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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
The Godby Hotel is less a pub than a very precise response to its postcode.
There’s something commendable about a team that understands who their venue is for. Plenty of excellent establishments have fallen flat simply by landing in the wrong room – that’s not the case here. The newest venture from Julien Moussi and Only Hospitality (the Beehive Hotel, Hotel Collingwood) has transformed the old first-class lounge at South Yarra Station into something tailored to its audience.
Burgundy bottles pushing well past the $4,000 mark. A women’s bathroom stocked with a comprehensive range of toiletries. A pub in South Yarra was never going to be just a pub.
This isn’t a working man’s local, nor is it chasing northside cool. It’s a venue calibrated to its surroundings: polished, social and just indulgent enough. If northsiders worship at the temple of the North Fitzroy Arms, consider this its southside counterpart. Opened in December, it’s the kind of place made for a first date or a casual drink that inevitably stretches into an entire evening – only here, you can mark the occasion with a 2012 Dom Pérignon magnum.
There’s a quiet cleverness to it all. Tucked behind concealed panels, Nightbird adds another layer – a Japanese-inspired listening room built around high-fidelity sound and a rotating roster of vinyl and digital DJs. After all, what’s better than a glass of 2018 Pol Roger Vintage? Enjoying it in a secret room, of course.
The vibe
Inside, down a carpeted stairway, the space opens into something a little more refined than your average pub. Wood floors, mirrored surfaces and an undeniably regal bar anchor a room of velvet booths and panelled walls, while mosaic tiling and soft, considered lighting draw out its heritage details.
But today I skip the dining room and head for the courtyard. It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon, after all. Trains roll in and out of the neighbouring station, adding an unexpected sense of cosiness to the space.
If I needed confirmation that this is prime first date territory, the couple beside us provides it. I won’t review their evening, though it seems to be going well.
It’s bright, very bright, and when I ask for the retractable roof to be lowered, I can feel the collective resistance of a courtyard full of freshly bronzed South Yarrans. Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
The food
The menu is a mix of pub classics and Japanese fare. Although nigiri next to chicken parmigiana might read as indecisive, here it feels savvy. What could be a nod to Nightbird also reads as good business sense in a suburb where Japanese dining is as much a staple as a Spritz.
I start with a spicy tuna maki roll ($26 for six pieces), each one generously topped with blushing tuna tartare, alongside crispy prawns slicked in spicy mayo and tobiko ($23). The tuna is clean and fresh, while the prawns are plump, their batter softened slightly under the sauce, which leans more sweet than spicy. Think Kewpie with a gentle hit of sriracha.
Neither dish is reinventing the wheel, but they don’t need to be. The ingredients are good, the portions ample, the presentation sublime, and in a sunlit courtyard buzzing with happy punters, it all feels exactly right.
For mains, I lean into the classics.
The smash burger – double patty, pickles, smoked cheese and mustard on a toasted bun with fries ($26) – doesn’t quite live up to its name. The patties lack that signature smash burger crisp, caramelised edge, instead offering a more traditional grilled finish. Pleasing, but slightly dry, and crying out for a higher fat content. That said, I appreciate the restraint: no gratuitous toppings, just mustard and pickle doing exactly what they need to. The fries are, simply, McPerfect.
I can’t go to a pub and not order the parma ($32). Here, it arrives as expected: shaved ham, Napoli, three cheeses. The chicken is juicy and well cooked. And yet, it falls a little flat. Even with the molten topping and hot sauce, it lacks punch; a sharper cheese wouldn’t go astray.
Oddly, it’s served with a boat of gravy, but in this case, it works. Glossy, salty, with a hint of red wine depth, it transforms each bite. Parma, chips, a dunk of gravy — call it Guy Fieri, because it’s taken me straight to Flavourtown.
The food isn’t groundbreaking, but it doesn’t need to be. Godby Hotel knows exactly what it’s doing, and more importantly, who it’s doing it for.
The drinks
There’s an excellent wine list, spanning both local and international producers. Prices range widely, with a solid selection by the glass for the cost-conscious. For everyone else, there’s plenty to explore.
Beers and spirits are all there. Unsurprisingly, Champagne is well represented.
On my visit, the F1 is on, and Godby leans in with a special cocktail: Monkey 47 gin, Chambord, cranberry, lime, ginger and pomegranate. It lands somewhere in Cosmopolitan territory. Easy drinking and slightly on the sweeter side.
The Dr Felix Marlow cocktail ($26) is a highlight. Rum, vanilla, lime and Angostura arrive in a squat tumbler, topped with a citrus sherbet foam that cuts through the sweetness with a welcome burst of acidity.
After cocktails I decide to keep things local with a bottle of Yabby Lake Pinot Gris. Crisp and floral with a gentle citrus lift, it’s the kind of wine that, alongside a bowl of fries, leaves little to complain about.
Time Out tip:
Make sure you get food from the cold bar and their signature sides, the Asian influence is where Godby shines.
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