We've been coming to Charles Dickens for over nine years. It's hidden in a basement on the corner of Elizabeth and Collins but worth looking for. They have a good selection of beer and good food. You can't go by the potato wedges for a light snack.
You can't really ask more for a inner city pub / hotel. The pub food is good at pub prices and lots of choice at the bar. Good for watching sports.
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The Dear Luncher has mixed feelings about the ol’ Charles Dickens. A frequent visitor over many years, mainly for football and pints, it has been at least 4-5 years since the last visit. So when friends suggested a bit of a session and lunch there recently there was admittedly some cringing going on in this little brain. In the past, the food was always fried and awful. The taps limited to a stock standard set of unremarkable beers, compared to some of the other British/Irish pubs in the vicinity.
So for this return, the expectations were low. Real low. But The Dear Luncher was heartened from the get-go to see quite an eclectic range of beers now available, both on tap and in can or bottle format. Starting at the menu, it was a depressing affair. Just about everything was deep fried. The things that were not deep fried, well, it was just too hot of a day to order them. So it was left to order steak, which is certainly always a good fallback option for the Secretary of Steak. The eye fillet was the most expensive steak on the menu, so this was what was ordered.
You know what? This eye-fillet was tremendous. Clearly things have changed at this establishment. The wait was long, but it was soft, tender and cooked exactly to specification. Even the salad was …. great. Usually these pub salads are a dire affair, not this time.
Pints of Balter XPA were gulped down while visiting, a very serviceable and sessionable ale.
The Charles Dickens Tavern proves that even if you’re ugly on the outside, you can still be kind of beautiful on the inside. Just like The Dear Luncher.
3.5/5.
Friendly service, tidy venue with good back ground music, come along with friends or family and enjoy a real English tavern experience. Great range of pub meals to choose from, great beers and good choice of wines
Charlie never disappoints great beer and counter meals.....parmi very nice also goes down well before going to watch a football game in town.
Very comfortable environment, plenty of tables, comfy chairs to choose from to kick back and enjoy your pint of ale or lager.
A must visit for Melbourne, a historic hidden gem.
Love this place just for it's hidden location. It never gets ridiculously busy (plus I love Dickens so it's difficult to not enjoy the theme)
Classic pub if that's what you're into.
Cosy little British pub that has all the trimmings you'd expect. Serving decent pub grub and a warm, but not overly rambunctious atmosphere, there's a lot to like about the Dickens.
Best pubs in Town
Handling traditional British menu worth the price
Decent wine pricing and lovely Senior staff..Decent Senior crowd...noisy witty chats..
Tried Punt road wine for ambiance experience..
Highly Recommended
If you asked someone to meet you at the pub on the corner of Collins and Elizabeth street you’d probably get a confused look coupled with a query of “umm, isn’t that an Optus store?”. Well yes, but what you might not know is that under the feet of the consumers working out if the new iPhone is too big to fit into the pockets of their skinny jeans, is one of my all time favourite pubs in Melbourne. The Charles Dickens Tavern.
This place is the place to be. It is bustling wjth prime banter and there is no other place which encompasses such great spirit. Personally if you want to have a grand old time head over to scrooges corner thats where it gets wild. But if you are not adventurous enough for that simply sitting down and enjoying a froth in the ambiance will tickle your fancy!
A great traditional English style pub. The decor was lovely and the choice of beers were on point. Big screens to watch sport were great. The food was good. Ordered the special scotch egg which was perfect and the butter chicken which was okay and the fish supper which was nice. Some cool Charles Dickens inspired decor. Would definitely go back
English pub with great decor and good vibes. Reasonably priced. $15 cocktails, G&T under $10. Didn’t try food but would visit again to try some. Have to climb down one level but I think accessible via a lift.
English pub with a range of beers on tap. Quite busy for Thursday night. Corned beef with mash potatoes and fresh vegetables and pumpkin soup. Good solid pub food. Excellent service.
This is a traditional British pub carpet and all! They have the most amazing Scotch eggs and a wide range of traditional ales. One of the only.puns around showing all sport all the time. Great array of traditional English food. Friendly staff. Do yourself a favour and get a Scotch Egg.
Sunday roast….. yum with all the trimmings and massive Yorkshire pudding! Big screen tv and classic pub vibe in the heart of Melbourne! Will definitely satisfy your roast cravings!
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One of my favourite British pubs in Melbourne! Tucked away in The Block Arcade, it can get quite busy on weekends. We called them for a last-minute booking for dinner, and John was kind enough to accommodate us and book us a table!
We ordered the following dishes:
- Beef & Guinness Pie - Guinness braised beef in a rich gravy under a puff pastry lid with creamy mash & buttered peas.
-Vegetable Lasagne - zucchini, eggplant, capsicum and red onion cooked in a rich tomato sauce, topped with béchamel & cheese, served with garlic bread.
Both were well cooked, the meat in the pie was juicy & tender. The veggies in the lasagna had the perfect flavour and did not feel bland at all!
They have a lot of choices of beer on tap, so we ordered the Hobgoblin (red ale, 5.2%) and Stowford Press Cider (4.5%).
Friendly service, great food, and excellent drinks. They show all sports games & a proud Manchester United support club as they have dedicated a whole wall just for the club.
Love the place and will come back to try more food items from their menu.
We chose the Charles Dickens Tavern for a nursing reunion because of its central location, promised atmosphere, private function room and reasonable pricing. It also has a lift which would make it accessible to disabled people in the group.
The staff were friendly, the host, Mark was attentive, the food was good pub grub and the Pickwick room was inviting. It is separate to the main bar which meant we could chat easily. It also has a large screen that we used for a Zoom meeting with those unable to attend.
Overall, we weren’t disappointed in any aspect. A fabulous night was had by all.
I would highly recommend this venue for a casual group meet up.
Great food at great prices!
A nice warm escape from the cold and wet night. The staff were awesome and the food delicious.
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