Benchwarmer

Probably my new favourite place in Melbourne! Absolutely loved our Saturday afternoon here yesterday. Awesome line up of craft beer on tap, and a well stocked fridge for take away and also for drink in.

The food was perfect, we pretty much tried a bit of everything this with the stand out being the brisket and the egg

Really great neighbourhood vibes, friendly and knowledgeable service. The venue has many sears to hang too, outside seating, the main beer hall, a barrel room, some alley way booths and then more tables in a sunny courtyard out back. Lots of merch and some board games as well, this place has it all!

Variety of beer collections!
Keep coming back again and again
Really knowledgeable staff

September 2023

Called in for a beer here one sunny afternoon.

The service is nice, and they have a great core range of beers on tap and in the fridge.

The beers are not cheap, and they don't serve pints or pots.

That aside, it's a craft beer place, and you get what you pay for. My stout was good.

This place is easy to find on Victoria Street, with tram access almost at the front door.

Benchwarmer is a reliable favourite for date nights. The mixed yakitori sets make decision making easy and the karaage is always bang on. Top it off with a great drinks selection and you've got a winner.

Everything here is super good! Beer, food, decoration, music and staff. First time in Melbourne and that was my favorite place. Well done!:)

Went there yesterday and the had a mountain culture tap take over! They serve Japanese share food which is a good touch with craft beer.

Our new meet-up place. Great snacks and a variety of drinks: spiced sake, mulled wine, craft and specialist beers on tap.

A great place to hang with friends and enjoy a great range of beers and snacks. Compliments to the chef - I loved how tasty every dish was and their beautiful presentation. Good serves at decent prices.
Front staff were friendly and super helpful.
Decor was minimalist with a few funky touches. Relaxed ambience inside and outside patio with cool tunes playing.
Bonus points for the many board and card games, non alcoholic beers, and being dog-friendly.

Great place to hang and try some different beers. Staff are friendly and know their stuff. 'Things on sticks' and snacks were super tasty and a perfect match for beer drinking.

3.5 stars I love the service here, everyone is very friendly and laid back. However I am here for the food and while I understand this is a bar + snacks kinda place and they encourage you to drink, the food is so salty. Salty food = drinking more, I get that, but this is bordering ridiculous. All the food are beautifully cooked, just so so so so so salty, almost to a point I feel a stroke coming on

I really liked my umeshu and hubby really loved his Yuzu beer and we would highly recommend the calamari, which seemed to be the less salty one out of all of the food that we ordered.

Food was great but not the service, slow and terrible bar staff.

We felt not welcomed when we asked the bar staff for recommendation from the tap. The bar staff forgot our drinks even it’s not busy at the time we were there. We ordered a few drinks and dishes from the menu and only one dish from a cafe next door since we were told from the cafe owner that there was an arrangement between the two stores that we could have food from them. Only to get told and “educated” later by the same bar staff that we couldn’t. She didn’t need to give us a lecture about the matter, there’s a friendlier nicer way to talk to customers.

We often joke this is the middle stop on our Melbourne Sake crawl. (Between Summers Garden Bar and SakeDokoro).
They have beer and sake on tap, and a casual assortment of craft beers in the fridge for drink in or take away.

The food is small to medium share plates, that you can order at the counter or via the QR code. (The karage is always fresh and tasty).
Outback is a undercover enclosed balcony space with greenery and chairs for larger groups, where as inside is better suited to standing and small groups.

Love this place! Always a well thought out selection of beers on tap and even more in the fridge. As a picky beer lover, I am overwhelmed with choice (in a good way). The kitchen staff work hard to produce incredibly tasty and well priced food, and the floor staff are always so chirpy - it must be a great place to work!

Was good not now

I understand that they need to cut down the menu but its got no touch to it any more.

Honestly the only good thing was the pickles.

It felt like the staff are happy and nice but don't really care about the business and its just a fun hangout place where they get paid to be.

I hope it makes a big change

This was a nice chilling place for drink, so warm and cosy.also they are so funny and chatty too
love to sitting at the back drinking and chilling.art on the wall was awesome.

One of the best hidden gems of West/North Melbourne! Great selection of beers, paired with delicious yakitori and the friendliest staff.
No matter the day of the week or weather outside, always a good vibe

Great selection of beers from mini to micro brewery. You will see some beer selections that you dont normally see at other bar.

Massive range of beers with incredible livery. The designs are often more alluring than the flavours.

A very extensive range of beers and unique delicious food. I would suggest you visit with an empty stomach so you can sample as much as possible!

This place is awesome. Great choice of beers, rotating tap beers and a large selection of local and imported craft beer in the fridge. It has an amazing Japanese food menu too, kudos to the chef each and every time!