THE YORKSHIRE HOTEL

48 Hoddle St, Abbotsford - ph: (03) 9417 3088

We found the Yorkshire Hotel when searching on Urbanspoon for the highest rated sports bars around Richmond.

The Yorkshire is very much in the style of The Grand in Burnley St.  It's a reasonably traditional pub with a gastronomically slanted menu that focuses on reinterpretation of classic pub favourites.  Unlike The Grand, however, there were few people there on a Saturday night, which we found puzzling at first.

View from the bar section

We weren't able to sit in the dining room as we needed a view of the TV, but it's fair to say that the holes in the roof, makeshift lighting and general lack of upkeep did not bode well.  

ONCE A TAILOR - Autumn menu launch party

We were invited by Harvey Publicity to sample the new autumn menu at Once a Tailor cafe & restaurant in Hawthorn.

Hubby had been to Once a Tailor before where he learned more about the cafe's history and concept.

Tonight's event was pretty different from the one he attended. Foodies and friends mingled over canapes, cocktails and great live jazz with Darren Percival, finalist from The Voice 2012.

Live jazz with Darren Percival

THE NATIONAL HOTEL

344 Victoria St Richmond
9429 8811

Richmond has pretty much everything, particulary pubs and Asian restaurants.  So how do you stand out from the crowd?  Buy a pub and turn it into a pseudo Asian restaurant!

The National Hotel resides at the less well travelled end of Victoria St on the eastern side of Church St and is surrounded by terrace houses, an aquarium, hairdressers and furniture shops.  It looks relatively 'Richmond Pub' on the outside, but I was very surprised when we entered.  The fitout is extremely industrial, but in a polished way and to be honest, there are only a select few pubs in Richmond that can boast atmosphere on school night, the National was buzzing!

THE GRAIN STORE

517 Flinders Lane, Melbourne - ph: (03) 9972 6993

We were lucky to get invited to the launch party of The Grain Store - a new cafe, dining & bar at the Spencer St end of the CBD.  Owner Eleena Tan and Chef Ingo Meissner, partners in another venture in Footscray have decided to move closer to town, bringing a much needed freshness to the 'other' end of the city.

The concept for The Grain Store is, as the name hints to, rustic, traditional and healthy fare crafted through the lens of Ingo's classical French technique.

FOURTH BROTHER

779 Glenhuntly Road, Caulfield - ph: (03) 9530 0444

I stopped by Forth Brother for a quick week day lunch. The cafe is tiny, but looked pretty good from the street and was highly rated on urbanspoon. Why not?

Lunch display

PINO'S TRATTORIA

29 Thompson Avenue, Cowes, Phillip Island - ph: (03) 5952 2808

Hubby is always raving about Pino's Trattoria whenever he comes back from yet another biking adventure in Phillip Island.