St Arnou Beer Cafe

i really dont like this establishment. ive been twice. once to check it out, and another time to make sure my first impressions were on the money.

this place is more like a crowded cafe that serves beer than a pub or bar. you pay pint prices for pot or schooner sized beers. the food is average and expensive. its loud, hard to move around in and the acoustics are terrible. there is a fair selection of beers, but none of them are particularly good. not only that but i was served the wrong beers twice in one night.

places like this are just trying to cash in on the emergence of 'boutique' beers in this country (they do TAPAS for goodness sake). its nothing more than a yuppie style pub for people who think beers like becks and stella are cutting edge. at least a place like transport that is trying to be trendy has a good range of beers served in an environment vaguely resembling what it should. its just not worth the effort.

St. Arnou Brewhouse & Restaurant

Hidden in plain sight on Little Collins Street, this is a great place to stop in and have a few beers you’re not going to find anywhere else in Melbourne. Perhaps it’s too well hidden, since every one of the handful of times I’ve been here, the bar’s been nearly empty. The menu looks quite good, but I haven’t had a mean yet here so I can’t attest to the solid sustenance.
The bar has an old-timey bank feel to it, with beautiful wood paneling adorning the walls and classic lights hanging from the tall ceiling. Contemporary music plays, and there’s a plasma screen TV on the wall, but the place is quiet and relaxing. In my three visits here, I haven’t found the service to be the friendliest or fastest in the world, but I certainly wouldn’t call it slow and rude. More like relaxed and ambivalent.
The bar boasts the full line of St. Arnou beers: Pale Ale, Pilsner, Premium Blonde, Kildara and St. Cloud. They’ve also got a good assortment of bottle beers: everything from Australian staples like Carlton to the premium Aussie brews of James Squire, Little Creatures, and Mountain Goat. The bar also carried standard imports as well as Belgians like Chimay, Duval and Leffe. Bottle prices are a little above average, but the real deal is to be found in the St. Arnou taps. There’s also about 30 selections of wine on the menu, but wine is not my specialty. I’m a beer guy. (some call us ‘alcoholics.’ It’s all semantics.)
If you’re working on converting a macroswill drinker into a drinker of real stuff, this might be the right place to start. I have never been offended by a St. Arnou beer. You don’t hear much about this New South Whales-brewed beer, though, Maybe because they don’t bottle. Every beer I’ve had has been pleasant. Granted, some of them leave a bit to be desired, but you certainly don’t feel like you’re drinking preservative-laden adjunct-fortified macrobrew. St Arnou is worth checking out, and probably some of the best value-for-money beer that you’re going to find in Melbourne.

Edit: After reading Diablo's review I felt it important to note that both times I've been to St Arnou were during the daytime. Apparantly the atmosphere of the bar is like night and day (ha!) during the daylight hours. Both times I was the only customer in the place and it was very quiet!

Maybe it was because the house beers I had were terrible, that it clouded my opinion. But I didnt car much for St Arnou Beer Cafe.

First off, it was too far from the center of Melbourne. Which means if you want to go there, its pretty much out of your way.

I was there a Saturday night. The atmosphere was pretty good, and the service was ok. The guys who were serving me, one guy was great and knew his beers, the other guy wasn't so crash hot. Maybe he was new.

Anyway, I'm going to go again, when it isn't so busy. Hopefully the house beers might taste a bit better. They do have a good bottle selection though. A bit pricey. But all city pubs are.