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Warren View Hotel

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

A decent pub makes you feel warm and happy. And this smells like a decent pub - the scent of old pub carpet, pies and - what is it? Gin, probably: it still smells like a place to call home. There's none of that nonsense about unisex toilets here, no particular door policy, no gimmicky wallpaper, and there's no trickery with the menu - $5 steaks - count me in! The staff are just lovely and gorgeous (in the kitchen as well, and that does not, happen too often), and even the general manager can lay claim to some human qualities. This is a venue verging on the cuddly.

It makes your heart sing to see the overhead plasma TV having its channels changed with a pool cue by an agile and accommodating member of staff, and there is something almost holy in the slightly faded decor. Get to the beer garden with your ridiculously cheap steak or pasta or whatever, and wonder why the Warren View is called that - you don't get much of a view of anything unless you stand on your chair. But who cares? The beer garden is good for everyone, including children, the interior can take the place of a hundred stress counselors and the staff, while they don't actually give neck rubs, will make you feel wanted, needed and loved.

One possible cloud on the horizon is the planned refurbishment - they're moving the kitchen - or at least that's what they'll own up to. By all means move the kitchen, but please, please don't fix the remote for the TV, and don't go shopping for any chrome furniture and don't clean the carpet. An ambience like this takes years to create, and it should be heritage listed.
Austin Harrison, June 2008