The Cricketers Port Melbourne — Restaurant in Melbourne

Summary: 4.4. Superior dining. Gastropub quality. Classy and comfortable interiors over multiple spaces. Great courtyard. Excellent food at very good prices. Extensive wine list too. It’s a great place. Basically, I wish it was my local!

Review:

Honestly, the gems you can find in Melbourne if you go looking. The Cricketers is tucked away nicely in the back streets of Port Melbourne. It is very well worth seeking out. The place looks enticing from the outside and it is most pleasant inside. We found ourselves a cosy spot to sit inside at the back facing the bar. The space is mighty impressive. The colour scheme is a beautiful two tone blue and white combination. It works wonderfully and the area really is superbly fitted out. There are several other well fitted out rooms at the front as well. They’re similarly well decorated and arranged. The hotel also has a tremendous courtyard area. It’s open but with plenty of shade available. It was seriously going off out there on a hot day like today.

We had a soothing G&T to start. What a great drink. House gin but still excellent. The drink had lovely presentation with added dehydrated orange and strawberry slices. The drink was served in a beautiful Beefeater glass. This was an impressive start.

The menu here is good with ample choice including from the specials’ board. There’s also lunch specials at an incredibly low $17 a meal. So, overall the food seemed very reasonably priced here across the board to me. The wine list is also very impressive with pages and pages of good wines available. There are ample by the glass options too.

I had the crisp skinned barramundi for main course. This dish comes with beurre blanc, tomato and rosemary marmalade, broccolini and parsley and orange salad. The skin was thrillingly crisp. The fish itself was also beautifully cooked. All the flavours worked in harmony. I loved the slight firmness left in the broccolini too. Overall, this is a lovely dish.

I ordered one side. I wish I’d ordered another actually as it’s one of my all time favourite sides. It’s the char grilled Brussel sprouts with bacon. It’s not always on the menu I was advised and was therefore a special only today. This dish is incredible!! I love Brussel sprouts but they need to be cooked skillfully. I’ve never tasted anything like how they were done here. I’d cross town and keep coming back here for this dish alone.

My partner had several entrees. Calamari which was crispy and tender and a very generous serve. I had some and agreed it was excellent. The dish also had a little salad which was terrific. It even had a little maple syrup in the dressing which gave it a soft sweetness. My partner also had an Angus beef slider which she found a little over seasoned but otherwise good. To these she added the mixed greens with parmesan and slivered almonds. It was a delicious salad again with the same smoky syrup dressing as the other salad had.

The Cricketers is a terrific place. Great food and wine in lovely surroundings. The only sad thing is that it’s not my local so I could pop in at any time. That said, it is very well worth travelling to at any time.

Our sincere thanks to the Cricketers for the invitation to...

We an early family Christmas lunch yesterday. Because we been there several times in past years (being walking distance for us) we thought that would be an excellent choice. There were nine of us (four under 18) and we were seated at the beautifully appointed bistro. From all appearances, a very classy establishment with an abundance of well presented staff and tastefully decorated rooms. That's where it ended. We had to request water, then the drinks menu, then the food menu. There were no individual menus describing the dishes, but a large hand-written board (counter meal style) which I had to leave my seat to go up and read. Everyone had to ask something about each meal including what came with it. The lovely (but totally inefficient and/or totally untrained) girl had no idea about it & had to bring in another girl to assist. It was bedlam. I requested hot vegs with my salmon as it came with salad. It was a bowl of greens - very nice but not what I expected. One dish was incorrect and had to be returned and another who ordered the only red meat dish available was told AFTER everyone else had been served, that they didn't even have any steak! At this stage, he gave up and had an antipasto (of a small part of it). It would also lift the standard somewhat if a freshly baked dinner roll with curled butter was on our side plates, instead of slices of breadstick and foiled butter in a 'basket' - doesn't look good on a white linen table setting! I was so disappointed and annoyed about whole thing. We were given a complimentary glass of wine for the three adult drinkers by way of an apology, but it certainly didn't lessen the poor experience.

On the good side: probably amongst the most delicious food (my salmon was awesome) and the nicest dessert of creme caramel with ginger flavour. I would have given five stars for the food alone. Well done to the Chef etc. If management lifts their game on training staff, this place would be...

On a quiet side street in Port Melbourne, lies the Cricketers - walking past the Cricketers, you wouldn't know there's a pub inside. Blink and you may miss on something pretty special.... Howzat!

There are two reasons why I loved this place -

1. happy hour cocktails! We got $10 cocktails - and they happen from 3-7pm most nights - that's pretty special.
2. the vibe, it feels like the locals choice for a family dinner, or an afterwork spot, or somewhere to meet a group of friends. It is what the title says - a neighbourhood eatery.

There's lots of nooks, and breakaway spots - you can sit by the fireplace, or the sitting room at the front, but we sat out the back where it has the modern outdoor pub vibe. Walking through the door, it knocked me out for six.

I was invited to try their menu. The food is traditional pub fare, but it ups the ante. Their regular menu looks pretty good, but as a general rule, I like to do the specials because you get to see their creativity. My friend had the pork schnitzel and I had the meatball & shittake mushroom chicken parma. Both were delicious. Particularly the pork schnitzel -it should be on the main menu. Large generous portions, it feels like a good family pub dinner. We also had the mac and cheese, and the fruit tart (also a special) for dessert. Boonie would be satisfied.

If I lived in Port Melbourne, I would certainly be here most weeks, but I'll probably be making an effort straight down the cover drive to return here for a Sunday sesh, or a Bottomless brunch.

So what's the score? Did it hit the border for a 4? Or did it knock it out of the park for a 6/5? Somewhere between 4 and 5 - so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt - it deserves to stay. I don't like the Cricketers... oh...