Just when you thought my Good Beer Week / Melbourne related posts had finally come to an end here’s another one!
My final (I think) post about Melbourne is centered around the John Curtin Hotel on Lygon Street.
My partner and I arrived at 3.15pm after a day of shopping for last minute presents, a snack from La Petite Creperie and a quick few ales at Young & Jackson.
We needed a big feed; we were airport bound in a couple of hours and did not want to subject ourselves to airplane food of toasted sandwiches and two minute noodles. Don’t get me wrong, both foods are fantastic but only when I’m at home – there’s an art to toasties and instant noodles.
Anyway, back to the pub.
We were hungry and perched ourselves at the bar, ready for a big burger and some beer.
Then we encountered one of the things I dislike most in pubs – “sorry, the kitchen isn’t open yet”. We were 45 minutes too early. But then a funny thing happened, the bartender said the chef was already in the kitchen so she’d ask if he’d take the order.
Wow, we thought, that’s nice of her.
“That’s fine, you can order”, she said when she returned.
Wow, we thought, that’s a pretty nice chef you have back there!
I know it’s only a small thing but it was hospitality at its best. I have not encountered many venues who would have done this and I think it deserves recognition.
Not only was the service over and above what we expected the burgers were freakin’ delightful. Perfect with a shared jug of Coopers Pale Ale.
Yep, we were now ready to get on a plane and fall asleep.
