Westfield Knox: The gone but not forgotten favourite eateries in Knox Ozone

For 20 years Knox Ozone has been one of the outer east’s entertainment hot spots — it’s time to look back and vote on your favourite venue.

Kiel Egging

4 min read

June 22, 2022 - 11:42AM

Knox Leader

LouLou Bar, Switch, Nudle, Paesano and the Irish Pub are among the popular places which have come and gone from Knox Ozone over the years.

Outer East

Don't miss out on the headlines from Outer East. Followed categories will be added to My News.

It’s the groundbreaking precinct which in the early 2000s became arguably the hottest socialising and dining destination in Melbourne’s east.

This year marks 20 years since Knox Ozone opened as part of Westfield Knox’s last major redevelopment, completed in November 2002 by former owners AMP Capital.

It launched to huge fanfare with a string of restaurants and bars, a relocated Village Cinemas, and retail offerings including a Virgin Megastore, Ozmosis, and a Nike concept store.

Since then, Ozone has evolved to become a dining-focused precinct, with many eateries coming and going over the years.

Today, with the exception of the cinemas and JB Hi-Fi, only The Coffee Club at the precinct’s entrance remains as an original tenant.

There’s been signs of Ozone starting to return to its glory days in recent years with the arrival of The Sporting Globe, Urban Alley Brewery, Roc Social and The Bavarian.

But many visitors to the precinct have happy memories of their favourite restaurants and venues which have come and gone over the years.

Here’s a look at some of the much-loved former Ozone venues which have since closed down, and be sure to tell us your favourites in the comments, or vote in our poll below.

THE IRISH

The Seamus O’Toole’s Irish Pub was a much-loved part of Knox Ozone from 2002-2020. File picture.

One of the original tenants, Seamus O’Toole’s Irish Pub was undoubtedly one of, if not the biggest, drawcard in Ozone’s history, and a destination for generations of partygoers in the outer east.

You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the Knox area who didn’t visit for a Friday or Saturday night session partying away on the sticky dancefloor, the Monday night industry drinks, many pints of Guinness, or a fantastic pub feed.

Sadly, after a few years of doubts on its future due to rent prices, the Covid pandemic was the final nail in the coffin for the pub when it closed in March 2020, and didn’t reopen.

It’s since been replaced by the $5m Urban Alley Brewery, which opened last month, and the brewery has carried on many of The Irish’s old traditions, with live acts and DJs into the wee hours on weekends.

LOULOU BAR AND LOUNGE

Another Ozone original, this bar and lounge was the place to go for anyone who didn’t want to join the long lines at the Irish or needed somewhere to kick on later in the night.

It had predominantly R&B-themed nights and DJs, acoustic sessions on Sundays, and even underage events in the mid-2000s.

Foot traffic started to drift off a bit in the club’s last few years, and, similar to the Irish, the pandemic seemed to be the death knell for the venue, even though an official closure announcement was never made.

After no signs of life in the area for months, LouLou’s old space looks like it will be taken over by TGI Fridays, which is opening at Knox in the near future.

SWITCH

Switch had a massive presence and was a popular restaurant and meeting place at the front of the Knox Ozone precinct. File picture.

This was the huge restaurant which stretched along the front of the precinct on Melbourne Rd, with the old Nandos next door and Coffee Club as well.

Switch, which also has a venue in Narre Warren that remains open, had a slick interior with a massive bar in the middle, a modern Australian menu, and a function area as well.

And many enjoyed a coffee or a cocktail or two under the heaters in its outdoor dining section along the front, which is also a pedestrian link to enter the precinct.

Signage and lights were installed at Knox Ozone in 2017 while a replacement for Switch was being built. File picture.

Switch was empty for a few months and closed down in 2015, and given its massive presence, centre management put in some signage and lights to cover things up while it was closed.

The area has since been replaced with two restaurants — Billy’s Kitchen and Groove Train.

BAR BOSH

Bar Bosh was a popular spot for brunches on weekends until it closed in 2016. File picture.

Another longstanding venue, Bar Bosh was one of the major players in bringing the alfresco dining vibes to Ozone in the precinct’s early days.

It featured a large bar, a Middle Eastern-focused menu, and was popular for weekend brunches and Sunday sessions.

After operating for more than a decade, Bar Bosh closed in 2016 and the space remained empty for more than 12 months.

Eventually, German beer hall The Bavarian arrived in 2017, minus on-site toilets.

PAESANO

Paesano operated at Knox Ozone from 2002-2019. File picture.

This Italian restaurant was another original Ozone tenant and a staple of the precinct for many years.

Located opposite Village Cinemas, it was a popular spot for a pre-or-post movie feed with plenty of pizza, pasta, coffee and cake, drinks and gelato on offer.

Paesano closed quietly due to “unforeseen circumstances” in 2019 and was left abandoned for months.

More on the restaurant’s demise came to light later in the year when its owners were fined $50,000 and convicted of a swag of food safety breaches.

After plans for a new venue, Martini and Co, fell through, Paesano’s space along with the old LouLou bar and lounge is set to be replaced by TGI Fridays in the near future.