Taking old pubs, filling them with tat and turning them into playgrounds for adults is the Sand Hill Road group’s shtick. First it was the Richmond Club, then the Bridge in Richmond. Last year, they set Techne Architects upon the old 1940s Prahran Hotel on High Street. A rear extension now sees 17 giant concrete pipes stacked on top of each other like industrial-scale Connect Four. Those pipes extend inside creating cubby-like booths meaning you and some pals can re-enact drinking in drainpipes without the fear of flash flooding. From here you have birds eye view of the Saturday night crowd pumping their fists to house tracks down below. You can also watch folks attempting to pick up in the tall, twinkling smoker’s terrarium. Out front, the hotel’s 1940s art deco visage remains intact. The Sand Hill Crew know some things are sacred, as the menu of burgers, parmas and chips attests. You can score a $15 T-bone on Tuesdays, while the dewy Carlton Draught lever will forever stand between the Little Creatures and Mountain Goat taps. It might be slicker than it used to be and some locals lament that, but in a city where pubs either spruce up or die, the Prahran Hotel has successfully taken the plunge into the 2010s.
