NewsBite

Advertisement

‘How good are pubs?’: The return of a legendary Fitzroy favourite feels like a triumph

The revival of Brunswick Street landmark the Punters Club also raises the question: Why isn’t kangaroo schnitzel a staple of the Australian diet?

Besha Rodell

The dining room occupies the former live music space, refitted in wood tones, with big semicircular booths.
1 / 9The dining room occupies the former live music space, refitted in wood tones, with big semicircular booths.Jason South
Kangaroo schnitzel with mash and pepper sauce at Punters Club.
2 / 9Kangaroo schnitzel with mash and pepper sauce at Punters Club.Justin McManus
The cheeseburger: nothing too overwrought, just a very good burger
3 / 9The cheeseburger: nothing too overwrought, just a very good burgerJason South
Dim sims the size of baseballs are served with chilli crisp.
4 / 9Dim sims the size of baseballs are served with chilli crisp.Jason South
The Punters Club drinks list is pub-appropriate but with better wine.
5 / 9The Punters Club drinks list is pub-appropriate but with better wine. Jason South
Tuna tartare in a bag of Smiths crisps is on the menu at Punters Club.
6 / 9Tuna tartare in a bag of Smiths crisps is on the menu at Punters Club.Justin McManus
The Punters Club is back with its original livery.
7 / 9The Punters Club is back with its original livery.Justin McManus
The Punters Club has a wide range of beer and cider on tap.
8 / 9The Punters Club has a wide range of beer and cider on tap.Justin McManus
The new Punters Club dining room has a classic pub vibe.
9 / 9The new Punters Club dining room has a classic pub vibe.Justin McManus

13.5/20

Pub dining$

Look, I have questions. Why is kangaroo schnitzel not a staple of the Australian diet? Why has no one ever dumped their tuna tartare atop a bag of salt and vinegar chips before? And also: How good are pubs? (That one’s easy – they are very good.)

It was these questions, along with others, that arose while I ate at the newly reopened Punters Club in Fitzroy. The original Punters, which closed in 2002, was a stalwart of the inner north’s music scene, and part of what made Brunswick Street the main drag it is today.

More recently, the space had become a different kind of archetype for what the street has become, a massive fun-times venue with sticky floors, run-down pool tables (last time I was there I tried to play but found that none of the cues had tips), questionable food and drink, and smoke-machine-filled dance rooms.

Advertisement

It was much more useful to the kids who packed the streets on weekend nights and far less appealing to the grumpy local residents, who steered clear of this part of Fitzroy from 4pm on Friday until noon on Sunday (looking at, uh, me).

All these factors point to why the revival of the Punters, and its return to its original function as a neighbourhood pub and music venue, is so exciting.

It feels new and also like it’s been here forever.

Now owned by Jason Cameron, who also runs Near and Far bar across the street, the space has lost all the ick factor that built up there over the years, replaced by a classic vibe in wood tones, with big circular booths, a pool room (with cues that actually have tips), and an upstairs band room that can accommodate 100. It feels new and also like it’s been here forever, which tracks because both things are true.

The Punters Club’s drinks list is pub-appropriate but with better wine.
The Punters Club’s drinks list is pub-appropriate but with better wine. Jason South
Advertisement

Drinks are pub-appropriate but with better wine. Cocktails stick to basics (like, really basic; I wasn’t able to get a dirty martini, for instance), and there’s a margarita on tap that’s a bit sweet and watery.

But the beer selection is great, and it really is nice to be able to get a bottle of decent chenin blanc from France to go with this food from chef Dylan Marshall, which is mostly beer-drinking grub, but is absolutely wine-friendly, too, if you’re in that kind of mood.

The assertive acidity of the  salt and vinegar chips offsets the tuna tartare’s subtlety.
The assertive acidity of the salt and vinegar chips offsets the tuna tartare’s subtlety.Jason South

You’re going to find me at this bar pretty often, eating that tuna tartare ($21) served over an open bag of Smith’s salt and vinegar chips, the assertive acidity of the chips setting off the supple fish beautifully. It’s the perfect blend of snackage and something more substantial.

There are fat dim sims ($6 each), the size of baseballs, the meat filling straining against their golden exterior, served with crunchy chilli oil. Hot and numbing fried chicken wings ($18) are crispy rather than saucy, dusted in Sichuan peppercorns.

Advertisement

The grass-fed cheeseburger ($18) is a paragon of the fast-food-goes-upscale form – it is exactly what you want when you’re looking for burger simplicity, with two thin patties cooked to a lovely medium with melty cheese and pickles. Nothing too overwrought, just a very good burger.

Why is kangaroo schnitzel not a staple of the Australian diet?
Why is kangaroo schnitzel not a staple of the Australian diet?Justin McManus

And that kangaroo schnitzel ($28) – an ode to a similar dish Marshall used to serve at the Scenic pub in Adelaide Hills – is an instant classic, meaty and greasy in all the right ways, served over mash with a deeply flavoured pepper sauce.

The dessert menu nods to another Fitzroy icon, Lune, by using their croissants for a bread and butter pudding ($16), served with Pidapipo gelato. Those kinds of details seem small but speak to the community-building that’s at the heart of any great pub.

Which brings me back to one of my original questions: How good are pubs? I can’t stress enough how lucky we are to live in a city with the variety and quality we have.

Advertisement

As someone who lived without Melbourne pubs for a good portion of my life while living overseas, I don’t understand how I survived without them.

Where did I go on a Wednesday night when I didn’t feel like cooking? Where did I meet people when I needed a space that was welcoming to all, kids, oldies, and in-between? Where did I live my life when my living room was too small, when I craved community, when I needed a casual drink in the sunshine? I barely remember, and I hope I never have to find out again.

But even in a city (and a postcode) with so many fantastic pub options, the new Punters feels like a triumph, and a return to the heart of what made Fitzroy one of the world’s great neighbourhoods.

The low-down

Vibe: Classic wood-heavy neighbourhood pub

Go-to dish: Kangaroo schnitzel, $28

Drinks: Great beer selection, lots on tap, above-average wines for a pub, basic cocktails

Cost: About $80 for two, plus drinks

Continue this series

Your October hit list: The hot, new and just-reviewed places to check out, right now
Up next
The sushi train, imported from Taiwan, fits the narrow Bourke Street site.

It’s super weird, fun and accessible, but a few things almost send this big-name sushi train off track

The Bossa Nova pitch sounds like a drunken late-night thought bubble. But it’s a welcome measure of weirdness for this great restaurant town. 

Stuffed homemade tofu with pork mince.

Eating this extra-special tofu dish is like being softly covered by a blanket

Hakka Cuisine is on a mission to expand Melbourne’s understanding of Chinese food, one burbling claypot, sticky dumpling and pork-stuffed tofu pillow at a time.

Previous
Melbourne-meets-Milan at Sincero in Malvern.

Let’s give this sophisticated Italian restaurant a quiet clap for its lovely acoustics

Sincero is a charming high-street restaurant with high-concept dishes from the team behind Buono in Melbourne’s bayside.

See all stories
Default avatarBesha Rodell is the anonymous chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Weekend.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/goodfood/melbourne-eating-out/how-good-are-pubs-the-return-of-an-old-fitzroy-favourite-feels-like-a-triumph-20240909-p5k96f.html