporate.

It's alright. Was my choice post work knockoff place for the first couple of months it reopened but I'm a bit over paying 12$ for a pint. Not unusual for the area but. Also probably just burnt it out a bit going heaps.

The music is good. Some new pop stuff but loads of old stuff and not just the overplayed classics but the kinda thing like random Talking Heads songs. Also a decent amount of alternative stuff. Some Wavves track was playing when I popped in the other night.

Haven't gone on a Saturday night though so. Heard the queue is outrageous.

I'd definitely recommend checking it out. Maybe go on a Friday afternoon, check out a few of the bars and stay for the basement gig.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I can't pretend to have seen Rowland S Howard there or anything but it just seems weird it's so fresh, white, and steely. You want that history in the carpet and its initials etched into the tables. I guess that's the way of the modern Australian pub though, really.

It will be interesting to see how the band bookings go. It's okay to get Dan Sultan playing there now but I wonder how much pull it'll have with decent internationals. I'm guessing not a lot. Seems to be competing in size with places like Howler. It's kind of a romantic thing to get the tram down to St Kilda and see a band (I kinda **** with the experience of the Prince Bandroom for shows) so I hope they con a few Laneway-ish sorta sideys but eh I dunno.

Music sounds as about what you want. It stuns me just how terrible most pub music is. It's either the old hag bar manager playing Brown Eyed Girl and Journey or it's just a weeeeeeird mix (my local was playing samba covers of Radiohead's Let Down into Do I Wanna Know – cringe – into some background music Moby b-sides).

 

[NotAMagpieBogan]

Yeah I went to The Espy the other before a gig, not having ever been to it before it closed. Was surprised by the size of it, and I feel like I didn’t see all of it. It is pretty nice though, with a large open spaced bar at the front, a more traditional pub bar, a restaurant and a cocktail bar.

Large food and drink menu, typical city sort of beer list, and average to above average prices.

Interesting mix of people there the night that went. There were the typical pub yobbos, but a fairly large posh crowd as well. A heap of younger crowd like me checking it out for the first time, you could easily work out who they were. It was a stupid hot day as well so there were a bunch of the stereotypical 50 year old leather skinned St Kilda women who had come straight from the beach.

 

[the_interloper]

It's alright. Was my choice post work knockoff place for the first couple of months it reopened but I'm a bit over paying 12$ for a pint. Not unusual for the area but. Also probably just burnt it out a bit going heaps.

The music is good. Some new pop stuff but loads of old stuff and not just the overplayed classics but the kinda thing like random Talking Heads songs. Also a decent amount of alternative stuff. Some Wavves track was playing when I popped in the other night.

Haven't gone on a Saturday night though so. Heard the queue is outrageous.

I'd definitely recommend checking it out. Maybe go on a Friday afternoon, check out a few of the bars and stay for the basement gig.

I went on Friday, packed as ****, lot of dickheads, shit music, shit night basically.

 

[Dylan8]

I went on Friday, packed as ****, lot of dickheads, shit music, shit night basically.

Nice. Yeah. Reckon it'd probably be like that. I generally stick to the public bar and basement and I'm never there at the peak times.

 

[the_interloper]

Nice. Yeah. Reckon it'd probably be like that. I generally stick to the public bar and basement and I'm never there at the peak times.

It did clear out by about 1 or so, pretty insufferable up until then though. Was a fair queue for a while but that died down, i guess people just go there to start the night and head elsewhere.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Kinda got the impression it'd be a $28 parma that's mostly reheated oven fries and a sad limp cohh-salad.

 

[PP34]

Where are people going these days?

CQ shut its doors. Can't believe it lasted as long as it did.

I feel like The Albion probably took away people. That place is packed these days and the bouncers can be absolute pricks about having a guest list and all that rubbish.

How is the Espy?

A beer ally said it was pretty crappy. Went to order a bowl of chips and was told to go about two stories higher to do that, then to order beers back downstairs because that bar hadn't opened yet. Apparently feels like The Espy as opposed to the Esplanade, shortened to the Espy. Corporate.

My first time going to the Espy was in 2014 to see my mate play a small gig there. Seemed like a cool old place at the time. I also like occasionally getting down to places a bit further out like St Kilda for a drink.

I think it's a bad sign when you've got the likes of Bec Judd flogging it on Instagram. I'll definitely end up checking it out but have a feeling it's going to another one of those old joints that's been destroyed and replaced by a place with no soul.

 

[JG22]

Saw Marley Williams had a bit of a fun at the Albion the other weekend

Bouncers were good fellas from my experiences

 

[JG22]

Wonder how the nightlife compares to a really big city like London or New York.

Perhaps in those places you can’t keep on top of the amount of venues and there’d be things happening everywhere, where you don’t get bored of the same joints.

 

[Hawk Dork]

I feel like The Albion probably took away people. That place is packed these days and the bouncers can be absolute pricks about having a guest list and all that rubbish.


My first time going to the Espy was in 2014 to see my mate play a small gig there. Seemed like a cool old place at the time. I also like occasionally getting down to places a bit further out like St Kilda for a drink.

I think it's a bad sign when you've got the likes of Bec Judd flogging it on Instagram. I'll definitely end up checking it out but have a feeling it's going to another one of those old joints that's been destroyed and replaced by a place with no soul.

Kiss of death right there

 

[Silent Alarm]

Yep. Bec ****ing Judd? Maybe the most vacuous thing a world full of untalented, overrated, unlikeable things. Yuck.

The Birthday Party would be roland in their grave.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[PP34]

Saw Marley Williams had a bit of a fun at the Albion the other weekend

Bouncers were good fellas from my experiences

First time I went they were fine. My mate had runners on and they commented he shouldn't wear them here, but they let us in. I actually didn't mind the venue. It was a bit pretentious yes but it was a big space with multiple levels. Top floor would be a great place to unwind with a few beers early in the night, watch the footy and then either head downstairs for some music or go somewhere else.

Second time I went post races we waited for 40 minutes only to be asked at the front by the bouncer if we had a guest list. We didn't, so he kicked us out of the line immediately. Places obviously have always done this but it sort of rubbed me the wrong way seeing as we waited there for so long and it's not really a nightclub. They could have at least had a bouncer or door girl telling people you need a guest list.

Wonder how the nightlife compares to a really big city like London or New York.

Perhaps in those places you can’t keep on top of the amount of venues and there’d be things happening everywhere, where you don’t get bored of the same joints.

Just visited NY recently. NY has a shit ton of bars and clubs. I was only there for 6 nights though so didn't see as much as I would have liked. Big difference between NY and America in general and here is that they finish partying much earlier. I'm so used to Melbourne where I'll be out till late and if in the mood I'll be out til 5am or even way later if we're having a big session. California everything closes at 2-3am. No alcohol after 2am. NY everything closes at 4am. That probably sounds late to some on here, but when you're on holidays and not really caring about waking up at a certain time it creeps up fast.

Kiss of death right there

Yeah I've seen her and a few others going on about it. If they're advertising it then the place is clearly aiming to be something different to what it once was.