Stokehouse takes shape as first part of three-venue precinct to open
A STRIKING 18m bar with sweeping views of Port Phillip Bay will take pride of place on the ground floor of the newly rebuilt Stokehouse.
Inner South
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A STRIKING 18m bar with sweeping views of Port Phillip Bay will take pride of place on the ground floor of the newly rebuilt Stokehouse.
After it was devastated by fire more than two years ago, owners Frank and Sharon Van Haandel vowed to make the landmark venue better than ever and are serving up a three-venue “precinct” on St Kilda’s foreshore.
The new five green star Stokehouse precinct, designed by architect Robert Simeoni, is to be part one of its three-stage rollout.
It will include the trademark restaurant as well as fish and chip kiosk Paper Fish and Pontoon, and a relaxed bar and grill.
Mr Van Haandel said he was stoked with the new building, the first five-star green-rated building of its type.
“This building design is on a world scale and there is nothing like it ... the results are incredibly exciting,” he said.
Taking up the ground floor of what was previously Stokehouse Cafe, Pontoon is a 350-seat casual dining venue, complete with an 18m-long bar and a custom-made 4m wood grill.
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Pontoon is set to open at the end of the month, serving up chargrilled seafood with an emphasis on handheld and shared dishes, 18 beers on tap, house cocktails and ‘frozé’ (rosé slushies).
Interior designer George Livissianis said Pontoon was “bringing the beach into the room”.
“Looking out onto St Kilda beach was a great starting point in considering colours and materials that would complement the concrete and blackened timber building,” he said.
Pontoon will open noon until late every day, all year round, except Christmas.
Beachside takeaway shop Paper Fish opens in mid-October, bringing family memories of fish and chips back to the St Kilda foreshore.
Paper Fish offers a limited menu made up of fish, crinkle-cut chips and sweet potato cakes.
Soft-shelled crab in a milk bun is the closest the kiosk comes to a burger and a coconut prawn taco looks set to be a winner on a warm summer night.
Port Phillip Council approves designs for new Stokehouse restaurant
Drinks on offer include icy-cold granitas and for eat-in diners there is a limited licensed menu including Aussie surfers Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson’s boutique Balter Beer.
Paper Fish will be open daily from noon until the end of daylight saving, when it will close for six months.
The long-awaited top-floor restaurant Stokehouse will be open for all-day dining from December 6.
The 130-seat venue has been designed by Pascale Gomes McNabb, who tackled the 2010 refurbishment of the building.
She said the new venue would offer diners “that same Stokehouse feeling”.
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