Charles Dickens Tavern Melbourne

A real hole-​in-​the-​wall if I’ve ever seen one! The tiny entrance and stairway leading into this tavern had a classic feel but walking inside I truly felt like I was in an English pub. We were only there for a beer, but it the specific feel that this was a regulars’ pub that didn’t see many tourists. Never the less, it seemed like a good place to watch a game of footy, and they even had my American football on the television, which was a treat. Seemed like a good culture as well, keeping it polite with a «keep the passion, lose the language» sign under the television. Seems like a good place to catch a game another time.

Nice place for a pint to escape busy shopping streets. Super friendly bar staff. Several televisions with different sports options and nice atmosphere.

Hidden in the basement, I often walk past this place with a plan to come back someday.
That someday finally happened on a rainy day on the way to the theatre.
We dropped by on a Sunday night for an early 5:30 pm dinner and were surprised to find a good amount of people lounging around having beer, watching the football or even working off their laptops… ALL WITH BEER of course.
The staff are friendly, the food took awhile longer than expected (we did order a steak though) and the price was slightly higher than the normal pub round the corner but I liked the location and atmosphere.
The Guinness pie was very enjoyable and the steak was done simple and well. If you are looking for a quieter pub with friendly faces give this place a try.

A Melbourne institution, and a little piece of England hidden underground in the CBD, the CDT is a great place to watch some socc — errr, I mean ‘football’ — and hear a lot of English and Irish accents cheers their sides along whilst drinking their homesickness away with a great range of British beers on tap.
Years ago I seem to recall this being a bit dark, dank, and rough, with some curious characters and some grumpy bar-​staff, but that seems to have changed as the chap behind the taps was nothing but welcoming and the atmosphere a lot more friendly.

Fantastic atmosphere in a fantastic setting. If you’re in town you should head over and try the drunken sailor.

It was ok. Beer was pretty bad and expensive and the food was ok. Won’t be rushing back to this one.

As with my other reviews of local bars (which btw, are harder to find than you might expect), the beer prices here make you want to cry. Please someone explain to me why paying for a beer in Melbourne has to feel like you are getting punched in the gut. It takes a lot of the fun out of having a beer. Maybe that is the point, who knows.
In any case, at least you can get your money’s worth at Charles Dickens Tavern. They have at least 4 real cask ales on tap (London Pride, Green King, Tetleys, and I forget the fourth) as well as lager. They serve up proper pints and the atmosphere is pure English pub. This pub is off an alley in an arcade and downstairs into the cozy confines of a proper pub. The barkeeps know what they are doing and the food looked decent. I had chips with vinegar and brown sauce (HP) and the chips were pretty good. I will be coming back. If I have to spend an arm and a leg to get a beer in Melbourne, I prefer to get a good pint of real ale.

If you’re looking for a traditional English pub then Charles Dickens is the place for you. I found it purely by chance on White Night when looking for a place to have a few quiet beers with a few mates. Being White Night, it wasn’t really quiet but nevertheless, had a fraction of the people every other bar did. The best thing was that most of them seemed to be regulars. English accents were flying here there and everywhere.
Charles Dickens is an escape from the regular Melbourne bar and lacks of the loud, obnoxious, drunk young people that many other places are happy to call their regulars. I always love a relaxed night out where I can just chat with friends. This pub can do exactly that. They even put the soccer on around midnight. Loved it!
Quality beer has found a new home here. I sampled an English IPA and bitter which were both very nice. I realised by later in the night that I was dropping my «t’s» with an accidental semi-​assimilation to the rest of the bar. I don’t know how or why but I started speaking in a slightly english accent… Anywho, the beer, good as it is, is similarly priced to many other bars. $ 12 a pint for the main ones. A price I am willing to pay for beer as good as it was here.
I highly recommend you visit Charles Dickens if it is your thing.

