Pub:  The Clare
Where:  421 Rathdowne St., Carlton  
Phone:  9347 8171
Date:   27 November 2009
Score:   14/20

To the final review of 2009, and a short pause to remember that this is my 15th year of talking about pubs on Neil’s program.

No boring reflections on how quickly this time has passed but more to consider this pub, the Clare (aka Clare Castle), as a benchmark on the how the small owner/operator survives and thrives today.

I have spoken about the CC more than any other Victorian pub since 1996, and by my best guess this is the 4th time, the most previous being 2-3 years ago. It was in 1998 under Ray Cook, with a heavy influence of seafood and Italian on the menu that this was the 3AW Pub of the Year.

Day or night, the two roomed hotel buzzed along.  Late in the week the dining room, replete with sporting bric a brac in the dining room, pool table in the front bar was at capacity; local, elderly gentlemen enjoying a game of cards added to the distinctly Carlton influence.

Many owners later (5 or 6?) and their take on how it could be run successfully have come and gone. I suspect that this is the old girls last chance to recapture former glories.  

Ok, a change of name to The Clare.  It still is essentially a two room pub, but now the feel is subdued, without being stuffy.  No pool table in the front bar, more like an ante room at a club with books and games to exercise the mind before having a bit of fizz which, to excess, will undo the good work of the foregoing!

A 200ml/7oz glass of beer is $2.50; a fair buy by any measure.  It is comfortable in the bar with communal tables, leather seating and music played at a sensible level. The publican reminded me of the character “Jim Bacon”, who I think was the guv’nor in the much loved ABC show “Bellbird”.

There is a quaintness and serenity to the Clare and no matter which theme the pub pursues, I have a soft spot for it.

The dining room is rid of all nods to sport, but remains neat and spaciously set out.  Seating maybe 30, the tables are covered with butcher’s paper. The menu is short, interesting and fairly priced, while the wine list does not run to a corporate line.

The kitchen offers different; if a beetroot carpaccio, with goat’s cheese, fetta, watercress and hazelnut dressing @$12 (w/prosciutto14) doesn’t get you thinking, nothing will.  I didn’t try it, but I thought how fascinating to see this in a pub.  

Marinated kingfish, with spinach, shallot and radish was $14,  Silverbeet and goat’s cheese pie with a red pepper sauce was $22.  Again, how interesting.

I liked the idea of the antipasti for 2 - $20 and it arrived on a wooden block (well you would, wouldn’t you?), and was thoughtfully set out.

Not the average whack of greasy meats and roasted capsicum, but 4 smallish pots on the corner of the block, containing a mix of olives, grilled eggplant, marinated field mushrooms (the stand out) and artichoke.  Some slices of air dried beef, prosciutto, and top notch salami with grilled ciabatta completed the package.

The two mains were Rabbit (2 moist pieces of leg and neck) with cannelli beans, olives and roasted tomato ($23) and squid ink tagliatelle with a tomato sugo ($13/19).

The bunny was great, filling, rustic and incredible value.  The pasta was very rich, a little uneven in the cooking though, but a superior dish to its brothers found elsewhere.

Increasingly, smaller pubs are turning to NZ wine for a point of difference and value.  For $30, Kahurangi Estate Riesling from Nelson made a pleasant change to ubiquitous SavBlanc.  I liked very much.

Now there are two matters to consider, the first about the Clare.

I hope the current owners succeed; there is a lot of love in the air and nothing is too much trouble.  It is set out to please, but finding an appreciative audience after many have tried remains the $64 question.

And as for the owner/operator, real challenges lay ahead.  Choices are plentiful for the leisure dollar but the cost of running a pub remains high, compared to say a bar and the inner suburban value of the real estate makes it so tempting to turn a pub into units.

Melbourne needs owner/operators like those at the Clare and the next 12-24 months for this pub and those of its ilk will see them either thrive or perish: for good.

I hope the Clare is around long enough to reap the rewards.

3AW Pub Of The Week 2009

3AW Pub Of The Week is back - and better than ever - on 3AW.com.au. Take the tour through Victoria's best and worst pubs with our expert, Tony Leonard. Click the image on the right to read all of the reviews for 2009.