There are a few draw backs to this place: a bit of a surly TAB crowd, an all-too inclusive 'local'…read morevibe, and you're guaranteed a few lingerers around the periphery. Equally, there are pluses: hearty pub food, warm lounge bar in winter, friendly staff, and (most importantly) they show live music. I will never begrudge any place that supports the live local music scene, so the Clifton Hill Hotel gets my (albeit small) tick of approval. They don't show the kind of stuff I'm really into, but they do cater to a slightly older (forty-something) audience and in doing so, they do the youngsters the service of keeping these folk out of the trendier bars in the area. So, whippersnappers, before you roll your eyes and go 'what a shit hole, I wouldn't be caught dead in that joint', spare a thought for your future drunk-arsed self and imagine the kind of haunts you'll be patronising. If it is to be the Clifton Hill, you're future's not as bad as it could be.

The first time I came here years ago there wasn't all that much about this place that impressed me,…read morethough it was a pub, it served beer, and that pretty much satisfied me. However that was when I first came to Melbourne so I hadn't caught onto the bar scene yet. Over the few years my tastes have changed, and so has this pub. What used to be a standard pub has been transformed into a craft beer bar and micro-brewery. I have to say that it is a pretty cool place to grab a beer, especially with their various options available. They also have a pool table, a small beer garden, and seating out the front (and well as a fancy looking restaurant). What is also cool are the huge vats sitting in the middle of the pub. I have to admit that this is a pretty cool place.

First off, i need to say im giving 3 stars because yelp doesnt offer halves (would have been 2.5)…read morebut, the staff were lovely. Met some friends for drinks and dinner before heading to the comedy lounge on a tuesday night. So, no happy hour was a downer but we had heard Tuesday was steak night....so...trade off... Now...the steak, $17 =win...and it was tasty....BUT...it was fatty and chewy =lose. So, like i said, middle of the road score but not too bad.

Well, here is a secret pub hidden away in the backstreets of North Melbourne. In fact I was under…read morethe impression that I have visited all of the pubs in North Melbourne. Turned out that I was wrong - I hadn't. Anyway this is a pretty nice, and quiet, place to grab a drink after work, though it is a bit of a hike to get to (though the tram stop is near by). Being out of the way of most of the main throughfares means that it isn't going to be all that packed. While it isn't one of my favourite pubs (especially since I don't head down this way all that often) it is still a nice place to go and grab a beer. Oh, they also have a player piano (or they did the last time I was here).

I'm not really all that sure about this pub. The first time I wandered past it there didn't seem to…read morebe all that much about this place. In fact I think it was closed. However, one Friday night after work, when I was a little bored, I decided to go and check it out again. Well, they had certainly done it up a bit more, namely turning it into a horror themed restaurant and bar. Then again I haven't really been a big fan of those horror themed restaurants and bars. It was nice, and there were some good beers available, but it isn't really a place I'd be hurrying back to any time soon.

This pub has probably the best value meal special in Melbourne - a double cheeseburger with chip…read moreand 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.

This place has changed a lot since I was last here, but then again it might have been the time of…read morenight when I eventually wandered in through the door of the front bar. This time I went into the other section and honestly, I was absolutely amazed. The place was great. They had some decent beers on tap, the staff were really friendly, and they had a pretty cool beer garden out the back as well (though only for the smokers). Yeah, I actually quite liked this pub and should make an effort to come back again.

Decent pub food at reasonable prices. Their parma is well made but not spectacular. The specials…read moreoccasionally have something interesting to offer. They sometimes have live music which totally drowns out any dinner conversation. It's loud enough that you have to shout to the person next to you. I recommend asking to be away from the music when booking a table.

The first question everyone asks when visiting the GB is, "why is there a really bad picture of Mao…read moreTse Tung over a hotel called the Great Britain?" When you explain that it's actually an Indian but that you can't really tell them anything more about him, it doesn't really help clarify the situation. Seriously, I love the GB. It's like a uni bar, only without the pesky undergraduate uni students. It's cheap beer and trivia nights and a dodgy nightclub next door. It's bartender's playing whatever they want on the stereo. They're happy ordering you a pizza from across the road. Nice backyard, too.

Richmond's a weird place. I put it down mostly to the fact that people that live there can't make…read moreup their minds which side of the fucking river they want to be. It's a place for ditherers and I feel the Great Britain Hotel is a bit of a fence sitter of a pub. Sure, it's got heaps of charm and a nice dark griminess to it that I can appreciate, they serve beer and pizza and stuff, but what's so great about it, I'm not really sure. Actually I'm pretty sure it's just not that great. They sometimes show music here and must have had a semi decent booker at some stage because they showed some good bands for a while (Ooga Boogas a special treat). Nowadays, they show the odd bit of live music but the calibre is invariably poor and I can't help thinking they'd be better to either make a real commitment to the stuff, or can it altogether.

