Benchwarmer

Time Out

21-07-2025

Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
Bright lights, a banging playlist and a heaving bar in full swing – Benchwarmer hits you all at once. On a crisp June evening, its siren call is impossible to ignore. It's a shape-shifter of a venue: part izakaya, part beer hall, part takeaway bottle-o.
Tucked into a little pocket of West Melbourne that flirts with North, it's surrounded by great food, but Benchwarmer brings something different to the table. You can grab a drink from the five-door fridge or choose from 18 taps pouring everything from classic lagers to limited-edition sours. Inside, long communal tables and window seats cater to both group hangs and solo sessions, while cozy retro booths offer a peek into the kitchen. We're tucked into a booth with a clear line to the pass – my ideal setup: dinner and a show. It also doubles as a real-life dating app for the menu, letting me preview each dish and mentally swipe right on what I want.
Although Benchwarmer is beer-forward, you can get cocktails, too – and as someone who's been to Japan four times (I never bring it up, obviously), I knew I'd be starting with a Highball. While whiskey is the classic base, I opt for the rum version: white rum, peach iced tea, citrus and soda served tall. It's subtle, refreshing and dangerously easy to knock back five before wondering why the floor's moving.
The menu is by executive chef Geoff Marett, formerly of Michelin-starred Yardbird in Hong Kong, so there's some real pedigree here. It strikes a nice balance between snacky and substantial, making it just as suited to a quick pit stop as it is to the whole shebang. I'm a shebang girl, so we're going all in: the salmon tostada (two pieces for $20), the market pickle plate ($12) and the XO lamb crumpet (two pieces $20).
The pickle plate features cucumber, carrot and radish in varying stages of brine and bite. It's crunchy, acidic and the perfect appetite-starter. The salmon tostada, ceviche-adjacent in style, nails texture and crunch, though it could use a touch more acidity to really sing.
The XO lamb crumpet sounds like a winner: tender shredded lamb piled onto a toasted crumpet with yuzu labneh, pickles and hot honey. The lamb is beautifully cooked, but the crumpet is a little too well done, with a base that's edging into burnt territory. The bitterness lingers, so my dining companion and I abandon the crumpet and go straight for the lamb, labneh and pickles on their own.
For mains, we order the shio koji pork cheek ($25), the rolled rice noodles ($18) and the sake clams ($28). We're washing it down with a bottle of Momento Mori Nazomi ($60), a juicy, rosé-esque wine.
The pork cheek arrives glazed with gochujang and topped with fresh herbs and a wasabi verde. It walks the line between savoury and sweet beautifully, and I quickly inhale more than my fair share.
The rolled rice noodles are a dish I've been eyeing on Instagram for weeks, and they don't disappoint. The noodles have that perfect balance of softness and chew, with plump shiitake mushrooms scattered throughout. Served on a bed of cashew crème, with nori XO oil, crunchy pepitas and crisp curry leaves, it's smoky, savoury and everything I want from a noodle dish.
But it's the sake clams that really showcase Benchwarmer's personality and soul. The clams bathe in a miso butter and dashi broth, joined by grilled lap cheong, chimichurri and dill. The best part? A warm pineapple milk bun on the side, perfect for soaking up every last drop.
At first, the flavours feel slightly out of sync. Dill and Chinese sausage? It's an unexpected mix of sweet and savoury, herbaceous and umami. But it works. It's the kind of dish that excites and galvanises, a cheeky reminder of how far flavour and texture can go in the right hands.
I haven't had a single beer at Benchwarmer. I know, there goes my credibility, but the food menu comes with suggested pairings. It's an approachable way to guide the drinks – and a reminder that I'll come back and do it properly.
In a city spoilt for choice, Benchwarmer still manages to feel special. It nails that rare balance of being both a great hang and a proper dining spot – fun, unpretentious and anchored by the kind of thoughtful cooking and hospitality that makes you want to be a regular. Not every neighbourhood has a venue like this, but West Melbourne's lucky it does.