The word pub can mean a myriad of things, from sticky-floored bloodhouses to sweet, local bistros like the Montague in South Melbourne. Of course you can pop in for a glass of buttery chardonnay or a Victorian pinot, or just a smashable lager, but even the best intentions of a fly-by visit will come unstuck once you're inside this hospitable corner spot and start sussing the food menu. On a sunny day they fling the doors open so that it feels more like a café than a hotel, and on a chilly evening this is where you want to nest for a $15 parma on Wednesdays or a Sunday roast.
If you're going to pay someone else to cook you bangers and mash, this is the place to do it. Fat pork sausages straining at their skins are bronzed and lolling on a heart-stoppingly creamy mash with a sticky jus, peas and honey carrots. Those snags keep classic company with steaks, a ploughman's board, and burgers, but you can also get do some social menu climbing with the likes of a twice-baked goat's cheese souffle and one kilogram of Spring Bay mussels doused in a mild Napoletana sauce.
This is the kind of comfortable space that takes its cues from neighbourhood bistros in France rather than a bawdy tavern. The gentle, pale grey colour scheme, personable staff and the Tour de France on the tele in July are all clear indicators that this is not a venue for watching UFC, but under all the Euro-styling this place still bears the hallmarks of any good pub, providing stiff drinks, hot meals and a little atmosphere for a low-key night out.