We hear The Palace by Luke Mangan is now just The Palace, although we have high hopes for new head…read morechef John King (ex-Church Street Enoteca and Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld - click here to check out our review). So it seems there is no time like the present to put up this post - to celebrate all that Luke achieved at this great South Melbourne eatery. We recently attended a wine-matching dinner presented by Coldstream Hills Winery at The Palace by Luke Mangan. The Palace is what Londoners like us refer to as a gastropub. A mutation of top-notch pub with the addition of a new breed of chef willing to cook pub meals at a consistently high standard in a refined but unpretentious setting. There usually serve a pretty good drop, too. Plus boutique beers and ciders, you get the picture. The place is in an unassuming building along City Road and walking through the doors you find it harbours a bar and seating area. Continuing through a doorway you enter the dining room proper but if you bypass this you get to a great outdoor seating area - I will definitely be back to try it out in the next few months. The Coldstream Hills Wine Dinner was to take place in a separate are behind the bar where gold framed prints and large mirrors line the walls. As we were taken to our table we were offered to start with a glass of Coldstream Hills NV Sparkling. It was a great glass of bubbles that kicked off the first of four courses. Rob Hay from Coldstream Hills took us through the wines that were going to accompany the meal and gave us insight into the peculiarities of grape growing in the region. We started off with a sashimi plate. This dish was a hit with everyone. New Zealand King Salmon on confit potato, ponzu dressing. Sitting next to that was Kingfish sahimi, ginger eschalot dressing. Kingfish is the seafood of choice of WordMonkey and this did not disappoint her one iota. To finish off the trio Scallop, cauliflower puree, black bean dressing, baby shiso. I tried to take my time to savour each flavour but as I was attempting to do that, all the plates around me were wiped clean in just a few minutes. The next course for me was what I would term a revelation. People who know me know I have more than a slight aversion to anything 'egg-y'. Well, the second course had to be prawn omelette, bisque sauce, truffle oil didn't it.... I had an unhealthy urge for all the other ingredients. Well, after WorkMonkey said that if the dish passed my lips, the perfect combination of flavours would mask anything to do with egg. And for the first time in my life I not just swallowed egg but ate the whole dish leaving nothing on my plate. This was matched well with Coldstream Hills 'Deer Farm Vineyard' Chardonnay - nice and smokey to complement the truffle. Onto the reds we went - Coldstream Hills Reserve Pinot Noir. Dear Lord, this was the stuff dreams are made of. If I could drink one red for the rest of my life, then start stocking the cellar. Yes - you may think I am going overboard but I have good reason so don't knock it 'til you tried it my friend. This was served alongside Confit duck, Asian style brique pastry, char sui mushrooms, duck and ginger broth. The duck looked like it was encased in a spring roll and the pungent broth was poured over the duck and into the bowl. light, tasty and tender wrapped in a crispy shell. Yum. To finish the evening off chai panna cotta was cleverly matched with Coldstream Hills Reserve Shiraz. Not normally one to opt for chai anything, this turned the tide and we wiped the decks with this light sweet dessert. So there you have it - Luke Managan had a darn good gastropub going here. Watch this space for what the future holds.

The Palace has seen a lot of change in the last few years. Once a sensational gastropub by Luke…read moreMangan, then a pub without the celebrity chef name, then it was the short-lived SoHo and now back to The Palace again. So what can you expect from The Palace as it stands now? This is turning more into a pub-pub. The sticky carpet is a far cry from it's early beginnings, but more inviting to just drop in for a casual drink. The courtyard is good in summer and is dog friendly, so it's a haven for the locals and their four-legged friends. It sets the tone for a casual place to be and the common love for dogs bonds strangers as the pups play. I haven't eaten here yet, but there's a decent selection of craft beer on tap so I usually pop in here for one on the way through to say hi to the dogs (before the cigarette smoke turns me off and I head somewhere else!)

This pub wasn't too bad, and in fact I'd probably consider it to be a railway pub. The reason for…read morethat is because it isn't too far from the local railway station, and while there does happen to be a freeway between the pub and a station, the government has kindly built a walkway across it to make it much easier to get to the pub from the train. It is fairly new, and it also has a couple of craft beers available, which is another one of those things that I particularly like. Yeah, this pub was actually pretty good.

absolutely beautiful service from Clare our host we ordered…read moreSoup cashew stir fry fish and chips everything is so delicious and well presented every time we come here we absolutely enjoyed everything

Yeah, this pub really didn't impress me all that much. Then again, it is a railway pub, sort on,…read moreprobably more like a bar that happens to be located in a shopping strip. It isn't particularly big, and the beer selection isn't particularly great either. Mind you, when I was here it was actually pretty crowded, though I did find a seat. However, yeah, I wasn't really impressed with it.

Food servings are large. Be prepared to eat when ordering…read moreup your favorites. I had the parmigiana which was not deep fried, vegetables and mashed potato. Sometimes a simple hearty meal hits the spot!

