A venue that channels suburbia, mateship and Philly cheesesteaks.
Live Music: When you’re named after the classic Robert Petway song Catfish Blues, you can’t mess around with the music you’re serving up. The intimate yet distinctive upstairs bandroom hosts a wide variety of musicians several times a week, treating punters to everything from up-and-coming indie bands to New Orleans-inspired jazz.
Famous for: A community-focused atmosphere that has hosted events such as The Catfish Poker Pub Crawl, Catfish Comedy and the Gertrude Street Projection Festival. It’s an approach that has won owners Kieran Yewdall and Michael Shaugnessy numerous awards over the years, including picking up ‘True Indie Supporter’ at the 2022 Indies.
Infamous for: The upstairs bar that has an unmistakably middle-Americana feel to it. Featuring nooks and crannies that slant more Mississippi than they do Melbourne, you’d be forgiven if you felt like you had just been transported to a western saloon!
Just a stone’s throw away from Brunswick Street’s overflow of large-scale venues, The Catfish’s suburban charm is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air to Fitzroy’s ecosystem of bars.
Exclusively serving craft beer (and the odd cider!) from their eight rotating taps, low ceilings and even lower lights radiate a cushy, home-like feel as beloved resident fish ‘Muddy’ watches on from his very own tank.
Food-wise, the venue’s joint partnership with Sparrows is a match made in heaven, as authentic yet affordable Philly cheesesteaks are dished out well into the night.
Elsewhere, take a trip out to the beer garden if what you’re drinking is best paired with sunshine or head upstairs and get welcomed to one of Fitzroy’s most unique bandrooms.
With a wide array of musicians and comedians taking the stage regularly alongside a heavily-curated drinks list, The Catfish is everything you want in your local watering hole. So whether you fancy putting your cowboy boots on upstairs or you’re after a quiet knock-off on the ground floor, The Catfish has you covered for every situation.
