The 20 Best (and Cosiest) Bars and Pubs with Fireplaces in Melbourne
Melbourne's infamous chill has set in, so warm up over fireside beers and comforting pub classics.
The 20 Best (and Cosiest) Bars and Pubs with Fireplaces in Melbourne
Melbourne's infamous chill has set in, so warm up over fireside beers and comforting pub classics.
Nothing counteracts Melbourne's icy winter weather like drinking a glass of red or a whisky on the rocks by a roaring open fire. These venues will let you fill your belly and defrost your toes by the crackling flames. There are comfy wine bars, craft beer pubs, a speakeasy-style spot and a microbrewery, all of which have at least one fireplace for you to settle in next to. Trust us, cosy up beside one of these beauties and winter won't seem so dreary after all.
So, be bold and get off the couch this winter. Using our list of the toastiest spots in Melbourne, if you can just brace the cold for the journey to get there, you'll be rewarded with fires to warm you up from the outside and plenty of drinks to warm you up from the inside.
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The Best Pubs in Melbourne
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In the heart of Fitzroy, The Rochester Hotel (better known as the Rochey) is a favourite among locals, and for good reason. On top of the roaring fire and welcoming atmosphere, the place serves up tasty pub grub with Australian wines, craft beers and refreshing cocktails. If you’re looking for somewhere to make your local, and not just during footy finals, this might be the friendly neighbourhood joint for you.
Its menu includes crunchy entrees such as onion rings and zucchini fries with lemon aioli, and dishes suited for sharing around the table, such as nachos, cauliflower bites and garlic flatbread. For mains, think classics such as cheeseburgers, schnitzels, fish and chips and steak sandwiches, as well as more adventurous options such as the chicken Caesar wrap or falafels with hummus and Greek salad. Cap it all off with a hot apple pie for dessert, and you’ve had yourself a damn fine meal. You’ll probably want a drink or three while you’re there, and its cocktail menu does not disappoint. The Rochey has now brought back the laughs with its fortnightly comedy evenings.
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This St Kilda craft beer bar has winter charms in abundance, thanks to not one, but two great fireplaces. Upstairs, the cosy rooftop beer garden boasts its own outdoor log fire, while the front bar below has an all-weather indoor version, surrounded by comfy leather couches and a healthy dose of dark timber panelling.
Pick a favourite and settle in with some well-executed pub grub, while getting acquainted with the expansive, award-winning beer offering. With over 400 different brews tapped here each year, you can make it a regular winter haunt and still get to sample new things each time you visit.
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Like many a Fitzroy pub, the Marquis of Lorne has been through a few refurbs over the years, finally settling in its current form spread across three levels. On the ground floor, you’ll find your classic public bar with a TV in the corner and all your usual suspects on draught. Head up the stairs to then find the more refined dining room (another staple amongst some of Melbourne’s best pubs).
Up here, you’ll find your classic pub grub has been given a makeover. This is all paired well with the long wine list full of pét-nats, skin-contact drops and locally made vinos. Then there’s the almighty rooftop bar with heaters — easily one of the best in Melbourne. Throughout the entire pub, there are also three roaring fireplaces where you can drink and eat a long cold day away.
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Once a modest but respectable Italian restaurant on Bay Street, Ciao Cielo stepped things up a notch when it updated its digs in 2018. The fine-diner reopened in Port Melbourne’s historic courthouse, following a $1.5 million makeover to the 1860s building. Its soaring ceilings and heritage features are now offset by New York-style booth seating, striking marble bars and a lovely fireplace.
Warm up while indulging in woodfired garlic focaccia, house-made tagliatelle with bolognese ragu and Sardinian-style braised goat leg. Meanwhile, the adjoining bar is dishing up a more casual affair, set within a 150-seat Amalfi-inspired marquee covered in fairy lights.
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This Collingwood corner pub has spawned many incarnations over the decades — but its latest has seen a couple of the building’s historic wood fireplaces restored to their former glory, cementing its status as a primo winter pub.
