This St Kilda pub is a little bit classy without betraying that warm pub welcome you want when drinking by the bay
While the humble drive-thru bottle shop is a fixture for countless legacy pubs across the land, the version affixed to this Brighton Road mainstay is the first indication you get that the Grosvenor Hotel is not like the other pubs. The bottle-o isn’t simply just a bottle-o – it’s also a grocery store stocked with high class comestibles, ranging from sriracha cheddar to cuts of Gippsland beef. And if you don’t fancy cooking your own beef, the vivid burger street art is also a sign-post for the adjoining St Kilda Burger Bar, whose buns are available to collect from the comfort of your ride. All this, and we haven’t even set foot inside the venue yet.
This is not a packet-of-crisps-in-a-bowl kind of place. A glass meat safe in the main entryway proudly showcases cuts of Victorian beef as it undergoes a weeks-long aging process, signalling the venue’s reverence for red meat. The bistro provides a quiet dining environment for more reserved punters who like this pub for its upmarket atmosphere. To the right, the main bar caters to a younger crowd. There’s live footy on the screens overhead and a repertoire of acoustic pop covers constitutes the live music offering.
Staff are decked out in crisp aprons; there’s a comprehensive wine list leaning on steak-friendly domestics like Barossa Valley shirazes and Yarra Valley pinot noirs; and our scotch fillet arrives with the offer of a mustard platter of English, Dijon, seeded and horseradish. Don’t dig beef? The eggplant parmigiana lined with melted fresh mozzarella is for you. But even with fancy trappings like a $650 whole suckling pig isn’t so extravagant that it betrays the humble pub atmosphere that they’ve managed to retain in spite of the spruce-up.
Tap beer comes to you by way of Newstead and Hawkes. The resurgence of the tinny has well and truly been embraced, too, with Mornington IPA filling the fridge alongside $7.50 Melbourne Bitter cans – take one outside to the beer garden and it feels not unlike you’re enjoying a house party at a well-off friend’s abode.
