This inner-city terrace serves outrageously juicy katsu and boss-level drinking food
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Sometime around 2005, wood-fired pizza became the default accessory to a tasting paddle of beers. Craft breweries – endlessly creative with what they put in their beer – began to feel like a hall of mirrors when it came to their menus. Get harissa lamb ribs over here, but harissa lamb skewers at a rival beer hall. This one skips chicken tenders, instead you get buffalo chicken ribs. Would you like your fried calamari with lemon or lime?
Benchwarmer, a West Melbourne craft beer hangout, breaks that mould. It's not a brewery but it sure gets behind them, which must be a godsend for struggling independent brewers right now. Since opening in an old Victorian terrace in February 2020, it's gradually grown more Japanese-focused with each change of chef and trip to Japan taken by owner Lachlan Jones. The front half holds a few blond wood communal tables and stools (very Japandi), cosy window seats, a small bar and a big beer fridge. The back half is a bit more grungy.
New chef Geoff Marett has a CV that makes a lot of sense for a venue that's striving to be an izakaya: the loud and loose Japanese joints where food is there to soak up the copious sake and beer slammed down.
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