Its always great to walk in to a bar and be greeted by the bar man as if you are a regular. None of this, please place your order over there, take a buzzer and come collect your meal but instead, a cheering «What are you having?» and «Take a seat I’ll being it out to you when is ready» and no table number required.
Also, if you have a hankery for British beers, then this is the place for you. I’m particularly fond of the Tetleys on tap.
Good for watching overseas football matches of all codes plus good pub grub.

My wife and I have been wanting to try this spot out for a while, but just haven’t got around to it. Thankfully, a colleague from Sydney was looking for a spot to drink and was staying at a hotel stumbling distance away, so this was my big chance!
Walking in was, in many ways, like walking back in time and distance for me; it was a flashback to every pub I spent (too many) hours at back home in the UK. A bit brighter, with a few fewer «snugs» to commandeer with friends, but also incredibly familiar.
I approached the bar and instigated my Are They Friendly tests — I asked them what I wanted to drink, and the (again, incredibly familiar looking) staff asked what I usually drank. I said there was no usual, I like interesting. They liked that, and I could tell immediately that they enjoyed their work, and took it seriously (rightfully so).
I was there just a bit before 1700, so before the Suits showed up to cap off their day, and I could immediately tell who the regulars were. There was a «comfort» in where they were sitting and how they were conversing that spoke to me: This is their Local.
It wasn’t so bad that they stopped talking when I walked in, but, you could get a real sense that this was the sort of spot that at least a handful of people called home away from home (or, in one case, home).
The second beer I had (Punk IPA, Brew Dog) was highly recommended by the bartender, and was, indeed, a real hit. So much so that my colleagues all ended up having one as well.
We didn’t try the food, so I can’t comment on that, but, it looked like what you’d expect for pub food, and one of these days I may try it out… but, until then I can say with confidence that the Charles Darwin (yes, I know it’s Dickens, but, I really wish it was the Charles Darwin pub) Tavern is worth a visit. Unless you’re one of those high-​heel teetering Woooooo-​screaming girls that another reviewer spoke of, in which case, stay out.

My boyfriend, our friend, and I went there earlier tonight and absolutely loved it.
One thing I don’t like about places in Melbourne is that everywhere is pretty much the same idea; obviously there’s some better than others but ALL of them have the following qualities:
~ Filled with young 20s Australians, many hipsters.
~ Stupid little «OMG AMY AND SARAH SOOO DRUNK 4÷5÷12! BEST NIGHT EVER!» writing on the bathroom walls.
~ Girls in obnoxiously high heels that are completely impractical and they will feel like shit the whole night.
The Charles Dickens Tavern is a great escape from all that bullshit and I hope to baby jesus that it doesn’t get turned into another «trendy» bar in the city.
Atmosphere:
This place has a dining room as well as the main bar you can watch sports. They have a massive projector that I assume play big games going on. I have not yet been here on a major sports night but I’m definitely looking forward to an opportunity. The feel of the bar is definitely an «old man pub» which has its own unique charm and looks a quite bit like the Wetherspoons chain in the UK.
Customer Service:
Really laid back and comfortable. The man that served us was quite hilarious. Our friend shouted our drinks and he asked him if he lost a bet. We also noticed that there were a few regulars around that the staff knew the name of, which is always a nice quality as opposed to impersonal pubs that are always jam-​packed.
Food:
The food was actually incredible without the typically ridiculous pub prices. I had Bangers & Mash for 15 dollars, which as beyond filling, delicious, and well worth the money. We also ordered a basket of chips which were cooked quite nicely as well.
If you’re a British traveler looking for a home away from home, Charles Dickens Tavern is without a doubt the place for you. It was really great seeing my boyfriend light up when he saw the flags of different football (soccer) teams at the bar and Newcastle Brown Ale, Stella, and Guinness on tap. Not to mention classic British pub food on the menu.
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This place definitely isn’t for everyone, but if you like what you hear and want a LEGITIMATE British pub, not an Australian pub with a random British flag here and there, Charles Dicken Tavern is the way to go.

Good beer selection, but pretty depressing. Only went there because I was staying right around the corner and wanted to watch a soccer game.

