The Shaw Davey Slum

Tacky décor with wallpaper and furniture looking like they were picked up from a yard sale, stale atmosphere around dinnertime with almost no patrons, lukewarm service from the employees who weren’t keen on making recommendations nor in possession of common courtesies, and disgusting food. There isn’t a single positive I could list besides maybe their prices. There aren’t too many affordable places for students/​backpackers nearby, but you definitely get what you pay for here.
My partner and I both ordered the aged black angus rump steak ($ 14) which was on the higher end in terms of prices on the «Mains» portion; I wanted mine medium rare, and my partner asked for medium. Both arrived well-​done. I’m not generally too picky about my meats nor do I really mind how well the meat is cooked as long it’s not too tough, but working through both pieces felt like we were chewing leather and my jaw grew tired from the workout. The side of sweet potato wedges were better, but they were soggy however at least they had flavor.
Stick with the beers, and get your fill of food elsewhere.

Coming from Canada, Melbourne’s pubs have been pretty expensive. This place had good beer, good food, and great staff at a cheap price. It’s not the best pub food out there, but the price of a huge chicken parm and beer for 12 $ is the best I’ve seen around town so far. Just check out their specials; well worth the price and I’d be happy to go back.

Not a bad pub chilling around Carlton. I’ve visited the Slum a couple of times and it is fairly evident that it is aimed to get the students over at Melbourne Uni down. They’ve got a slew of drinks specials and ample room for sitting around and having a chat.
They’ve got some decent finger foods here. Think they may be just for events though not too sure.
Anywho, keeping it short and sweet. Decent beer. Not too sure about the atmosphere. Last time I was here the dj looked like he was gacked on pingas in his own little world. Still gave us a good laugh though. Nothing wrong with the place but there are probably better options in the overly abundant Carlton.

Wait, where did Pugg Mahones go?! Obviously I haven’t been paying attention on my recent trips around Lygon St, as seems the oddly named The Shaw Davey Slum has been open for business for over three months now. (A rant for a different time; but are there any Irish pubs left in melbs?)
We showed great trepidation about venturing into the Slum. The outside looked unappealing, garishly bright paint covered with posters advertising the different nights and specials looking like a tacky Gold Coast nightclub. Completing that picture: they had a few bouncers outside too… at 6pm on a Thurs. (Having been out of the nightclubing age bracket for some time I can’t remember the last time I’ve even seen a door-​bouncer!). The guy even clicked his counter when we entered even though we were about the only ones in there (guess it gets busy later?).
Inside the décor is all over the shop. Can’t figure out what they’re going for. Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe inspired wallpaper, ergonomically-​challenging bar-​stools, a few nice light fixtures, and then more bright pink & orange posters smothered over the bar. Some cool touches here, some tacky ones there. (Weirdly their best design feature is the rustic-​themed toilets, with — sorry to be uncouth — urinals made from what I think were discarded kegs.)
You see the prices though and suddenly it makes sense: it’s a uni-​bar. Prices are wild. In fact I probably should have started my review there. Let me put this next point in all-​caps:
FOR SEPTEMBER 2014, ALL-​DAY EVERY-​DAY YOU CAN GET A JUG OF JAMES SQUIRE FOR $ 10
That’s $ 10 for a jug of any of their tap beers actually — James Squire Lashes is just my fave. After Sept they are still only $ 15 I believe and since I reckon I paid $ 13 for a *Pint* of the same at the Portland Hotel a few days ago, that’s pretty decent… There’s also cheap cocktail jugs (can’t vouch for those) and $ 5 bottles of some beer, so if you want to save some $ and don’t mind a uni crowd, definitely worth popping in to ‘pre-​load’ up before heading somewhere… nicer. (Note: drink responsibly)
And heading somewhere nicer was what we were going to do after a drink but the cheap jugs did their trick and kept coming and kept us there until we were too starving to go anywhere else!
Their food menu is similarly cheap, with a nice selection of $ 10 meals (and most others around $ 15, with two steak options $ 20-​$ 25 or so).
I was torn between a few of the cheap feeds, so we got a taster plate on top of our meals (also $ 10). This let us try a few dishes to see they were worth coming back for. It had hits (arancini balls /​vegemite calamari — yes you read that right) and misses (chicken wings /​pork belly… but I’ve never understood the allure of pure pig fat myself) but the best part was that each sample came with a paired sauce, which came in very handy for the chips that came with out other meals.
The beer burger the ladies ordered was ok — wouldn’t stand up to any cool new Burger place around but for $ 10 did the job — and my mate’s steak sanga was from all reports decent but a man doesn’t ask another man to sample his steak so I have to take his word on that. Have to say my parma was the real disappointment — when it came out it looked huge but was an optical illusion as it was actually as thin as a pancake, which meant it tasted more like the crumbs than the chicken. Next time I’ll get a full serve of the calamari.
I don’t really understand the place, but then again it’s not really for me. Staff were lovely though, and if I’m anywhere in the vicinity in the next few weeks will be back for the cheap beer for sure.