The Record Crate

not much in the way of records worth looking at but an interesting space and concept.

I enjoyed having a drink here with a group of friends. They have some unusual microbrews and friendly and quick service. The record crates give a fun, casual ambiance. There is a small courtyard in back, which I’m sure is nice on dryer evenings.

I felt like I was back in the 80’s in London with all these records about. Came here for dinner got the chicken schnitzel burger it was very taste they did shoestring fries which were perfect. They also have an upstairs section for stand up comedy.

Scoping out eateries for the BF and I the other night, I spied the sign outside the Record Crate– $ 12 lasagne with salad and garlic bread. Sold.
I went up to the counter and ordered the aforementioned special, plus some sweet potato wedges. «Are they really crispy?» I enquired of the man who took my order and looked like he doubled as the chef.
«What?» He replied, bewildered.
«Well, I love really crispy wedges, and sweet potato is tough to get crispy, so…»
He looked at me like I was a madwoman and shrugged. «Yeah. Sure. They’re crispy.» We then proceeded to have a bit of a natter about how there can sometimes be a fine line between crispy and overdone.
I ordered a 4 Pines American ale, one of two draft beers.
«$ 10 please.»
Really? For beer brewed mere kilometres away? At least it came in a lovely custom glass.
The food came out quickly but was less than spectacular– lasagne was on the dry side, garlic bread slightly burned, sweet potato wedges soggy. Salad was fresh though.
However, it’s a neat little venue to grab an albeit stupidly overpriced drink and a bar nibble. We sat at a table facing GPR and watched the world go by as the group of lawyers next to us drank an unholy amount of $ 10 schooners whilst loudly discussing the Tom Waterhouse scandal.
Ambiance is really cozy, trendy without being too hipster. I wouldn’t go back for the food, and I’d bring cash-​laden mates to shout my drinks, but it’s clear the Record Crate is making an effort. And it’s quite a unique place. Points for that. I’d come back for a 4 Pines and some chips any day, but for those prices, that lovely schooner glass might go walkabout in Lizzie K’s roomy handbag…

Following the success of Mojo records, small business owners are coming to realise that you can only sell vinyl records if alcohol is involved. Accordingly, Record Crate is a shiny new vinyl record store-​come-​small-​bar on Glebe Point Road. They’ve been open as a shop for about 5 weeks, but only recently got their liquor licence through — and they’ve been doing a good trade in booze and albums ever since. We turned up here at about 10.30 on a Sunday night, which was actually after closing time, but they guy running the place hadn’t gotten around to closing yet. Once I had picked out some tunes, it was hard to find anyone to pay. Finally an older bloke came downstairs, with a big glass of red in his hand, and a fag.
«It’s probably not kosher for me to be selling you these with a cigarette and a drink,» he said, carefully placing his lit cigarette on the counter, «but we’re meant to be closed now, so this is my time.»
Yeah, fair enough, I thought. He cheerfully rung up my records on the till.
You know when you feel too intimidated to buy records, because the fellas behind the counter will probably judge your music taste and laugh at you? Yeah, it didn’t feel like that here, not at all. Very comfortable vibe.
They also sell a very careful selection of second-​hand books, and old music mags. I have a strong sense that I may well become a regular here.