St Kilda's Prince Public Bar Has Reopened with a New Look and an Extensive New Menu
The legendary front bar is now serving breakfast through dinner.
This week marks the return of a much-loved St Kilda local, as Prince Public Bar reopens its doors and shows off the results of an extensive nine-month makeover. It's the latest piece of a multi-faceted overhaul for Acland Street's historic Prince of Wales Hotel — now just The Prince Hotel — which also included the closure of Circa and opening of fine-diner Prince Dining Room.
The sprawling ground floor space has been reimagined at the hands of IF Architecture's Iva Foschia, while still respecting the building's Art Deco roots. Expect a series of light-filled, spacious zones, with a hefty oval bar taking pride of place at the heart and a staircase offering access to the hotel lobby and Prince Dining Room above.
While it's best known as a spot for sinking beers, a kitchen expansion means Prince Public Bar now has those appetites sorted as well, serving breakfast through dinner daily. Roll in from 7am to fuel up with the likes of chilli and cheese scrambled eggs, mushroom shakshuka, or perhaps the honeycomb and vanilla hotcakes teamed with vanilla mascarpone and lemon balm. A range of Niccolo coffee, superfood smoothies and fresh juices paints a very different picture to the late-night visits of old.
Kristoffer Paulsen
Elsewhere, the kitchen's slinging a hefty offering of bar snacks — think, sweet and sour fried cauliflower, or homemade sausage rolls — and classic counter meals including the likes of chicken schnitzel and wagyu sausages on polenta. A woodfired grill and rotisserie turns out dishes like a share-size crispy pork knuckle and a slew of steaks, while the signature roast series offers a different cut of meat or seafood for $26, Monday to Friday.
Of course, the booze situation hasn't taken a backseat — you'll find a diverse spread of brews on tap, classic cocktails like negronis and old fashioneds, and a largely Aussie wine list featuring plenty of options by the glass. Happy hour runs from 5–7pm weeknights, delivering $8 schooners, basics and glasses of wine.
And February will see the last piece of the puzzle fall into place, as wine bar and underground cellar Little Prince Wine opens in the space next door.
Find Prince Public Bar at 2 Acland Street, St Kilda. It's open daily from 7am.
Images: Kristoffer Paulsen
