Cranks Restaurant Bar

Probably not that biggest bar, but this place once used to rock my socks when I was a student when it was called Stadium Bar. It’s in a pretty random place and has the tendency to remind you of old school pubs/​bars in New Zealand during the 80’s/90’s. There isn’t a lot to write home about, however the drink prices are good and the food isn’t all that bad for pub food. This used to be our regular hangout when I used to work close by. Pretty great from that point of view. So a lot has changed since it’s moved to being Cranks, gone are the days of jelly wrestling and foam parties and doors closing at 3am! Never the less a typical local bar in Albany.

I first came to Cranks bar for my friends 70’s gangster themed 21^st party. As we were young and didn’t have high expectations for bars or anywhere as a matter of fact, this place was great to us. All we really cared is that the place was big enough for us to flail our limbs around eccentrically and get away with it. Now going there these days it definitely isn’t my cup of tea, I am just not really into gaming lounges they are rather depressing in nature. But for those of you who are, firstly no offence, secondly I guess this would be a fine place to come because the drinks are cheap and it provides a nice gambling sanctuary to come and escape the world.

When my cousin packed up, and moved the family to Brisbane, a good going away party was a must. I suggested Cranks, mostly because I knew they allow you to close off a section of the restaurant for private parties. We took the larger area on the right, and arranged for our own DJ to rock the night.
The owner was awesome, and he arranged a good price for drinks, plus he managed to get us snack platters for the evening, and he had no issues with us bringing along our own cupcakes for dessert. Overall it was a massive success, and all present had fun. Sure we miss our family, but we’ll always have that memorable night.
Cranks is a good pub, with good prices and yummy steaks, there’s plenty of parking and the beer is cold. What more do you want?

I just don’t get the point of Cranks. It’s a bar and gaming lounge in the middle of a parade of shops opposite the Albany Mega Centre and Westfield shopping mall. The only thing I can assume is that its sole purpose is to be a place for wives to drop off their husbands for a few hours while they shop.
The drinks are inexpensive, so it’s great for an after work drink (the reason I went in there) and you do have the option to sit outside, but if you do the view isn’t much to take in. That said, they have a pretty good selection of lunchtime food for reasonably cheap if you fancy a change from the usual fast food options in the mall. It’s just a really average place, with absolutely nothing special about it: grey walls, an average menu and not much atmosphere.

A nice big sports bar in Albany, Cranks offers anything a sports fan could possibly want — beer, deep fried food, and big screens. I don’t imagine Cranks gets a whole lot of foot traffic, simply owing to it’s location in the middle of an Albany car park. Luckily, it offers a sweet deal for 21^st birthday parties — free venue hire, free security, free PA system and all the space you could want for a night of rowdy fun. I had my big night here a year or so back and it all went off without a hitch — the owner was a great sport and didn’t even mind the live band that I booked! Good times!