Little Creatures Dining Hall
After much anticipation from the Fitzroy and Melbourne beer drinking communities the Little Creatures Dining Hall finally opened on Thursday 3 July 2008 on Brunswick St. I went to try it the next night, and according to staff, they have been overwhelmed by the response. I was informed that on opening night they served over 250 meals and they expected to do as many again on the Friday night when I was there. With that kind of performance they should be profitable sooner than they expected. My first impression was very positive.
The space is large - really large - maybe the largest restaurant in Fitzroy. Its immediate popularity will change the way pubs and cafes around it do business. The local beer blog reports that some nearby pubs have stopped stocking Little Creatures beers in response to the new competition.
You enter through the wide central corridor that was the gate of the original stables. Along the left side is a long bar, and at the very front is a small bottle shop and cafe area with coffee machine. There are deep booths along the right side and a variety of individual and communal tables in the middle. The open kitchen is at the back.
The food is smart pub food similar to what is served in their original Fremantle premises (where I used to spend a lot of time). Pies, pizzas, and pub staples like nachos, lamb shanks and fish and chips. We ordered the hot chips with mayonaisse to start with, followed by nachos and the chicken and leek pie with coleslaw. The chips were yummy but a little soggy.
The nachos were great, with loads of delicious fresh guacamole with just the right amount of lime in it, but due to the generous amount of topping the chips underneath also became a little soggy. The pie was exceptional and the coleslaw fresh and crunchy. The relish served with it was amazing - tangy, sweet and a lovely counterpoint to the savoury pie.
Given the crowds, the service was excellent. The staff appear very helpful and must have been well trained, because although they honestly admitted to being overwhelmed by the number of customers, they coped very well. The slightly soggy chips can be excused and I am sure the initial problems they were experiencing will soon be fixed.
The main issue facing the staff was a ‘computer says no’ problem whereby almost every bill was coming out wrong. We were charged for four glasses of wine when only having ordered two. The waiter was used to the problem by the time we got our bill and it was fixed quickly and with a smile. Everyone around us, young and old, gay and straight, customers and staff, all seemed to be enjoying themselves and were excited to be a part of this new Brunswick St experience.
The wine list is generous by the bottle and modest but well focused by the glass, with many Yarra valley and King valley favourites and few non Victorian wines. This alone show how Little Creatures is trying to fit into Melbourne. Their own beer is of course wonderful, but has been available here for some time and is actually the least novel part of the dining hall.
Underground wines are among our most preferred wines - their moscato and rose are wonderful, as is their sadly discontinued experimental moscato rosso (we were given a free sample bottle when we last bought up at the cellar door in January). This time I had the Dal Zotto barbera from the King valley, which went well with the pie and is nearly as good as the excellent King River Estate barbera.
The environment and culture constructed by Little Creatures is also worthy of comment. The walls above the booths feature a sequence of paste-ups illustrating the beer making process. This mimicry of Fitzroy street art is impressive and clever. A patch of blackboard paint on the entrance wall hints at further interactive community initiatives - bikes to ride. I’m looking forward to trying them! There is even an indoor bike rack.
There are some more photos on Flickr courtesy of Ith. Finally, they have a groovy retro VW parked out the front. Little Creatures is a significant addition to Fitzroy and I expect to be returning soon to see if the pizzas are as good as they used to be in Fremantle.
Posts you may find relevant and interesting
- Little Creatures: how soon is soon?, 16 June 2008
- Najla Cafe, 27 May 2007
- Little Creatures is coming, 13 August 2007
- $5 pizza at the new Royal Derby Hotel, 8 November 2008
- Little Creatures coming sometime this decade…, 30 April 2008
July 7th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Looks great. How was the beer collection?
July 8th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Yeah, I popped in Friday night for a gander as well, loved it, great vibe and airy feel. Reminded me of the large gastropub chains in the UK, they were always barn like as well with long tables and bench seats.
I didn’t eat, just a glass of wine before heading ’round the corner for dinner. Business wise didn’t impact us at all, we were full (in and out), which is great…the more the merrier…will try and eat there next week.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Actually I’ve just realised I’m in the background in one of the pics…Fitzroy, it’s a small world eh? 2nd pic down, to the left, facing to the right, dark top white t-shirt under, with my back to the bar. Fame at last!
July 8th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Hi Davy, agreed, I come to see you at The Commoner for an intimate dinner, which you won’t get in the biggest new venue in town! Your food is in a different league too. I’ll be keen to see how Little Creatures affects the food pubs from the Rose to the Napier though.