Skinny Dog Hotel: The Premier Dining and Bar Experience in Kew

3.7 The Skinny Dog Hotel is a fantastic venue. It has everything. Great bar at the front. Dining spaces and airy back bar. The clientele are top notch Kew boozers. Classy pub tab at front with the dish lickers on the big screen. Twosheds will return to eat here in due course.

When it comes to the pubs in Kew this is certainly one of my favourites, namely because of the craft beers. Then again when it comes to pubs it is the craft beers that grab my attention. The service is okay, but I can generally forgive that, at times. However, what really grabbed by attention, other than the craft beers that is, was the beer garden out the back. As the name implies, this is a rather skinny pub, and the beer garden opens onto the back street, but the atmosphere is wonderful, and the beer garden very relaxing.

Been catching the tram out front of this place for ages, and today my friend and I decided to drop in for lunch. It was amazing! We started the meal with the garlic bread which was Turkish bread with garlic butter with a mixture or balsamic vinegar and a chilli herb oil. The combination of the oils and bread gave a wonderful flavour. We followed this with the Chicken burger. It was a mouth watering grilled chicken, lettuce tomato bacon guacamole. All on a well toasted bun served with a side of beautifully crispy fries. We washed this down with the twisted sister apple cider and to say we were satisfied would be an understatement. We're already making plans to come back!

This is the first time I have ever been here and yet I wait at the tram stop out front every day! Monday night was busy! I think there was also some sort of event going on as well. Can't go wrong with a parma, fries and salad! The famous Skinny Dog parma is also in a half serve which is great for the ladies OR gents who can't finish a full serve! Although the downsize, the other different toppings are only in full serve...I don't understand why they can't have half serves either! Staff are friendly, good venue, table service and also Aston club for any users out there. They also have Steak night Tuesday or Thursday night parma specials to enjoy!

It might be a skinny dog, but it is loyal and reliable. I have never been let down by the SDH in the 20-something years that I have given it patronage. Even when it was fancied up, they did it well and it still had the spirit of the original captured in the renovations. Other reviewers call this a fancy-pub and I think that this is an accurate way to describe it. It has found the right balance and in my experience it has broad appeal. Keen observers of social behaviour will see a table of men-folk all ordering the full-parma (with chips... not salad). The complete consumption of the Skinny Dog's full Parma now separates the men amongst men. The days of taking your hot-rod to race for pink-slips at Thunder Road (lol Greece Fans) are long-gone. This Parma has to be seen to be believed. I've added a photo, where my iPhone gives you some scale to understand just how big it is. Despite the size, it is the best in Melbourne without a doubt. Real men then fit in the creme brûlée and a strong coffee (which are both surprisingly good as well.)