Old, awesome and ironic in an über hip city.
We went here to grab a beer en route to some of the other hidden bars in this area of Melbourne. It was quiet before it closed and the bartender was quite nice and allowed us to purchase a beer before it closed.
Don’t half step. If you are looking for a legit pub (not the generic, predictable tourist kind, then you should come here. Great fun.

I went here to watch the Soccer with a couple of friends. This is a great English Pub which is well set up for watching live sport. The pub quickly filled up at kick-​off and the crowd was right into the game.
There’s a good selection of beers on tap and you can order food at the bar (Typical English Pub food). There is also a restaurant area (although we didn’t eat there).
A word of warning: If there is a game on, and you are not there to watch it, you might want to try another bar.

Came here in 2008 a couple times while on holiday, and I liked it. The bar has a lot of charm. The fact that it’s underground is pretty awesome, there aren’t too many bars like that in California. When you walk down, it sort of feels like you’re being transported to some time in history, but with modern advantages.
I had a delicious cider there, not too sure of the name, I want to say Scrumpy Jacks, but could totally be wrong.
It’s totally an «old man» bar, and I will always prefer a bar like that to any other.
Good service, football, cider, cozy atmosphere…
If I ever make it back to Melbourne, I will definitely stop by for a pint.

Stepping into the Charles Dickens is a bit like stepping into a slightly warped alternate universe. There are no windows (it’s underground), lots of carpet, strangers talk to you and — panic attack — there’s no mobile phone reception. I like it.
As a non-​Brit and a non-​sports fan, there’s really no reason for me to go to the Dickens. But sometimes it’s nice to escape from the city above into a daggy world where you’re almost certain not to run into your boss/​ex/​people dressed better than you. And, let’s be honest, I’m a sucker for old man pubs.
At the snug Dickens it’s perfectly appropriate to have a pint of cider in the middle of Melbourne’s chilly winter, and yes — they’re open from 10am! They do have wi-​fi in the Dickens cave, so in theory you could bring your laptop and spend the day working in this odd little place without interruption. The fridge is certainly better stocked here than at home.

It’s not easy finding a decent pub to hang out in within the CBD — and the Charles Dickens isn’t a saving grace. An underground pub off Collins St, between Swanston and Elizabeth, it’s a pretty daggy old English tavern that hasn’t been lifted to either tourist or trendy standards. Which is a shame because the location and the layout of the place has a lot of potential. This could, with some TLC, be a great destination pub in the city. But alas, instead you get old geezers drinking in groups, sports on the tele, which overtakes your conversation, and generally strange looks when you enter, I’m assuming because you haven’t been sitting there for 40 years.
It does have free wi-​fi, and it also has English ale on tap. Apart from that, I’d avoid it.

In a city full of pubs claiming to be «English», the Charles Dickens is the only one I know which might actually qualify. Why? Because they don’t serve a chicken parmigiana. (And, I suppose, because they’ve got an English bartender, they serve beer by the pint, the soccer will almost always be on, it’s full of English paraphenalia, etc.)
Parmalessness aside, they’re pretty good. They’ve got most of the standard pub fare available to order and it’s all well done, if unsurprising. More than that, though, the Dickens just has a nice friendly vibe. It’s loud enough that you feel like you’re out, but quiet enough that you can have a conversation.

While there are plenty of Irish pubs, there are not many real ‘English’ pubs in Melbourne, but the Charles Dickens is one of them. We went here as 2 ex pats after many months in Melbourne, slightly homesick. Well, it isn’t quite like home, but they make a good attempt, including Big Ben table mats and a reasonably pub-​like feel, and a few actual bitters and ciders on tap. (note for Aussies — Bitter beer is supposed to be at room temperature). Unfortunately, the food was diabolical, I would hate anyone to think this is ‘typical’ English food! Yorkshire puddings should not, at any cost, be made in muffin tins — they should be light and fluffy, not lumps of dough! A real pity, because Melbourne could do with a decent British pub.