I live on the West side. At the beach in fact, and I can tell you from personal experience, there isn’t a whole lot of choice when it comes to pubs or hotels on this side of town. The Ramsgate is obviously a solid fixture, and after their renovations a few years ago, it’s ticked a lot of boxes for locals – but now there’s a new contender in the ‘hood, and it’s a good ‘un.
The Bartley Hotel (formerly The Bartley Tavern) is owned by the RDJones Group, who also own The Moseley, The Gully, The Woodcroft and The Holdy. So it’s little surprise that their latest makeover brings The Bartley in line with their other venues – offering up some fantastic indoor/outdoor spaces, a fire pit, and a huge bar area complete with couches, fireplaces and multiple places to hang out with your mates. The RDJones Group have applied their successful formula for their other venues to The Bartley, and it delivers what the venue was sorely lacking.
The old TAB area has been moved, to create a spacious hang out space for patrons, which flows on from the revamped dining area. An enormous outdoor screen delivers all the latest sporting action on their new deck, while plastic cafe blinds protect us from the weather in Winter, and look set to bring the outdoors in when the weather improves.
A new bar menu has a little something for everyone, including their own version of a Caesar Salad with Pork Belly. There’s also crowd favourites like hot wings, seafood share platters salt & pepper chicken and slow roasted lamb shoulder. You also can’t go past their burgers, pulled steak sandwiches and Schnitzels. You can, of course, just head across to their full dining area though if you’re after some dinner with your mates.
‘Fresh’ beer is on tap, with the glorious copper tanks of Brewery Fresh Carlton Draught Tank Beer installed behind the bar. It’s a testament to The Bartley’s commitment to delivering the freshest draught beer, for beneath that shimmering copper lies a vast golden sea of unpasteurised Carlton Draught. And for lovers of other drinks, the bar menu serves up all your favourites too.
The only thing missing is a playground for the kids, which as a parent would make this revamped local a surefire hit. That aside however, the renovations are a welcome addition to a solid westside venue, and I’ll be sure to head back both with my girlfriends for a bevvy or three, and also with my family for a chilled early dinner.
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