Enjoy their toasty warmth while you’re watching the footy with a crafty brew in hand — say, from Collingwood neighbour The Mill. Or, cosy up by the fire in the dining room as you feast on modern pub fare, like fish and chips and a rigatoni with vodka sauce. Wednesday’s $22 steak special also makes for a top-notch fireside feed.
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Longstanding classic the Post Office Hotel serves a well-rounded gastropub experience, complete with a bandroom, large terrariums atop tables and an open fireplace that’s hot property when the weather’s chilly.
The dining menu is well-priced and tasty, including everything from red Leicester cheddar croquettes to a classic chicken parma. Warm your cockles with a fireside shiraz or two, before catching one of the pub’s regular live gigs or trying your luck at the weekly drag bingo.
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You’d be forgiven for thinking that Chapel Street was a rather long way away while spending some time in Leonard’s House of Love. Its vibe is log cabin-meets-house party, and even though there’s a fair serving of timber in the decor, it’s more saloon than sauna, so plonk yourself down at a table (inside or out in the courtyard) and peruse the drinks list.
And while each part of the bar has its own charm, we always head straight to the pool room out back in winter. Here, there’s an open fireplace that heats up the whole space, and is one of the best places to play billiards in Melbourne. Pair it with some fried chicken sangas, loaded fries and pickleback shots to make a proper long night of it — it’s open until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays.
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Those winter blues don’t stand a chance in the face of Richmond’s Union House, where you’ve got a choice of three different crackling fireplaces to cosy up beside. Two of these heat the open front bar, are nicely situated in front of the footy screens, and prove ideal for those sessions spent settling in over schooies and bar snacks.
You’ll find another fireplace in the dining room, where it works a treat alongside the kitchen’s menu of contemporary pub fare. Try the likes of the pan-fried duck breast with poached figs and roasted cabbage, or Wednesday’s long-running steak night special, offering a 250-gram porterhouse with chips and pepper sauce for $24. Oh, and why not one of the bar’s Fig Manhattans?
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Lovingly known as The Townie to locals, this old-school boozer has changed very little over the years. Walk into the front bar to find the walls covered in an eclectic mix of music memorabilia and vinyls, an old chandelier, and carpeted floors that smell like they’ve been around for a while. It’s not trying to be glam. And we would never want it to be.
The staff know their regulars well, and welcome anyone to join the community of music- and beer-loving folks. Either grab a seat in the small front bar, explore the sprawling maze-like outdoor space with a heated beer garden, or dine and play trivia in the back room when the fireplace is roaring throughout winter. This is a proper hidden gem that best be visited by any Aussie pub lover. Classics never die, and this is one that endures.
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Any trip to this Fitzroy North gem is an absolute pleasure, but it’s at its best when its fireplace is roaring up a storm. Neighbourhood Wine is open seven nights a week, so any crisp evening is the perfect time to pull up a perch at the bar for a bottle of wine and some hits from the ever-changing menu.
Think, charcoal-roasted fish with fermented chilli butter, fresh busiate pasta with roman beans, and house-made ricotta with confit lemon and honey. Or, head in on Sundays for the famed roast lunch — for $65 you will receive a three-course feast you won’t forget in a hurry.
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The Grace Darling has been a staple of Smith Street for a long, long time — built in 1854, it’s thought to be the second oldest pub in the city. Regulars will have clocked plenty of hours knocking back drinks in the footpath beer garden out front. But when winter does its thing, we’d rather be indoors near one of the two blazing fires.
The food is on the more sophisticated side of classic pub fare, while the candlelit bar has a dozen local draught brews on tap. Add to that an atrium restaurant out back, plus two separate band rooms, and it’s clear why the Grace is still pulling crowds after all this time.
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If you’re hoping to team your fireside pub session with a couple of top-notch dark craft brews, then consider South Melbourne’s Palace Hotel your ultimate winter haven. The famed beer pub has cosy vibes in abundance, thanks to its three fireplaces, which you can bet all get a fierce workout over the frosty months.
