The Abercrombie Hotel

Cnr Broadway & Abercrombie St, Broadway

Tim Gonzarelli’s spirits are raised by the well-done renovation of a favourite old haunt.

I was ready to hate the recently re-opened Abercrombie Hotel. I really was.

The venue held a special place in my memories for its Friday nights, when it played host to the weekly indie-rock, drunken mess that was Purple Sneakers.

In those days the Abercrombie had sticky floors, weathered couches, and a lack of lighting. Cheap house beer was served in jugs that you’d be drinking straight out of within an hour of arriving. From what I could tell, there was never any food on offer. If there was, I never saw anyone game enough to try it.

What it lacked in cleanliness, the pub made up for with a good crowd and a virtually non-existent responsible service of alcohol policy. It made for some memorable Friday nights and a lot of Friday nights that I just plain don’t remember.

I never dared venture to the Abercrombie outside of Friday nights. Without the crowd and the loose atmosphere, it would be hard to call the place anything but a dump.

When Purple Sneakers pulled on its boots in January 2010 and headed on to a new venue, the word was that the Abercrombie was going to be demolished to make way for the new Broadway residential development that still looks years away from being completed.

Fast forward 18 months and I was surprised to find out that the pub was still standing and had been taken over by the people responsible for revamping the Norfolk, the Flinders and the Carrington. James Wirth and James Miller have turned these joints from downtrodden local watering holes into trendy hangouts for hipsters. While former patrons might be annoyed with the changes to their local, one thing the team behind these bars can’t be criticized for is getting rid of the pokies. These pubs are all thriving without relying on the help of the one-armed bandits.

My first taste of the new Abercrombie Hotel came after watching the footy at Leichhardt Oval. Keen to kick on, I remembered that the Abercrombie had re-opened a few days earlier and thought I may as well see how one of my old favourite swill houses had been ruined.

We rocked up at about 11pm. The changes from the old days were striking. Gone were the sticky floor and stained couches. There was yet-to-be stained tartan carpet, shelves with books glued in, and booths for groups to sit in. The other thing that seemed to be missing was the crowd. There was only a handful of people there and first impressions were not good (of the pub not the people). I texted a mate who’d spoken highly of the new set-up: “I preferred the old Purple Sneakers. Sticky floors, jugs of beer, cute girls and irresponsible service of alcohol. Worst of all, I don’t like my chances of any seedy make outs in this joint now.” With reasonable lighting, the women would know what I really looked like.

I soon learnt to let go of first impressions. The crowd slowly built, the music was good and there was a wide selection of reasonably priced drinks. They also had a couple of kooky cocktails like the Berocca Colada (a berocca-infused take on a piña colada) and the Rave Juice served with a glow stick in a glad bag, which stops glassings but might become a choking hazard.

As the clock ticked towards 3:30am it was fair to say I was enjoying myself. By 4am I was getting attention from a woman who didn’t seem to mind the light bouncing off my bald head. This place wasn’t too different from the old days after all.

I’ve been back to the Abercrombie a lot since that first night. Wednesday is a great night to drop in for the awesome $3 taco special. In fact the whole menu is pretty cheap and tempting. There aren’t many healthy options, but if you’re trying to lose weight, perhaps you shouldn’t be at a pub in the first place.

Despite the prejudices I had against the new Abercrombie Hotel before I’d actually been inside, it’s safe to say I’m a fan. It used to be a place where I would go and get stupidly drunk, but by the time Purple Sneakers left the building, I was too old to be there anyway. Now that the bar has a new lease on life, with an older crowd, I’m back and loving it. It also used to just be a Friday night joint. Now I’ll happily go and knock back a couple of beers with dinner any night of the week. It’s also nice to know I can still go there and have a huge night on a Friday. Or a Saturday. Or a Sunday.

It pains us to report the Abercrombie is closed again.