Jimmy Watson's

Daggy old wine bar that hasn’t seen any money spent on it for decades. Old dining furniture, bar, paint, wall decorations. Run down access to toilets; dangerous steps that have been there since 80’s. Some call it rustic.🤣🤣🤣 Tables are set close enough for you to overhear neighbouring conversations even when you wish not to. Not the place for an intimate or romantic dinner. Extensive wine list. But rather pricey cocktails. Staff were ok, but not overly attentive with refilling water. Average food. Definitely not putting out any vibes for top notch food; just some accompaniments to the wines. Veal Saltimbocca was well and truly overcooked, chewy and too salty, accompanied by some rather uninspiring pieces of broccolini and a piece of potato. Snapper fillets were good sized and good quality, accompanied by tasty mash and bisque, and a rather sorry-looking deep fried flavourless crab carapace. (The crab carapace was a rather odd garnish, with very overcooked innards/meat.) And the clientele made the place feel very much like an old folks home.😳

Excellent Italian Cuisine in a Relaxed Setting We had a fantastic dining experience here, enjoying the outdoor seating on a beautiful afternoon. The area was well-shaded, creating a peaceful and inviting atmosphere surrounded by lush greenery. The food was exceptional—our pizza was top-quality, bursting with flavor. Service was another highlight. The staff were warm, attentive, and accommodating, even helping us customize our cocktails to perfection. Overall, a wonderful experience. Highly recommended, and we’ll definitely be returning!

Quality Italian food in a relaxed atmosphere. Had a very nice lunch here seated in the outside area on a perfect weather afternoon. Outside was nicely shaded and had a relaxed vibe amongst the foliage. Food was incredible, we ordered the barramundi, a garlic pizza and a side and everything was top quality. Barra was cooked and flavoured perfectly and garlic pizza was so garlicy (in a good way) that we could smell it from the kitchen. Also the complementary bread was doughy deliciousness. Service was also a highlight, very friendly and good with recommendations. Even recommended me a glass of wine that wasn't on the menu and it was a perfect match to my fish. Overall would definitely recommend as one of the top restaurants in Lygon St and will be back!

We popped in to Snack Monster for a bite to eat and a drink and we were not disappointed. Fantastic service to start with, Simon and Joe are so good at making you feel like family. The menu is good and the food is wholesome and exciting. We had Prawn sliders, meatballs ( to die for) and the chicken liver. I was hesitant at first but was persuaded to try it and WOW 🤩 couldn’t believe how tasty it was. I can’t wait to get back and try all the other things on the menu. Bring on summer for the rooftop beer garden, it’s going to be re vamped ready for the summer and will be the first to take my drink “ on the roof” thank you very much. This is the place to be this summer!

Had a group dinner at Jimmy's last night. Great value for money. Great range of specials and food options. And a huge range of wine options. Wonderful atmosphere. Really enjoyed our night.

Great vibes in a building with a real sense of history. Grabbed the lamb shank and it was killer (although I have regrets about missing out on the steak night steak, which looked great). Nat was super helpful with picking some wines out and a fun chat. Will be back for that steak!

Superb location, wonderful staff, excellent service. Good collection of food and drinks. Food arrived quickly, large portion and delicious. Heaps of car park nearby the restaurant, it is free to park there, just be mindful of the timings. Usually after 6.30pm it is free to park. We had our dinner with friends on the Freedom day after lockdown. Spent close to 4 hrs. Highly recommend it.

Biggest shout out to Vera! We came in last night on a whim, looking for a nice place to eat and good, conversational atmosphere, and our lovely waitress epitomised the essence of amazing customer service! What an asset she is to this restaurant!

I really like this place, but I really want to like it more than I do. It's not going to be my favourite place to have a drink anytime soon. So many decent places in the area, so there's some stiff competition. I'm keen to try a meal here, but as it is, I've only really stopped in here after work for a drink with friends. I thought the wine list was adequate but nothing special, however I've tried quite a few new types of wine here that I hadn't had before. The beer garden is pretty cool, and totally unexpected. The meals that I've seen look pretty damn good, and the prices aren't over the top.

