The Bay Hotel Mornington reborn as gastropub in multimillion-dollar revamp

Mornington’s favourite nightspot, better known for luring crowds to its dancefloor, is getting a facelift this Easter.

Whether you were there for the nightclub or the food, most people will have colourful memories of Mornington nightspot The Bay Hotel.

By Easter, the main drag pub will take on a new identity after its facelift by Melbourne restaurateur Liam Ganley.

The publican wasn’t planning on running the watering hole, but took a chance when the real estate agent had a drink at his Prahran steak restaurant Angus and Bon.

“The space didn’t even go to market,” Ganley said.

“Both venues share a similar facade. Angus and Bon is set in an old post office and The Bay is an old bank from the 1890s, with an old vault.”

Time hasn’t been kind to The Bay.

Mornington’s iconic Bay Hotel is being transformed by Liam Ganley, who runs Angus and Bon, Fifth Province and Freddie Wimpoles. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Once called The Publican, with an Asian-fusion restaurant inside, it was also a nightclub and bayside favourite among local kids, before lockdown closed it for good last year.

Ganley is hoping to turn the space into a proper gastropub, spanning two levels, which will look something like Stamping Ground and Nick and Nora’s with Studio Y on the design.

The food will elevate traditional pub fare — a mix between Prahran’s Mount Erica Hotel and Angus and Bon — with steaks, seafood and a focus on peninsula produce.

“The upstairs nightclub will be transformed into a sports bar with lots of timber, an open fire, and will provide a gateway for DJs and live bands,” Ganley said.

“Downstairs will have three open fires, and be really warm and inviting, with live acoustic sets and a 40-seater restaurant at the rear.”

Rotating local beers on tap and Mornington Peninsula wines will also be a focus.

The new-look Bay Hotel will open at 62 Main St Mornington in late April.

GIN BAR REVS UP FOR F1

AGPC x Patient Wolf - Southbank. Picture: Sarah Matray

Melbourne mates Matt Argus and Dave Irwin moved their Patient Wolf gin distillery to Southbank to be in the thick of the action.

But soon after relocating from Brunswick to the city, Covid hit.

“We only had the doors open four to five months and then the pandemic happened,” Argus said.

“Victoria’s gin distilleries are … all regional. So we wanted ours to be on the doorstep of everything.”

After two years in the pits, Patient Wolf is gearing up for a red-hot summer after being named the official gin partner of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2022.

The partnership is a win for the boutique distillery, giving the Melbourne-born brand a global platform to promote its product.

The distillery is at Southbank. Picture: Sarah Matray

Patient Wolf will have a garden bar at the four-day event and will sling a “Ferrari red” gin cocktail inside the corporate suites, and at its City Rd distillery.

The Pitstop Spritz is made with Patient Wolf Blackthorn gin, Campari, sparkling wine, bitters and soda water.

“We’re going to be a doing a lot more stuff at the distillery. We’re going to create a cocktail menu related to the F1. So there’ll be plenty of chances to try drinks here and at the event,” Argus said.

The Pitstop Spritz will be available at Patient Wolf’s Southbank distillery throughout the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2022 between April 7-10

Karen Martini is creating a new menu for Thyme restaurant at Alba.

MARTINI’S NEW COASTAL VENUE

Celebrity chef Karen Martini has taken on another project, leading the food program at the restaurant in Mornington Peninsula’s new Alba Thermal Springs and Spa.

The Melbourne chef behind Hero at ACMI will develop an all-day menu for Thyme — a 120-seater restaurant set to open in winter.

Martini’s menu will comprise modern Mediterranean dishes, using indigenous plants and herbs plucked from the on-site hothouse and nursery. Alba will also champion a plant rejuvenation program at the site.

Thyme’s dining room will span a rooftop terrace overlooking the peninsula, with 80 seats indoors and 40 outdoors. An executive chef will be appointed next year.

Thyme will open daily for Alba Thermal Springs guests from 7.30am to 9pm, from mid-2022.

Above Board owner and chief cocktail maker Hayden Lambert at his Collingwood bar.

COLLINGWOOD BAR AMONG WORLD’S BEST

Collingwood’s Above Board is the only Melbourne bar to make The World’s 50 Best Bars list this year. It’s a first-time mention for the hidden bar, debuting at 44 behind other Australian winners Maybe Sammy and Cantina OK!, both in Sydney. London’s Connaught Bar claimed the top spot. Byrdi, perched in Melbourne Central’s ELLA precinct, just missed a top-50 placing, scraping in at 55.

A new cake from Blackstar Pastry for its Chadstone store.

CHADSTONE’S NEW CAKE STORE

The Sydney cafe behind the cult strawberry watermelon cake has opened a Melbourne flagship store at Chadstone. Blackstar Pastry will serve its full range of pastries, St Ali coffee and signature cakes, including two new flavours — black sesame Zen cake and mango yuzu.

Blackstar popped up in Carlton in 2017 before opening a permanent St Kilda store in 2018.

Tom Sarafian.

CHANGE OF TOUM

Melbourne chef Tom Sarafian has created another product for his sucessful grocery range, Sarafian Melbourne. Toum is a cloud-like, Lebanese garlic and lemon sauce, best served with BBQ chicken or seafood. The seasonal-release comes after the former Bar Saracen chefs’s hummus flew off the shelves earlier this year. The toum is handmade using organic Victorian garlic from Keilor’s Days Walk Farm. The product will go on sale this Friday at Baker Bleu, All Are Welcome Bakery in Northocte, Meatsmith in Fitzroy, St Kilda, Brighton, Balwyn and online and Morning Market.