The odd thing about this place is that there happens to be a pub in Brunswick West that sort of…read morereminds me a lot of this place. In a way, it feels as if this pub is not only on the opposite end of the city but it is also a mirror image. Well, I just discovered that they also have the same name, so it makes me wonder if there was, at least at one time, a connection between the two. Well, these days, I'm going to have to suggest that this may not be the case but this pub actually turned out to be somewhat better than I actually expected. There were some nice beers on tap, and the service was okay as well. It wasn't great, but it was still rather nice.

I actually really liked this unassuming bar - away from the more touristy, ritzy restaurants in…read moreMelbourne, this place had great bar food, service, prices, and was not too crowded for our large group of 10-12 people. I got the Chicken Parma ($20), which was delicious - perfectly fried and topped with a layer of mozzarella cheese and ham. I was able to sub veggies for the chips / french fries which was greatly appreciated, and it also came with a salad. My friend got the Calamari Salad ($20) - it had nice, long pieces of calamari (probably 6-7 pieces) where you actually felt like you were eating calamari, and not just pieces of fried batter. The salad and fried tortilla bowl were also pretty sizable. We also got the Croquettes ($9) to share, but I would pass on this. It tasted too much like deep fried chicken salad and tasted too much like cream vs. cheese & chicken. Decent sizes, but not really my cup of tea. All in all, great grub / pub food and a nice selection of tapas and entrees to boot. Compared to downtown Melbourne where I was getting used to paying $20 for a small plate of seared tuna, this was a nice change of pace. Good food at reasonable prices and decent portions are all a win in my book.

Hmm... This is a place I really just don't get. This is a fabulous old pub on a highly visible…read morecorner in Fitzroy, yet the focus of the joint has always been kind of skewed towards the sleazy. Used to be that they'd encourage a rugby crowd (they actually still do in a weird way) and that in turn changes the vibe of the place completely. The difference between the Derby and, say, the East however, is that they don't really seem to embrace anything much else. Every time I walk past the Derby I glance inside to see what seem to be the same two old blokes occupying the bar space. The main room is filled with really shitty decor and a half-baked recent renovation did little to raise the aesthetic of the place. Truth be told, this place is a shit hole, has always been a bit of a shit hole and probably will be a bit of a shit hole. If that's your bag, then great, it'll keep you and your friends from all the decent places in the neighbourhood.

I actually love the Royal Derby Hotel. Living about 100 meters away, this place is kind-of my…read morelocal. I had dinner here tonight and it was great. They have $5 Pizza's and $2.50 Pots on a Thursday. The venue is really spacious, has a good sized dance floor, and decent outdoor area. They also run a gay and lesbian event here called 'Danceteria' and it's a lot of fun. It's a $10 cover fee, they play funky electro-indie-pop and have amazing drinks specials ($2.50 Shots). I can usually leave here pretty tipsy and not spend more than $40!

GOOD AVERAGE PUB FARE BUT FABULOUS LIVE BAND...!!!…read more Have been here twice now, in the last few months... The first time, a Sat night, we heard live music, so went in, had a few drinks and shared a couple of items from the snacks menu - mini spring rolls and chicken wings - spring rolls were fresh and crisp with a nice little dipping sauce, the chicken wings, hot and spicy...both around $7.50 each...all good...!!! This next time, a group of us decided to book a table..again a Sat night, again a live band... It was busy...don't think staff were expecting a crowd...am sure they weren't expecting a crowd, cos the full dining room was definitely too much for them to handle.. Hey, it's okay - they just got to learn.. Anyway it took a long while to get our mains...a very long while...nonetheless when they came - Pasta Carbonara was generous and tasty, Fish Chips & Salad was just what the 'doc had ordered', Chicken Parma's were well cooked, juicy and the meat was thicker than the crumb, Salt & Pepper Squid was the real thing...all good... eventually... finally... Oh, and they were all around the $15 mark..which was pretty okay.. No complaints there..!! What was fantastic was the band - 4 hours of live loud 70's and 80's Aussie Rock - From Australian Crawl to The Angels to AC/DC - Crowd loved it - We loved it... Fabulous band - 'No Soup For You'... A new group, apparently - Four 50's something life-hardened Rock Angels... With one mean playing bass guitarist and another harmonica virtuoso.. These guys are all passion... Well worth a look in and well worth the long wait on those mains... Look, when these guys are playing, we will all definitely be there - to eat, drink...and have a really memorable night....!!! Visited Sat 5th Sep 2015 as part of a group of friends for Dinner

Good solid pub food which is conveniently priced. I had the fennel Pork sausage which came with a…read moregenerous serve of chips and salad ($12). It's counter service. You order and they give you a buzzer to tell you it's time to collect. You can get drinks, but you have to go around to the front bar of the pub. All up it was a good cheap outing for the family. I'd go back for s