Sentido Funf

I have no idea what «Sentido» means nor «Funf» either.
Put these together, and we have a title of mystery origins.
It’s across the road form bird man eating/​Northside records.
Sentido is essentially a no-​fuss bar; easy to enter and usually made
up of easy going people. The problem can be entering; as people tend
to crowd around the bar at the front door. By this, I mean groups.
Or a large contingent of mass people, resembling a peak hour
crowded train.
There are other little seating spots; a side room thing with chairs
and tables and the big outdoor/​garden area, that is sectioned off with
a covered function space. This area may be open, but I’ve never been
in when it has. Admittedly, the front area is a bit tired and dated, but
it hasn’t seen the need to have a makeover due to an influx of hipsters.
It does close very early though, which can be a shame. This, unlike
many of today’s problems is one thing that can’t be blamed on hipsters.
It may become a bit quieter in the older months, but ideally the time
to go for that is outside of Saturday and Friday nights.

Sentido Funf is honestly one of the most random going out experiences I have had in a long time.
Having had dinner around the corner at the Grace Darling, our group was trying to get into a bar– no easy feat when most of the party is made up of guys. Then we stumbled upon this place.
The bouncer, who looked like he had had more than a few merry bevvys himself was scoffing fish and chips and confessed that he couldn’t be bothered checking our ids so we were all let in.
The front part of Sentido is a tired, crappy looking little bar. However, out the back is the most packed beer garden you are likely to come across in these parts.
With tunes from 2001 blasting in our ears we managed to nab a table, where we sat and watched the outrageous pashing and dry humping that seemed to be taking place as far as the eye could see. And it was kind of ugly as the crowd was quite a lot over 30 for the most part.
Otherwise, drinks were pricey and toilets easily accessed. And that about sums it up!

This is not really a place I like to come to. I think I’ve ended up here a couple of times because it was conveniently placed and open and has a beer garden, but the crowd is not really what I’m into and the place itself is nothing special.
The garden is pretty nice I guess what with all the greenery about. It’s ok out here when it’s not too busy and you can hear what your friends are saying to you.
I’ve never tried the food here but I have a great fondness for chicken wings and therefore I’m slightly curious about their happy wings Thursdays (wings for $ 10). If I find myself on this part of Gertrude St on a Thursday between 4 and 9pm, then I just might.

I know it seems unfair to blame a venue for it’s patrons, but the questionable crowd at Sentido Funf have really turned me off the place. It’s a little bit older (which I’m fine with), a bit more suburban, a bit louder and a bit more obnoxious. Okay maybe that’s unfair, but I have been there on two occasions in the past four or five months and was struck by this fact on both visits. Maybe it’s just because the place get’s so crowded (particularly in the large outdoor section out the back) and you always have to apologise and squeeze past groups of people who annoyingly position themselves so that they block off access to the inside bar and the toilets.
Having said all of that, if you go there on a sunny day when it’s not packed out, and manage to score a table out the back, it can be a nice place to hang out in the sun. But at night time… not my cup of tea.

It always surprises me when people who like Fitzroy pubs say they’ve never heard of Sentido Funf. I guess it’s because you could walk past it on Gertrude St and think it just another mediocre bar. But it’s surprising that word hasn’t spread about the secret it harbours beyond those doors.
Through the (yes, mediocre) front bar is a large and luscious beer garden that is perfect for groups and perfect for sitting around in on a sunny afternoon or Friday evening after work. With big wooden tables and lots of greenery, as well as breezy background music and an undercover area with couches, it really is amongst the best beer gardens in the area.
You do pay the price I suppose. The drinks are expensive (you will fall victim to $ 10 pints here) and the overall atmosphere is less relaxed than, say, the Union or the Napier. I’ll admit I’ve never eaten here either, but the menu does look decent — kangaroo burger, schnitzel, fish’n’chips — as well as $ 10 parmas on Wednesdays.

Going to Sentido Funf for the first time is a strange experience. As you walk up to the entrance you are greeted by a bouncer (who is always very friendly, but always insists upon an ID even if you are 30 years old). So you assume that you are going into some sort of nightclub or something.
You walk in the front door to see red carpet everywhere, and something somewhere between a cabaret cocktail bar and a standard pub bar. It is normally pretty quiet and relaxed, until you go out into the large back yard. The backyard is massive and nearly always packed with people (often dancing to anything from 80’s glam to funk music).
Sentido Funf really is a great place to go for these very reasons. It is the kind of bar you can head to and then decide what sort of night you want to have. Dancing to cheesey music of yesteryear, lounging about by the bar and dining off their reasonable menu or hang out in the backyard smoking and chatting to your mates all night long.
If you are looking for a bit of a dance I suggest that Friday night is the best option. They have in house DJ’s playing who can pretty much be persuaded to play anything you desire — especially if it isn’t too busy. I have even had a night out where we convinced the DJ to play a couple of 90’s classics and he ended up going wild with it.

A mish mash of cultures, colours and styles makes Sentido Funf a quirky and offbeat alternative to your regular watering hole.
Sentido Funf translated means «Five Senses, and all 5 are put to work when you’re drinking or dining here.
Formerly well known as Yeltza, the new owners must have know that whatever was done before was working, as the place remains the colourful local favourite for a drink away from the crowds. With a fantastic beer garden hidden away out back, the weekends see scores of thirsty punters head out back for a drink and a dance. With DJ’s spinning away and an enclosed area to ward off the Melbourne weather, it can get quite busy of a weekend evening.
Inside the front bar its all coziness and inviting, with a small but great menu with favourites and flair rolled into an affordable collection. Check out the Coopers Pale Ale Battered Whiting for a beer lover’s twist on an old staple.

Sentido Funf is admittedly a bit random. You have some standard pub fare, but then they put a slightly different spin on those items. Salt & Pepper Squid? Sure, but you have a better dip than most, and they’re breaded perfectly. Fried Chicken Wings? Got those too, but why not give you any sauce you like; BBQ, Asian or HOT. You can even get a pie, and it’s really quite good (and quite big too).
Complete with nightly specials (parmas on Wednesday, wings on Thursday, etc) and a huge drink list. Not just beers, but wine, sparkling, and even some creative and elaborate martinis.
They even have a great back garden!
So from the road, it may not look like much, but Sentido Funf could be your new go-​to pub.

A night at Sentido Funf — meaning, roughly ‘five senses’ — is wont to leave you senseless. One of Gertrude Street’s most well hidden lounge bars, Sentido Funf comprises a rather old fashioned front bar bit — all busy carpets and busier walls — which opens out onto a frankly ginormous beer garden, or ‘Oasis’ as its owners have it, out back.
I’ve been to Sentido Funf a few times — usually when in search of a good place to dance after one too many — and owing to the fact that there is an ever changing roster of DJs, a cool outdoor dance floor and plenty of outdoor seating, it is usually a good bet.
There’s also a pretty good — if generic — food menu taking in parma, pies and the rest of the ol’ favourites and nightly specials such as a whimsical sounding $ 10 Happy Wings night on Thursdays and $ 16 Porterhouse Steak on a Sunday. Perhaps not Fitzroy’s coolest bar but definitely one of its friendliest and ever so slightly kookiest, Sentido Funf is worth a visit.