What to Expect @ The Charles Hotel

By Fiona Brewer

The year is 1982. You’ve just crimped and teased your hair, put on your favourite nylon leggings, and touched up your fluoro eye shadow. You check the time then scream at your boyfriend to hurry up while you light a Winnie’s blue and sip your wine cooler as Bowie plays in the background. The year is 1982 and you head to ‘Tha Charlzzzz.’

Now fast forward and The Charles has undergone a few renovations but it hasn’t really changed all that much. It’s like putting a bogan in haute couture; underneath all the pretty fabric you’ve still just got a mullet wearing Ugg boots.

Now don’t get me wrong, I actually really enjoy the Charles and not just because I can rock up in my casuals and look like one of the best dressed people in the venue. The place has a real quintessential 80s Okka vibe about it and there’s even skimpies there on a Friday! There’s a lot of high-vis and king gee to found in the sports bar, and Flanno and Carlton draught in the main bar. The reason you don’t mind sitting in the courtyard and chugging back a brew is because the place doesn’t try to pretend to anything it’s not. The Charles is a bogan who refuses to shave his mo, and that integrity is admirable.

They have a lot going on at this place but I thoroughly recommend the Quiz night on Wednesdays or the Comedy Night on Thursdays as it is a lot of fun. The venue is fairly open and there is a bottle shop attached to it and smoking alfresco area – and yes, it is a hotel so there is accommodation.

There is a food menu and it’s all your basic pub grub with nothing priced over thirty dollars. They have your burgers, steak sandwiches, garlic bread, wedges and few pastas thrown in for good measure. As I mentioned, this is an easy going pub so don’t go in expecting to see a Tempranillo, or a Viogner behind the bar; it’s more of a house wine place. The tap beer selection is generally Australian and unimaginative.

The renovations have given the place a bit more of a modern feel to it and they have stuck religiously to a black, red, and white palette. The simplicity and functionality of the design makes it a pretty nice bar and it is really nice on the courtyard area, (they pull out big heaters in winter so you can still enjoy it). There’s a wooden fence and lots of shrubbery that blacks out a lot of the scenic views of peak hour traffic along Charles Street which was a clever design concept.

This place attracts an older demographic of about thirty up. It is largely a male dominated venue most likely because of the sports bar, the TAB and the skimpies, but it is still fairly pleasant. The bar staff are really friendly as are the bottle shop staff, and they’ll make you feel like a local in no time at all.

Word of advice: don’t take yourself too seriously here. This is a blue-collared watering hole and a place for a few pints and a few laughs. Stop by for an afternoon sesh with your mates and have a gander because it is a pretty enjoyable place.

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