The Thousands

I must admit, I was less than confident as I approached the Carlton Draught-clad exterior of the Victoria Hotel, a classic pub frontage that you might charitably describe as ‘inauspicious’.

But, in a sensible move, it seems new owner Gin – in her first solo project after years of dutiful employ at Brunswick icon A Minor Place – has decided to forego the Vic’s familiar old man pub vibe in favour of a welcome degree of grandmotherly chic. Which is to say, the overarching sense I picked up from the interior was that grandma’s living room had just been invaded by grandma’s potted backyard, and now the two were cohabiting side by side in brownish-green, Salvos-sourced homeliness. If they served hot toddies the effect would be uncanny.

There’s also a soon-to-be-active bandroom off to one side, an expansive summer-ready beer garden out the back, and a smattering of Max Design ‘n Shit‘s animals-as-humans paste-ups to round the decor out.

Sitting a few minutes walk from Sydney Road, and a solid caber toss from Brunswick Station, the Victoria Hotel should become a much needed new point of alcoholic pride for those long neglected folks of the Brunswick/West region.