The Cricketers
69 Cruikshank Street, Port Melbourne Tel. 9646 3306 www.thecricketers.com.auSearch for more pubs, bars and nightclubs
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Venue type: Pub
Review: Mark Davies
It's always lovely to turn down a residential street and find a warmly lit, cosy pub. It's a lovely looking traditional pub, too, with a charming exterior.
Step inside and you're home. The feel of warmth, lighting just at the right level, and that thick carpet. A fireplace in the winter.
Towards the front of the building, the pub is divided into two separate sides. One is the dining room, the other the quaint public bar area.
The public bar is smallish, with red brick and wood walls. It's a friendly atmosphere for a beer, and we'd say the snuggest in Port Melbourne.
Further down into the building things suddenly become modern. A funky, but dim, lounge area serves the younger crowds just perfectly. Footy on the TV on the weekends seals the deal.
If you're the English pub type, and need your pub traditional, homey and creaky, the Cricketers Arms Hotel it should be.
Step inside and you're home. The feel of warmth, lighting just at the right level, and that thick carpet. A fireplace in the winter.
Towards the front of the building, the pub is divided into two separate sides. One is the dining room, the other the quaint public bar area.
The public bar is smallish, with red brick and wood walls. It's a friendly atmosphere for a beer, and we'd say the snuggest in Port Melbourne.
Further down into the building things suddenly become modern. A funky, but dim, lounge area serves the younger crowds just perfectly. Footy on the TV on the weekends seals the deal.
If you're the English pub type, and need your pub traditional, homey and creaky, the Cricketers Arms Hotel it should be.
Outdoor Area / Beer Garden
In a rather beer gardenless suburb, a stroke of luck: a fantastic beer garden complete with bar and TVs.
Second Opinion
The name says it all - this charming pub is full of the expected cricketing paraphernalia and bonhomie. It has a great beer garden and a quiet and quaint dining room.
Julie Whiting
Readers' Reviews
The "Hole in the Wall" is the colloquial name for this idyllic, inner suburban pub. It is the pub of everybody's dreams; a warm and convivial front bar inhabited by actors and local, long-standing habitue from the docks and neighbourhood (the spirit of former No 1 patron, Maurie Fields, lives on). The dining room is cosy tribute to its Victorian-era heritage and inviting. The food has a tradition of being very appetising and reasonably priced, through the various succession of publicans - the current host has taken this tradition forward, with a slightly more modern, fine dining bent. A newly renovated back bar is a credit to good architecture and ideal for a "lounge" atmosphere, without the contraints of the new "bloody minimalism: The beer garden is perfectly laid out for a lazy summer evenings imbibing and incorporates a "barby".
In short, it is the kind of pub that you would kill for and in the past some of the local patrons would have accommodated such a notion. However, put this pub on your must do list. Having done it once, it might become a pleasant habit.
In short, it is the kind of pub that you would kill for and in the past some of the local patrons would have accommodated such a notion. However, put this pub on your must do list. Having done it once, it might become a pleasant habit.
Ken Fargher, St Kilda, 02/04
Some trivia to bring up at the bar... My dad was in the navy and told me that when the ship would dock in Port Melbourne, the sailors would usually end up (after curfew) at the 'Hole In The Wall'. It was given this nickname because there literally was a hole in the back wall that the sailors could escape through when the bar was raided by MPs or police.
Simon, Port Melbourne, 07/04
The Cricketers is a place to call home. The people are friendly and the food is great. After a couple of visits you are no longer a stranger. When you walk into the pub side you have a warm and inviting atmosphere. It is cozy with a lovely wood bar that travels the length of the room. There are a couple of tables in the back if you prefer to sit and a large open fireplace, perfect for taking the chill off. If you go into the other side there is a quaint dining room, the kitchen, and then a more modern lounge dining area. In the back is a large outdoor area with heaters to make it usable year round. A great place to call your second home as we did for the few months we lived there.
Christina, Michigan, USA, 09/04