Young Street Tavern — Restaurant in Melbourne

Humdinger has the potential to be one of the best venues in Frankston and a must-stop in for those on their way down the Peninsula for the weekend.

It's a good sized venue, however none of the owners seem to know what to do with it. There is no atmosphere that makes you want to stay past the time it takes to get a meal and finish it and charging $11 a beer (Fact: Bad Shepherd American Ale only costs $5 per stubby to buy from the liquor store, $4.50 if buying four or more) is a ludicrous mark-up.

I've never quibbled with the price of the food, however even that seems to have had some increases since the last visit and wasn't as tasty as previous visits. Southern Fried chicken was dryer than what the kids who work at the KFC are serving up, for a $13 side dish it wasn't up to scratch.

The background noise (because frankly "Aqua" isn't music it's a joke that should have stayed dead in 1997) is just that, grating, irritation that sees you smashing your food as quickly as possible in order to get out.

Note to the young fella cranking Linkin Park on a Friday night, you are not creating atmosphere.

I find the table staff pleasant and the time the food comes out reasonable, but really, when the place is so dead, it should be a none issue.

Given the money the new owners have spent on the business, I hope they can really make a go of it. Because Humdinger certainly has potential, it just needs to be a lot more consistent food wise and more inviting.

I'd suggest the owners and staff do some reconnaissance missions to Bad Shepherd (386 Reserve Road, Cheltenham) since they make Humdingers house beer, you might as well have a good look at their set up and try their fantastic food, then venture across to Fat Bob's Bar and Grill (80A Cochranes Road, Moorabbin) before a final stop in up while up that way to the Grape and Grain Liquor Cellars (14/16 Station St, Moorabbin). There's a whole world of craft beer out there and if you're gonna stitch patrons up at $11 a beer it might as well be something they can justify the price tag of.

Locally a visit to Red Gum BBQ (87 Arthurs Seat Road, Red Hill) wouldn't go astray because given your location and proximity to the Frankston Arts Centre, you could certainly be a family favourite if you're able to create the sort of welcoming environment that sees this place packed out on a regular basis.

I wish you luck, will be back to see how you're tracking in...

I've had a love-hate relationship with Humdinger since moving to Frankston around 5 years ago.

We'll start with the good things. Absolutely love the location, I live at the top of Kars Street, so it's piss easy to walk home after you've had a few too many. The building and the internal decor are really cool, I love how old the building is and yet the decor is so modern.

Here are the things that both good and bad. Love going here for trivia night. Though the hosts that they've had are almost always late to the trivia night. I don't really enjoy getting home at 11pm on a Wednesday because the trivia host was late. They sometimes have a good selection of beers, and I've tried a few new ones that I hadn't seen any where else. Though they always seem to run out of beer on the tap, or the tap beer is either flat as a tack, or it's incredibly foamy.

Now for the bad things about this place, and the absolute reason it only deserves one star at the moment. The food here is absolutely terrible... I went here last night, after not going for over a year due to disgusting food. I was hoping that their food would have improved in my absence, instead it was worse than ever. I ordered the heat burger, which used to be amazing and have a proper meat patty. Only to be served something with what can only be described as cat food molded into the shape of a 'meat' patty. Let's be honest, it probably was cat food, because that's how it tasted. It seems that every time we come, the food is always different, like they always have a new chef. There is always something disgusting about the food.

This is pretty consistent with how their food is overall.

Owner, if you're reading this. You're wasting the chance to become one of the best venues in Frankston by consistently hiring the wrong staff, inconsistencies with your beer, and most importantly, serving horrible food. Or perhaps you are the reason that patrons always leave Humdinger with a disgusted look...

Forget your polished, inner-city pretenders. The Young St Tavern ain't here for your delicate sensibilities.

This is a joint that breathes deep the smoke-filled air of a thousand late nights, where the echoes of last call mingle with the clatter of a kitchen still slinging plates long after polite society has tucked itself in. It’s got that raw, unapologetic swagger of a true workingman’s refuge, a place where the sweat is real and the good times, however fleeting, feel earned.

Stepping into Young St is like stumbling into a forgotten corner of a great rock and roll track – a little fuzzy, a little distorted, but utterly authentic. The recent "renovations" haven't scrubbed the soul out of the place; they've merely buffed the edges enough to let the genuine grit shine through. The atmosphere is thick, heavy with the murmurs of local legends and the clinking of glasses. It's not trying to be anything it's not, and that, brother, is its true genius.

The band playing tonight, some local outfit churning out bluesy Americana, were a perfect fit for the joint. They weren't virtuosos, not by a long shot, but they had heart, they had a rhythm section that pounded like a late-night headache, and they played with a conviction that cut through the beer-fueled chatter. It was the kind of performance that reminded you why you came to these places in the first place: for the noise, for the release, for the feeling that anything could happen.

And the grub? This is honest, gut-filling fare. The Lasagna Schnitzel (yeah, you read that right) is a glorious, unholy union of Italian comfort and Aussie pub grub, a true Frankenstein’s monster of flavour that somehow, impossibly, works. It’s the kind of audacious, slightly mad creation that belongs in a place like this. The BBQ Pork Ribs, slicked with that bourbon and coke glaze, were sticky, messy, and exactly what you needed to soak up another round

Five out of five...