While it attracts a good chunk of St Kilda's achingly cool set, this laidback pub doesn't court their attention. It simply offers beer, pool and rock'n'roll.
There are many venues around that try hard to capture the grungy perfection of a laidback local pub. We've all seen it before: the recently 'aged' facade, AC/DC posters on the wall and staff wearing jeans so skinny they'd make Steven Tyler blush. The Prince Public Bar will never suffer the embarrassing ailments of a venue that tries too hard, being naturally blessed with the attributes of a gloriously seedy local.
With that existential argument out of the way, the meat and bones of what you'll get at the Prince Public Bar is simply this: beer, pool, and rock 'n' freakin' roll. With an open-door policy that welcomes all who walk through the entrance, any day or night of the week will see nubile St Kilda-ites rubbing shoulders with the permanently instated barflies.
The Saloon Bar off to the side of the main affair is one of St Kilda's biggest gay bars and has been since the 1940s. But you won't find Kylie on the jukebox, just good ol' rock'n'roll.
A widely held St Kilda habit is the Sunday session at the Prince. It involves pulling up a bench outside on a Sunday afternoon, with a glass of your favourite amber liquid in front of you and simply watching the world go by.
Mark Gambino
