Crafty’s Sports Bar

Fancy a night out with family and friends at a venue that has something for everyone: games the family can play, a casual dining venue with food that suits everyone, live sports screening and a bar with craft beers and wicked cocktails?

Crafty’s Sports Bar, located at the main entrance to Harbour Town Eats, is a family-friendly sports bar offering sociable dining complete with competitive games such as table tennis and cornhole. Cheeky and stylish with an entertaining sense of humour, it’s a fun place to meet friends or to have a party.

“There was a gaping hole in the market for a female-friendly space,” says co-owner and manager Dave Galvin. “We wanted families to be able to enjoy many different experiences in the one venue.”

In doing so, they’ve turned sports bars on their head. In this open-plan GC-styled 330-seat space, there’s room for everyone as well as a cordial welcome.

Large it may be, yet it’s also approachable. Divisions gently signify different areas within the venue: the well-stocked cocktail and craft beer bar with its large sports screens, a social dining room for couples and smaller groups, and the kitchen area where the open kitchen shows off the chefs at work. Around the edges you’ll find the games – ping pong and cornhole, made to play.

Participative, competitive family games. The venue is a standout for what it does not include: gaming of any kind. Instead, it’s a welcoming family-friendly space to #partywithcraftys

“The feedback has overwhelmingly been amazing,” says Dave, who has garnished experience opening thirty venues for other people, including QT and Merivale, now put into practise in his first business with business partner Geoff Bainbridge, founder of Grill’d.

Former fine dining chef Steve Seckold (ex-Flying Fish, Pyrmont) heads the kitchen, turning out approachable food. The menu is divided into sections ranging from ‘Hand Food’ (good time fun dishes), through greens (think delicious salads and veg), burgers and pizzas to ‘Crafted cuts’ (AKA serious steaks) and trays of combo dishes.

‘Hand food’ shows off well-made popular casual dishes with a fun twist, such as a Giant soft pretzel with a beer-laced cheese dip and seeded mustard ($15), Pumpkin tostadas with avo salsa ($14), moving on to Crafty’s own take on Southern fried chicken with a home-made hot sauce, burgers (all available burger-less) and hot dogs (DIY with remoulade and accompaniments provided).

Sports-themed cocktails add a fun element not to be missed. ‘The Goat’, served in a trophy cup is the best of its kind. Aptly named, beware ‘The Duck’, replete with rubber ducky. It’s pretty enough but packs a punch akin to a knockout!

While Crafty’s provides party food and drinks for a good night out, there’s also plenty to keep us occupied on ‘Date Night’!

Our favourite ‘starters’ are shared finger food dishes: indulgently delicious Sticky tamarind lamb riblets with curry leaves ($21) that will have you licking your fingers (or someone else’s) and decadent Parmigiana spring rolls (2 for $12), before moving onto one of the steaks on offer, such as the 300g Thousand Guineas rump with a choice of three sauces ($28) and Fresh grilled North Queensland barramundi with brown butter lemon sauce, crispy fries and salad ($32), which we accompany with grilled broccoli with hazelnuts and a glass of pinot noir.

Crafty’s is lots of fun for the whole family, from competitive socialising over games to celebration dining or sports-themed cocktails. We can’t think of another venue that covers quite the same bases for interactive family fun, date night or group dining.

With such a fresh and vibrant take on Aussie culture, who we are and how we live, dine and socialise, we expect to see a lot more Crafty’s around in the future. Very crafty indeed!