Art crush mob

The vacant lot opposite Matilda Bay brewery currently provides a rare Port Melbourne street art canvas, with this not too taggy piece appearing since the Google Street View car last drove past in April.

River of rosé

Drivers heading into the city over the West Gate bridge have had a bit of a spectacle to their left this week, with one of the lakes of our very own Tiger snake haven turned pink. You could be forgiven for thinking that it was Pink Ribbon day, or perhaps that there'd been a discharge of some noxious chemical from the landfill site buried beneath Westgate Park.

However Parks Victoria offered a surprisingly natural explanation for the salt water transformation. With the completion of bridge works it's now possible again to cycle through the park and (twice) under the bridge to reach the, still subsidised, punt. You might want to hold your nose as you pass the pink pond though.

Port Royal

Against the odds, the pocket of hipster heaven that bizarrely centres on an industrial service road around the back of Bunnings, continues to grow in confidence. Now home to the Salford Lads Club, Globe/Stussy/Obey and Uncle Rocco's Barber Shop, Fennel Street will very soon be hosting its inaugraul Port Royal street party come punk rock music festival.

Tickets are priced at $56.10 (including booking fees), which isn't as good value as Port Melbourne's previous street festival, but then that wasn't an 18+ event with beers and cider provided by neighbours Matilda Bay; who have themselves being getting bigger and better, with one of their loading bays now converted into a cosy dining area reminiscent of Little Rose. And helping to entice our North of the river friends out of their comfort zone will be Collingwood's renowned Huxtaburger who are sharing the catering duties.

Distant pier

It will likely come as a surprise to some to know that there's a waterfront restaurant, with a Port Melbourne address, that is five kilometres from Bay Street. Pier 35 Bar & Grill really is an unexpected find, hidden away between the industrial units on Lorimer Street. Even more surprising is that it's open every day into the evening (although it is part of the d'Albora Marina which also hosts a 24-hour servo for passing boats).

Round these parts you don't expect much more than a cafe, but this is a respectable licensed restaurant, priced in keeping with its waterfront view (the quality of which is rather dependant on the type of vessel moored up on the opposite bank at the time). As such it feels a little too stuffy to recommend as a bar.

However with a $14 lunch menu available every day, its a worthwhile target for a change of midday scenery, and to get a flavour of what an evening meal might be like. It's particularly handily placed for those making use of the Westgate Punt on a weekend ... or stopping to refuel their yacht.

Matilda Bay

With twelve different taps (one of which being given over to cider), the new bar within the unassuming Matilda Bay building enters straight at the top of Port Melbourne's best beer sampling venues. Their claim that it's a 400m walk from North Port tram stop is council-like fantasy (Google Maps makes it 900m), but that's still closer than the Cricketers Arms.

Situated within a fenced-off section of the working brewery, this bar is unlikely to feel incredibly cosy, but it does have an undeniably cool feel to it, with its fanatical bar staff and even three unfiltered taps fed straight from the vats. A decent wine list and coffee machine widen the appeal, so the main stumbling block to success at the moment would seem to be the wacky opening hours (it's currently easier to sample a beer for breakfast than for dinner).

Beers on tap: Bohemian Pilsner, Redback, Beez Knees, Fat Yak, Alpha Pale Ale, Dogbolter, IGP, Port Lager, Bertie St Porter and Abbey Collabey!!
Wine range: $8.50 - $11
Parma: No
Gastro: No
Tradie vs Yuppy: No Carlton Draught, but no pretentions either

Itchy green pants

Perhaps Port really has got it. A welcome opportunity to make its mark in the winding history of Aussie beer that is. Just in time for Good Beer Week, which starts today, the brewery that started the craft beer scene in Perth back in the eighties has opened its doors in the burgeoning industrial cool area of town around the corner from the Salford Lads Club and Globe skateboarding headquarters.

Matilda Bay is now owned by the Fosters behemoth, and their successful Little Creatures competitor Fat Yak now arrives on the ferry from Hobart's Cascade brewery. However the new Port Melbourne brewery, which has relocated from its second home in Dandenong, will be concentrating on smaller volume brews (like its inaugral Itchy Green Pants) which can currently be sampled in house until 3pm Monday to Wednesday, 9pm Thursday and Friday, and 5pm on Saturday. They do food, wine and coffee too!

Buttock wiggler

The industrial North of Port Melbourne was in the Herald Sun at the weekend, with a stunningly useless artist's impression, thanks to the state government's proposed creation of a 'revolutionary' new high density residential zone on Fishermans Bend. However it was a different story that caught my attention.

It seems that it's not just me that has noticed that there's either some temporal disturbances under our very noses, or the council recruited a buttock wiggling speed walker and a hobbling slow coach to come up with its transit times. This is evidenced particularly clearly on this bin (the two arrows for the beach point the same way down Bay Street).

Tiny slice of Manchester

Arriving fashionably late to review a darling of the Melbourne cafe press, here finally we have the Salford Lads Club. It has the warehouse chic, the Google provoking name, the random push bikes and the slightly aloof staff you'd expect from urban coffee junkees ... and it's in Port Melbourne! Well sort of.

It could now be argued that Bridge Street is the place to be for hip cafes, as technically "the club" shares it with both My Sister Says and Balderdash, however tucked as it is behind Bunnings, it's off the map and at least a (brisk) fifteen minute walk away from pretty much anything.

It likely wouldn't still be there if it didn't deliver a top notch espresso, but it's the food that really sets it apart. Although there is a small display cabinet for pides and the like, as its placement in both Cheap Eats and the Good Food Guide atests, the daily lunch specials are where it's at, with interesting restaurant quality dishes at pretty much cafe prices. It's well worth both the trip and inevitable initial akwardness as you first get accustomed to the set up.

Oh and for the record, the Queen is not dead and the original lad's club is approaching its hundredth birthday, and still going strong...