Stopped here to enjoy the rooftoo on a nice day. They always have good music and the bartenders are…read morenice. Great spot to watch the game or just chill with friends.

A quick bite turned out into a long ordeal. Two lessons learned: no sports bars, and try to avoid…read morethe trains. Trains don't run frequently and the bar took an hour to prepare my food. It was a simple chicken Parmesan. It was tasty, but not worth the wait. Initially it was fun to sit, have a drink, watch some AFL. Most of the restaurant was empty, except for five tables, but the noise level was off the charts. They weren't even watching the game.

This is actually a rather charming tavern, located up in the Mount Dandenong Ranges. In a way it's…read morelocation makes it rather charming, but more than that, the building also is quite lovely as well. Basically it is an English style pub, but it has more charm, and more character, than a lot of others that I visit, namely because they don't go out of their way to make themselves appear to be an English tavern. Like, they have some rather nice beers on tap, and the staff are rather friendly as well. Yeah, this is actually a rather lovely place to be honest.

Really friendly staff and ENORMOUS portions, as I learned from ordering a parma (what else would a…read moreforeigner order in an Australian pub? :-) ). Prices are standard and it doesn't play loud obnoxious music.

This pub is awesome. It just has this really nice old-world charm about it that just seems to be…read morebefitting of one of those inner-city pubs. In fact, the service here was pretty good, and they certainly have quite a decent range of beers on tap as well. Oh, and they also have some quite nice and relaxing live music playing as well. Yeah, I'll have to say that this is definitely a pretty good pub.

This pub is really special, in every sense of the word. It's truly unique and that's evident on…read morethe approach, and reinforced when you get inside and see that the changes in the neighbourhood haven't affected the Pinnacle in the slightest. The ramshackle is this pub's most charming characteristic, and I hope to god nothing about it changes, ever. From the outdoor toilets to the regulars to the fantastic live music that seems to rise out of nowhere, the Pinnacle is unaffected by fashion, style or trend. It's beyond all of that which means nothing, and that makes it a precious and rare thing in Melbourne today. Long live the Pinnacle!

Seamus McPeake's Irish Pub is the local pub for the residents of Knox and surrounds. Hidden away in…read morea corner of Knox City Shopping Centre's Knox Ozone, it is a small venue which has the energy more commonly found in venues of the inner city. Among locals it is called "The Irish". A traditional irish pub in every sense it sports dark wooden furniture and a few booths at the back - perfect for a catch-up with mates. There are little nooks and crannies in every corner with all kinds of seating from bar stools, to benches to seats that double as small tables. Service is quick, but not quick enough when it comes to keeping the place clean - it is pretty grimy and the chances that someone will spill a drink on you are pretty high so I would caution against wearing your best clothes. Dress code is smart casual - just keep it simple. Entry is only $5 and drinks are relatively cheap too which is always a good thing. The place is busiest on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights and because of its size is packed full pretty quickly. There is an outdoor smokers area, which is tiny but it doesn't seem to deter patrons from crushing against each other in order to secure themselves some room out there. The dance floor is tiny but again, when there is a will there is a way and there are a lot of very willing dancers here. Patrons range in age from the very young to the very old although there tends to be more males than females.

Your review helps others learn about great local businesses.I was wandering around Know City one…read moreSaturday afternoon (which I have to admit is a really, really long way out of my way) on a little bit on an expore when I came across this pub right next to the Village Cinemas. My first though was 'excellent location'. Any pub that is next to a cinema is a good pub as far as I'm concerned, especially since one can grab a beer while waiting for the film to start. As an Irish pub it isn't all that bad, similarly with the fact that it is a shopping centre pub (most shopping centre pubs I've encountered are pretty dull). It had a lively atmosphere and friendly staff, and an outdoor area out the front (mostly for smokers). I quite liked the place, to it is a bit too far for me to travel just for a drink.

The Carlton locals are bloody lucky to have a venue like Cure so close by. I would say 'Damn you,…read moreCarlton!' but I'm lucky enough to be one of these jerks. I can't imagine any person not enjoying a night out at Cure. How can you not like; * An extensive wine list * Cheese platters * Homemade pate and lamb rillettes * Cured meats * Original cocktails and all the classics * Cosy Atmosphere * Staff that know what they're doing and love it Seriously. I DARE you to go there and have a bad night.

It never ceases to amaze me how many good bars are to found as you leave the centre of the city…read more Heading down Rathdowne you'll have staggered past the Melbourne Museum and hit a boring little intersection. Once over that it's past a nice bar, a nice bar, an asian takeaway and BAM! an even nicer bar! Not only bar but also serving a wicked selection of cheeses and cured meats, along with a wicked menu, Cure is a rather new creation by people who must certainly known exactly what they're doing. Their extensive lists of wine and cheese are perfectly matched, and well stocked enough in all the right places. The space is cute without being claustrophobic, with many choosing to sit at the bar and converse art and poetry with a bar tender or too (a little wanky but when it looks this good I suppose you can get away with it). Topping it all off? An M-Bomb-ing Chandelier!