Melbourne Places » Port Melbourne

Hotel Albion, Port Melbourne – Great Bar-Food and Good Value Nights.

Melbourne — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:19:39 +0000

The Hotel Albion is said to be ‘recognized as a Port Melbourne Landmark’. I‘m not sure why this is because its architecture is the same as many corner pubs in the area – solid and square with little decoration.

The facade is even plainer than many pubs around Port Melbourne, Albert Park and South Melbourne– see the post on Hotel Nest.

Someone may know something of the Hotel Albion’s history and what makes it remarkable.

It has had a bit of a make-over but it still retains the ‘pub atmosphere’. There is a Bistro Bar, a fine dining area and a room that can be booked for grander functions.

At the moment it is remarkable for its ‘local’s nights’.

On Monday and Tuesday all items on the Bistro Bar menu are $14.50. The menu is on the wall and you order and pay for your food at the bar; Pub style. With a $6.0 glass of the house wine which is better than a lot of house wines you have a meal for $20.50 that is excellent and several cuts above the usual Pub fare.

It is tempting to go for the most expensive thing on the menu, that’s the Steak of the Day usually at $24.00. That is very good and the Hotel Albion makes the best hamburgers I have had for a while. The usual price for a beef or chicken hamburger is $17.50 so not such a great bargain at $14.50 but I love the hamburgers.

The Albion serves superior bar food. On Monday and Tuesday the food looks and tastes like the steal it is. The place obviously employs a good cook.

These meals have all been given a large tick by the diners who ate them and who would order them again.

Grilled Atlantic Salmon with Nicoise Salad.

Steak of the day with mashed potatoes and red wine gravy.

Grilled Chicken, avocado, prosciutto, and salad.

Falafel Vegie Burger, and salad

This is casual eating and on Monday and Tuesday the place is crowded. The Bistro area has groups of locals and families and can be busy and noisy. For some reason the area around the central bar is designated Bistro and Fine Dining. For the cheap Bistro meals you need to sit at a table without a white table cloth. The table cloths are for fine dining and there is a separate menu. This is a nuisance because the tables covered with pristine white starched linen are the ones that are empty.

If you feel like good food, good prices and a local pub atmosphere head for the Hotel Albion at 146 Evans Street; on the corner Raglan and Evans Streets, Port Melbourne.

There is a tram stop outside in the Turner Reserve. You can hop off the tram eat and then jump back on again for a walk around Port Melbourne.

Getting there:-

Tram 109 to Port Melbourne. Get off at stop 127 called North Point. Cross Turner Reserve and you are at the Albion Hotel

Opening Hours:-

Bistro Bar Open from 6.00pm to 9.00pm daily except Sunday when it is closed

Monday and Tuesday are the Local’s Night Special

Antarctica on display in the Foyer of Gasworks Park Theatre – Albert Park

Melbourne — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:32:57 +0000

This photo of penguins in Antarctic by Lisa Davidson is on display in the Foyer of the Gasworks Theatre, Albert Park.

There are two galleries in the Gasworks Theatre. The foyer of the theatre is used for exhibitions and then there is the Angela Robarts-Bird Gallery.

The exhibitions in the foyer rotate regularly usually about every two weeks so it is easy to miss something on the other hand there is always something new to see. The ones in the Robarts-Bird Gallery often last longer. The exhibition at the moment is called Nordic Ecolog, interesting but not as striking as Lisa Davidson’s photos.

Lisa Davidson’s photos were taken on a recent trip to the Antarctic. She traveled there with her mother after her father died of cancer to honour his memory. He had worked as an engineer in that frozen continent in 1970.

The photos fill the theater foyer and are wonderful; evocative of the area and reflect a certain magic which must have been part of the photographer’s experience.

The photos are framed and can be bought framed or unframed with the proceeds going to the cancer foundation.

I particularly liked the way some of them are framed – those I have displayed. The weathered wood some stained and some natural enhances the natural beauty of that untamed environment.

Lisa Davidson has a charming business card featuring a seal – lisadavidson82@gmail.com is a contact for her.

Opening hours 9am to 5pm daily

For gallery contact – Sarah Rainbird
Visual Arts Manager
t: 03 8606 4206
e: sarah@gasworks.org.au

Getting there:

The Number 1 Tram, going to South Melbourne Beach. Get off at the corner of Richardson Street and Victoria Ave, that’s at the Avenue Cafe. Face the beach and walk to your right along Richardson and you’ll be at Gasworks Park in a couple of minutes. To get to the gallery you need to walk to the otherside of the park that is on Graham Street.

Graham Street runs through from Victoria Avenue but only for foot traffic – if you are driving you have to use Pickles or Richardson Street

A French Experience at Noisette’s Port Melbourne

Melbourne — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:09:15 +0000

Winter afternoons are a great time for coffee and cake – well any afternoon but in winter I am more comfortable about indulging myself. A reward for being out and about in the chill of the afternoon.

If you are out and about in Port Melbourne and feel the need for such a reward a great place to go is Noisette Boulangerie Patisserie at 64 Bay Street Port Melbourne. It is a good place to head for after a brisk, chilly walk around Port Melbourne or Beach Road.
People who know says that it has the ambience of France. It is long and narrow and decorated in winey-purple and yellow with wheat as a sort of emblem.

You stand at the counter and gaze at the cakes while you make a decision. I admire the staff’s patience because choice is difficult.

Noisette’s Honeycomb Mousse
This is a conversation I over-head when I was there last time. “Should I have…… no not that one! No, perhaps this one??? What are you having Jude?”

Jude points to a lemon tart.

“Oh I wonder if I want that?.”

There’s not even a sigh from the good looking guy behind the counter. He holds the tongs waiting for her.

“ I’m deciding between the lemon tart and a brownie.. I often have a lemon tart and the brownie looks so good. I just don’t know.”

Perhaps patience only goes so far. “I’d have the brownie if I was you,” said the handsome waiter as his tongs sweep a Brownie out of the display and onto a plate.

The brownie is delicious and heavy with chocolate.

I have lunched and breakfasted here and the food is good. For lunch, filled baguettes, rolls and croissants. Remember they make their own bread so these are special. My favourite breakfast is a bowl of milky coffee (French style) and an almond croissant, full of lovely almond paste.

Noisette Boulangerie Patisserie is a family run business. The family have been in the baking business since 1875. The history is on the wall.

The best tram is the 109 to Port Melbourne. You can pick it up on Collins Street in the CBD and go to the end of the run, then stroll along Beach Road to Bay Street.

Gasworks Art Park, Port Melbourne

Melbourne — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:33:20 +0000

Local Authorities do get it right, sometimes!

They have with Gasworks Park in South Melbourne/Albert Park. It was once the old South Melbourne Gasworks that was decommissioned. In 1992 it became Gasworks Arts Park. This includes a theatre.

The Arts in the title is significant. Art works are on show throughout the park and some of the old buildings from the gas era are used for artists’ studios. Resident Artists can be seen at work by the public.

The locals love the park and they use it. It is dog friendly and even on the coldest day people are around with children and dogs. They can grab a coffee and food at the park’s Café.

Check out the artistic touch to the reminder- notice about picking after your dog. It is just a pity it is hidden away by the sculpture studio where most dogs and owners will miss it.

Large pieces of sculpture can be seen outside the studio.

Take the Number 1 Tram, going to South Melbourne Beach. Get off at the corner of Richardson Street and Victoria Ave, right by the Avenue Cafe. Face the beach and walk to your right along Richardson and you’ll be there in a couple of minutes.