Parkview Hotel

Live to say nice things as the staff were super friendly and nice, but the venue had no real character. Unless your after a cheap beer and some fox sports, not really anything great.

I think I can shed some light on what is wrong with the Parkview:
From approx 2001 to 2005, the Parkview was a great pub. It was relaxed, it was comfortable, it had a great pacman machine (which I would sit at and play for hours), pool tables, comfy couches which didnt match each other or anything else and a nice crowd of people generally. Thursday night was uni night and it was absolutely packed and lots of fun! The pokies were always there but they werent in your face and you didnt really notice them. That said, if you were getting sick of the main part of the pub and wanted to be by yourself or have a coffee, then you could duck into the pokies section. The pub worked really really well — it was simple, fun and enjoyable every day of the week — both in the afternoon and the evening — and it was open late too!
Then came the change:
New owners bought the pub and saw that it was popular — but they didnt understand WHY it was popular. It was a typical case of owners coming in from another area (I think they were from rural Victoria somewhere) and not understanding North Fitzroy. The people in North Fitzroy want something different to the people in provincial Victoria. In any case, since it was popular, they decided to renovate it to make it «nicer» but this was exactly what they shouldnt have done.
When a pub is good and has a good vibe, the worst thing that the owner can do is change it. Its good because of the way it is and they way things are done. Why change a winning formula???
In any case, they changed it and brought in «nicer» seating, «nicer» décor, «nicer» pool tables etc — but by doing so, they simply lost the ambience and comfortable feel that the place originally had.
Of course most of the uni students and North Fitzroy locals left in droves after this happened and the new owners were stuck with an empty pub…
So where does that leave it?
Well basically, its a pub which would work well in another suburb or another town but it just doesnt fit in in a suburb like North Fitzroy. North Fitzroy is a relaxed place and it feels more comfortable to be served by a barman wearing a singlet or tshirt rather than a black tucked in collared shirt. This pub is just way too formal for what it is.
The food is overpriced and not particularly good, the tv screens showing live sport are not really in the best places and the seating is extremely uncomfortable. The really sad thing is that the pokies are now one of the better parts of the establishment!!! But guess what? The pokies section was the one part of the pub that the new owners didnt change!!!
Id love to see the Parkview do well again, but I think it is in for some lean years over the next decade until they really start to understand the suburb!

I live on St Georges Road and so have been to the Parkview a few times over the years.
Unfortunately I’ve just found it to slowly go down in caliber, in particular where it comes to the food. When I first went they had a fantastic «kids menu» which essentially allowed you to order a smaller serve of the adult meals at a discounted price for kids. In addition to that the food was great.
The next time I went the food was worse and the price was the same.
And so it decreased until recently I thought I would give it another whirl (hoping there would be a pot and parma special on or similar).
Unfortunately now all there is to offer are some pizzas, fish and chips or a parma. The bar staff were no where to be found for a solid 10minutes after arrival.
The wine list is shocking and overpriced.
And alas the Little Creatures tap was out, and it was their only interesting beer option.
Don’t get me wrong. The staff where great when I found them and the parma wasn’t of bad quality. But I remember when this place had potential and now it seems to barely care what’s on offer so long as they keep their pokie revenue strong.

This place has tried a few times to become a north Fitzroy pub, but they just don’t get it.
It doesn’t matter how many renovations you give the place — YOU“VE GOT POKIES.
A grand pub in size, the Parkview lacks a distinct character. It’s designed by accountants and not by people. The one saving grace is the tiny little bottle shop out the back that serves the hoards, especially on a warm weekend with the park part of Parkview being Edinburgh gardens.

The only good thing about the Parkview is the bottle shop, which is open until midnight, seven nights a week.
Otherwise the Parkview is a bit of an anomaly in North Fitzroy. It kind of smacks of Sydney pub, the kind with a large pokies room and supposedly ‘good value’ meals. It shows sport in the front bar and has a large smoking/​outdoor area around the front so punters can eyeball the street and pretend themselves sophisticated or something.
The strangest thing about the Parkview is that there’s an amazing 19^th century pub next door called the Pinnacle, that has no pokies and great pub meals with a good garden bar that’s actually fenced away from the street.
The Parkview shows no live music, has very little in the way of atmosphere, looks kinda tacky and basically has very little going for it. Yet customers roll up week in, week out. It’s a strange beastie.

The Parkview Hotel would be a good option if North Fitzroy didn’t have amazing pubs, bars, cafes or live music venues to explore.
However it does.
Pokies. Check
Pub Meals. Check
Function room. Check
Sport Bar. Check
The Parkview Hotel lacks the character inherent in many of Melbourne’s wonderful pubs. The standard features of a good Aussie pub are all there however it just lacks charm, atmosphere, live music and anything to make it stand out.

With a drive through bottleshop attatched, a great snack menu and excellent specials, the Parkview Hotel is North Fitzroy’s answer to a local pub that doesn’t have a sticky floor and a seriously bad attitude. Probably the best thing about the Parkview is wellthe view of the park across Scotchmer Street, for there is nothing like sitting beneath the glass annex on a winters night, heaters blazing, enjoying a bowl of chips, cheese and gravy, a beer and good company. As is the case with most locals in Melbourne, the Parkview caters for all types, however, as the Pokies half of the venue is clearly seperate from the front bar, there is almost never any hassles here and certainly no trouble. Also, as the Parkview tends to close later then most pubs in the area, the venue is often full til the very end, resulting in a varied crowd and an interesting night for all.