Pub: Bell Tavern
Where: 1645 Burwood Hwy., Belgrave
Phone: 9754 2222
Date: 9 July 2010
Score: 11.8/20
Internet: www.belltavern.com.au

Every so often, I go to a pub and have no clue how to rate it and the Bell Tavern is that today to the point I don't want to give it a mark.

This is someone’s joy and treasure and I get there, cold call, and try to sum it up.  If you find this review hard to fathom, then putting it into words is equally difficult. So, let's start at the beginning, a very good place to start.

Why the Bell Tavern, a 100km round trip? Can’t really say, other than I haven’t been there before.  The web site?  Well it says it has a TAB (it doesn’t) but that’s a long way to go for a bet.

But wait: Does the lure of a full moon lunch or psychic dinner intrigue me?  It does. Will I be in a bar full of cheese clothed hippies grooving away to Morning of the Earth or frustrated commuters bitching about how full the train is even at Tecoma? To a degree it is the former so away we go.

No pun intended but the Bell Tavern is on the high side of Burwood Rd., Belgrave at an address that is preceded by the number 1645.  I doubt whether any other pub in Victoria has an address so highly numeric, but please send me an email if there is.

It is set on 3 levels, the back door leading to the most unique beer garden in Victoria.  More like a beer passageway, it is home to jam sessions on a Sunday.  I suspect a rollicking time is had by all.

The front bar is where the basic activities take place of drinking and dining.  A pool table is in the middle of the wooden floor and every time a cue fell or ball hit the deck, the noise pierced the room.

To the side there is a quaint dining room/bistro and the food is straight up and down pub grub. There is a really good feel to the Tavern and everyone is at ease.  The bar burger is exceptionally priced between $5-7, depending on what you want on it.

The lady running the pub was lovely. With say, 7 tables and some wooden barrels, there are about 10 places to eat in the bar.  I handed over my credit card and was asked what number table I was on.  As there wasn’t anything to give me a clue, I asked her to choose. (We were a table of 3 in a room that had about 15-20 in there).

She said we could be table 66 and I have no idea why!!

But let’s get to the nitty gritty.  First up the Carlton Draught.  Unless mine and two companions’ taste buds were off at the same time, it lacked a real crispness that this popular tap beer has.

The time taken for the meal to arrive was way lengthy, say 30 minutes, perhaps more,  to produce a parma, steak sanga and a rump and chips. We were one of 3 tables eating at the time.

The food was a hit and miss.

The Mexican Parma, with ham, jalapenos, chips, salad at $22 was a stunner.  The difference was the home made spicy tomato sauce which was a ripper. A beauty, chips hot, nice meal, but the rump ($17), deliberately ordered naked, was bland and stringy for this normally fail safe pub staple.

The ever reliable Pepperjack Shiraz ($32) was correctly priced and is a pub staple, chosen from a wine list that runs to a formula.

Soon enough, time to go and the trek to home commenced, but all the way home the chatter didn’t stop about the pub and how different it was to the many others you might find in the outer ‘burbs. And to that end, it makes it a winner as pubs should be a hub to the community and the Bell Tavern is that.

Why 11.8 as the final mark – Really don’t know.  Am I glad I went?  Probably.

Certainly there aren’t too many like this in Melbourne.

Tony's Pub Of The Week 2010

Tony Leonard is back again this year providing readers with reviews from all the pubs he visits on the Neil Mitchell program every Friday after 11:30am. Your home for all of the reviews - 3AW.com.au/pub2010. More here.