Nab a spot on the couch right in front of the action in one of the lounges, or take advantage of the fire that’s roaring in the main dining room. Fittingly, the kitchen is big on comfort food classics — try the daily pie special or ripper Sunday roast while those flames warm your cockles.
Image: Nancy Johnson
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Warm, friendly and inviting, with plenty of tasty food offerings and a variety of local beers, Tramway is always a comfy escape from the cold. Soft overhead lighting matches the pleasant glow of the fire as it smoulders quietly in the corner of the front bar.
There’s a solid range of crafty tap brews and a forward-thinking wine list, along with buzz-worthy burgers and sides for vegans and carnivores alike. And since cosy pub sessions are made even better with a spot of live music, the Tramway serves up a stellar gig lineup, with tunes every Saturday and Sunday.
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Closer to the classic British pub than most, The Napier Hotel is a winner all year round — but it’s the warm fire that makes this an excellent choice in the winter months. Pull up a pew at one of the big communal tables and settle in for a cosy night out.
Get on the beers, making your way through the lengthy local draught options, or get a glass of something nice from the surprisingly well-curated list of wines. The pub grub is also a big win at The Napier. There’s a bunch of kangaroo options – either in steak form, chucked in a salad or added to the classic chicken parma — or opt for the crispy swordfish tacos and the spaghetti marinara that’s stacked with fresh seafood.
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Historic Carlton pub The Lincoln is best known for its progressive booze offering and its produce-driven pub feeds. Pull up a stool at the art deco bar and order yourself a pint of craft beer (or a Carlton Draught, naturally) from one of the 12 taps. For wine, expect an extensive list of small, interesting winemakers and, if you’re more into the hard stuff, there’s an array of spirits and liqueurs, too, with everything from amaro to mezcal and top-shelf whisky.
In the warmer months, you can sit outside on the footpath, in the dining area or at the flame-heated front bar. The most coveted tables are by the open fireplace, which burns every day through winter. The daily food menu is impeccable, but we are obsessed with its Sunday roasts — one of the best in the city.
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As the minds behind much-loved Fitzroy North haunt Neighbourhood Wine, Simon Denman and Almay Jordaan have some pretty good experience for opening a sequel venue. With their original venue so well-loved, it’s no surprise to see that the winning formula works so well in Brunswick East’s Old Palm Liquor as well. Once again, the duo has created a comfortable, laidback destination that’s on the right side of comfortable and classy, but not stuffy — and they’ve installed a big fireplace that’s perfect for winter.
The seats by the fireplace are hot property during the colder months, so either get in early or lurk nearby as you wait for the spots to become available. While you wait, sample some of the top-quality, largely minimal intervention drops from a range of boutique winemakers scattered across the globe.
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Beautifully restored back in 2021, the 150-year-old Orrong Hotel — an art deco gem in Armadale — is the kind of pub you keep returning to once you discover it. The interior itself is stunning, with a curved wooden bar, polished floorboards, ornate ceilings and tiled features throughout — you can tell no expense was spared on the restoration.
And thankfully, the team kept and cleaned up the old fireplace that blasts throughout winter. Sit by the fire while watching the footy on one of the many screens (with the game played loud enough to hear all the commentary), or drop by on another day to sample one of the best steaks in Melbourne.
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The Mount Erica Hotel has seen some things. Back when it was established as the area’s first licensed venue in 1853, the corner of Williams Road and High Street was considered a bush setting. After two decades of operation, it was then rebuilt after a bushfire (yes, a bushfire) tore through the building. In the 140 years that have followed, the site has been through many iterations — some more successful than others. But the old Prahran boozer has been a constant, even while the suburb around it has changed.
The menu centres on simplicity and sophistication with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern touches. Classic pub crowd-pleasers like sausages, fish and chips and chicken parmas are still core to the menu. The staples are joined by plenty of lighter seafood and vegetable dishes. There’s no single demographic — all are welcome here. Whether it’s a Sunday spritz on the terrace, a roast dinner with the folks, a post-work pint, or a cosy afternoon in front of the fire, the Mount Erica Hotel is the place to go.
Feature image: The Rochester Hotel.
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