No matter how well you plan a trip, it’s often the places you didn’t mean to discover that become the most memorable.

When we were last in Melbourne, we spent the good part of an afternoon walking up and down Brunswick Street in search of the Alannah Hill outlet (we later found out that it had moved a kilometre from its original spot). After an hour of frolicking through piles of beaded cardigans and tulle dresses, we were in desperate need of a drink.

No less than 20 metres away, we found Little Creatures Dining Hall, a warehouse sized beer cafe jam packed with punters in need of a late afternoon pick me up. There was something oddly church-like about the place, only the thing being worshiped here was beer.

Awesome beer aside, Little Creatures does fantastic pub grub. It’s tasty, fast and goes along so well with beer.

Our first order was the garlic prawns, which were served whole to retain most of its original flavour. The garlic wasn’t too overpowering and I found myself chomping through the whole prawn – even the head which I’m not normally a fan of.

Whole crystal bay garlic prawns - $15

The chicken wings were also well received, we just wished there was more of it. Barbecued with a tomato based marinade, the wings were tasty and had a little kick in them too.

BBQ'd chicken wings - $14

The highlight for me was the grilled flatbread, which came with a very satisfying bowl of chunky beetroot and feta dip. The flatbread was very soft and still warm from the grill.

Beetroot and feta dip with grilled flatbread - $9

When we polished off the last chicken wing, we called over the bill, which arrived tucked into a Little Golden Book entitled “Mickey Mouse and Goofy: The Big Bear Scare”. I couldn’t help but squeal a little, it was so adorable!

No doubt a great place to go if you’ve got the afternoon munchies, but we were a little let down by the portions at Little Creatures. Judging by the size of the beers that were filtering out of the bar, we could’ve done with an extra prawn or two.

Little Creatures Dining Hall
222 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy VIC
# 03 9417 5500
www.littlecreatures.com.au