Fabulous evening at this joint last night. Ended up in a conversation with Simon the grand son of Jimmy. Charming man with great pride and historical knowledge in the bar. A lovely legacy he's at the wheel of. The man wears shorts in mid winter and you gotta love that!

Ah! Good ole wattoh's! Jimmy Watson's, colloquially known as watto's has stood for some 77 years. It was one of the originals to Melbourne's dining scene. Heck, even my dad dined here when at a young age. Jimmy Watson's is the place to go when you don't want to think too much about dinner, and you're after some comfort food. I don't like much to use these words; but Watson's is "family friendly", everyone is welcome here. If you're after somewhere to eat, where there's always favourites on the menu and mostly everyone is easily pleased, then Watson's is for you. It's a long established and standing Melbourne institution. Staff take pride in being apart of this. There's a covered courtyard out back, and a little room that's like a garage. This serves for private dining, or an events space and even has it's own bar. Of course, you can always join the busy atmosphere out front, where you're clamouring for a free table. The main part of this restaurant is busy, popular, and loud, but full of life. Quite often staff will pull miracles, and find you a spare seat or table. If you want to avoid disappointment- book. Watson's has all the crowd favourites' pizza, pasta, wine, other awesome things, and homely comfort food. Ace. Oh check out the "Wolf's Lair" It's new- and just opened. But its also a secret!! Shh, don't tell anyone.

What a great little place! We were enthusiastically greeted as soon as we walked through the door! Seated and water brought to the table immediately. The kitchen and staff are well organized and put out some amazing food! We enjoyed a nice bottle of house Shiraz with a shared plate of spaghetti bolognese. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was plentiful and amazing! Great atmosphere. I'm sure it had something to do with all the people out shopping and getting ready for the holiday but it sure hit the spot with us!

My old time favorite steak in Melbourne. Have been here 10+ times. Highly recommend. Excellent food and wine.

So, just behind Jimmy Watson's Restaurant is a little joint called Jimmy Watson's Wine Bar. It's a little extension of the main restaurant and is definitely worth a visit. Smaller, cozier and quieter than the main restaurant, the wine bar offers an intimate atmosphere with a modest menu. The evening I visited there was only one staff member, and she was amazing. Our prosciutto and parmesan pizza took awhile to come, and she offered a round of drinks. Couldn't ask for better service! The decor is lovely and warm and you feel like a regular instantly.

This review is for Wolfs Lair, which is the spectacular bar at the back of Jimmy Watson's. It's astonishingly good, I want to move in. It's just playful enough to be fun, grungy enough to be cool and beautiful enough to be classy. I want for nothing more in a wine bar, except perhaps some late afternoon sun, which is furiously obscured by the surrounding buildings. Keep this in mind when dressing - it can get a little chilly up on the rooftop. But perfect for a steaming summer night when the sun is just a little too scorching. It's a little like Madame Brussels, with better prices and more space. You can sit on old crates which have been turned into tables and chairs, or sit on top of bar stools lining the perimeter. The jugs of cocktails are delicious, all the classics available and their wine, beer and cider list is impressive. The bar food looked delicious too. They did close very early when we visited, by 11 pm they weren't serving but that may just be summer trading hours. Most definitely worth a visit (come here first then scoot over to DOC for some pizza). Now THAT's a night out in Carlton.

I bought a 'Groupon' voucher for Jimmy Watson's... $140 worth for $49 and the first time we had been there..........in a word 'disappointing' the food and wine would not have been worth the $49 paid, we also found the venue to be 'very dated', unfortunately we will not be going back.

Bland pizzas, very dry and lacking in flavour. Need much better pizza dough and more sauce.

Went there for dinner yesterday. The food was not eadable. Ordered the beef cheek goulash which looked like slosh in a plate with a dab of mash potatoe (think the meat was burnt). The Anglione prawn parcels were tasteless and the pizza was dry and overpriced. The bread must have been frozen as had no taste whatsoever......what can I say but never go there again.....guess you never know till you try it 21/06/2014 - Anna z