The Last Jar

Sometimes you don’t want to go anywhere fancy for a drink with friends but you also don’t want sticky floors or bad beer. That’s where The Last Jar comes into it. Slapped onto a otherwise pretty boring corner of Carlton, this pub is a great place for a casual drink with a group of mates. In summer their rooftop courtyard (not an actual rooftop with a view but it is up stairs and open to the sky) is nice to sit in. The indoor areas are cosy and have a open fireplace in Winter.
Food is great if your hungry and love meat, for vegetarians it’s a little lacking in substance and not the cheapest meal around. Beer selection is good — Carlton beer snobs you won’t be disappointed. Laid back, pub style and relaxed staff make it a great local pub. It’s really not that far from the CBD or Vic Markets too if you need somewhere different to try.

I went in with high expectations that were, largely, met.
It was freezing outside but lovely and warm inside. We snaffled the last table in the little dining room and I was feeling chuffed with my luck.
The sparky waitress was fab, friendly and had one of the smoothest upselling techniques i’ve come across. The rumours of this bar having the best Guinness in town are indeed true.
The rarebit was delicious, but it’s hard to get something so fundamentally yummy wrong. The fish pâté was equally tasty, and my beef brisket braised with a few parsley dumplings, new season veg and black barley was great! But charging $ 40 for a bit of stewed brisket is a bit much, even more so when not advising that this is the worlds most expensive brisket when ordering. I left disappointed, not at the cost but at the feeling of being ripped off, which was a shame as I really, really wanted to love this place and in the end, I didn’t.

Food 2 stars, venue and beer quality 4 stars.
I had the wild mushroom pie which was tasty. But whilst the puff pastry makes it look huge the dish holding the pie (it’s not a pie crust) was tiny. The salad was a large amount of parsley (the only greenery) and the pumpkin was raw and sliced thinly — even if I could have eaten all that vile parsley, it wouldn’t have added to being full up. This dish, especially as it had zero protein, is very expensive it’s basically a starter and need a side of mash or something. I would have been more full up on one of the cheese toasties at Siobhan’s other place (The Drunken Poet). I was impressed at how quickly she sniffed out a disjointed customer and apologised. That’s something you don’t really get in many pubs. Then again she’s always been lovely.
He had the fish and chips. Beer battered flatheads with tartare sauce and Musie peas. Fish was meaty and well cooked, and batter crisp. Chips not bad but a bit on the chunky side and needed a little salt. Our table salt shaker thingy didn’t work though. He left full up and happy.
Guinness is really good. Prob the best in Melbourne.

Well, what can I say about this pub other than it is your average Irish themed pub, right down to the bucket just inside the door for you to place your umbrella on those rainy days (which is actually not all that uncommon in Melbourne). Mind you, the bucket was a nice touch because it actually reminded me of those pubs I visited in London which all have buckets just inside the door. It is a fairly small pub, but the décor is also reminiscent of the pubs back in England, and it even has a smoking deck on the second level, which does get fairly crowded on a Friday night. The drinks aren’t all that cheap, but at least they have the standard fare, which does detract a bit from its authenticity, Still, I quite like this little place, even though it can get a little crowded, if only for its cosy atmosphere.

I went to this place for the beer garden, which was upstairs to get some drinks, and met up with some travelers. I had a good time here. This place is probably one of the most spacious bars I have been to and it’s at a great location, not too far from the Queen Victoria Market. They offer a special where beers are only $ 5 between 7 – 8 PM when I went there on a Tuesday night. Otherwise, you may have to pay as much as $ 11 here just for a glass of beer. I did learn that getting beers from bars can get expensive in Australian cities.
People here were very friendly and helpful in recommending the beers here. It’s hard to get attention to the waitress so I preferred to go downstairs and order my drinks before coming back to the beer garden.
Overall, I had fun at this place, and I would like to come back here for some food, even though the prices look a little high.

This has quickly become one of my favourite little establishments to frequent. I’m not Irish, but place just feels like going home. I’m not sure if it’s the quirky Nan like décor, the hearty homey grub served in enamel bowls, or the welcoming nature of the patrons and staff… I simply just can’t get enough of this place and its menu.
The gorgeous pre-​dinner soda bread with its combination of guinness, molasses and oats is just delicious with a slathering of butter (not that it needs it), and ian easy way to keep satisfied while waiting for the mains. We have been slowly working our way through the menu, but the mussels steamed in a creamy cider sauce always makes the table… and the side of smokey sourdough toast is the best way to soak up the leftover mussel juices. The crumbed mushroom caps with garlic were lovely, and the potato and oat cake with bacon and honey easily hits the spot. For those with more adventurous tastes, then the menu also offers the likes of crispy pigs ear and black pudding!

I’ve had the stew and it was really good. My partner had the scotch fillet and was very satisfied with the quality and the taste. Prices aren’t too bad as well. $ 5 pints of Guinness and Kilkenny on Friday during happy hour from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. There’s also a beer garden upstairs.