Since the 1920s it’s been a sentry guarding the corner of Grattan and Bouverie Streets. To this day, the Prince Alfred Hotel’s light stone and brick façade is symbolic of its past, as a popular gathering point for uni students and hospital workers since opening in 1926.  Regulars will recall the simple worn-out interior — which was all fine and well until it closed in 2015.

The pub was then bought by The University of Melbourne, and — much to the disappointment of uni students and $1 beer enthusiasts in the inner north — has sat empty ever since. But the Carlton has been given a new lease on life. The 100 Burgers Group (the team behind some of Melbourne’s favourites, like Belle’s Hot Chicken, Welcome to Thornbury and Hightail) has come on board to commandeer the pub’s revival.

As before, it spans two levels, each with a bar, and a beer garden. In addition to a permanent kitchen serving traditional pub fare, there’s a shipping container turned into another kitchen which will showcase visiting food pop-ups — plans see each pop-up taking residence for a month or two. The first vendor is set to be Kan’s personal project, Mr Burger.

The Prince Alfred opened last week, and we’ve got a first look. In partnership with Zantac we’re uncovering the best new restaurants and bars around Australia as they open. We’ve got the lowdown on the team, the design and — most importantly — the menu so that you can head in educated, excited and ready to take it all in — with a few dishes recommended by the chef, no less.

You may not have heard of the 100 Burgers Group, but you’ve definitely heard of its venues. It started with the Mr Burger food truck — which then grew into a string of bricks-and-mortar eateries — and expanded with the opening of Belles Hot Chicken (of which there are now five in Sydney and Melbourne), Welcome to Thornbury and food court Hightail. Most recently, it’s opened Welcome to Bowen Hills in Brisbane and will this week open Natural History with chef Morgan McGlone.

But the Prince Alfred has been a whole different kind of venue for the group. For one, they were working with a space that has a history and a group of locals already attached to it.

Daragh Kan — one of the four founders of 100 Burgers — says that the refurbishing process has been carefully considered. “I wouldn’t call it a traditional pub fit-out,” says Kan. “We’ve redone the interior with memories of PA [Prince Alfred]’s in mind.” The refurb has kept the exterior as is and gutted the interior to spin it into a place both visually beautiful and modern while honouring its royal character.

Jimmy Fulton, the pub’s general manager, sums up the vision nicely. “We’re hoping to bring the Prince Alfred Hotel back to its former glory. It was a pretty popular place in its day.”

Kan agrees. The final stage in the project’s completion is to swing open the doors to please enthusiastic (and nostalgic) patrons. “We’re pretty excited to be redoing this,” he says. “The big challenge for us now is showing people that this is the new PA Carlton.”

From the seating to the outdoor decking area, everything has been carefully designed with the pub’s heritage and clientele carefully considered. “We worked with the consultants at interior design firm Hot Black, who were on the same page as us from the get-go,” says Kan. “We looked at the history of the place, the name and who Prince Alfred was, as well as the clientele and the character of the surrounding area.”

What needed to be achieved seemed like an impossibility: preserving a regal, English theme while trying to appease regular pub-goers and a major influx of students at night. But 100 Burgers worked closely with Hot Black to achieve a stunning result.

“It’s a highly visual place and I wouldn’t call it a traditional pub fit out,’ says Kan. “We know that Carlton has a lot of Italian heritage and we want to keep the royal elements in line with the namesake. There is a mishmash of cultural references.”

“There was a conscious design decision made towards creating flow of spaces with little separation,” says Sophie Safrin, founder and design director of Hot Black, discusses how space was an important consideration.

The Prince Alfred’s heritage also needed to be addressed. “There’s an emphasis on reference to the name itself and associations with British royalty,” says Safrin. “This is apparent in the materiality selection, where the traditional blue and gold has been replaced with a playful contrast of lapis blue, pale pink and copper colour accents throughout the space.”

Materials are diverse, and materials such as mosaic tiles, timber, terracotta tiles, mirrors, timber finishes and the shipping container are employed. “The use of bespoke joinery allowed us to create something unique, which is reflective of the space itself,” she says. “The material palette alongside the colour palette strengthens as you head to the upper floors, which are more vibrant and textured.”

Mostafa Morshed is in charge of the pub kitchen. The vision of serving food in forward-thinking student pub with royal characteristics was almost second nature to Morshed, whose broad spectrum of kitchen work has seen him previously working with English, French, Spanish and Modern Australian cuisines in Melbourne and Sydney. His team also includes Harry Wakefield, who Morshed recruited from a previous stint heading Meat Market at South Wharf.

“Essentially, we are taking city pub food to the next level,” says Morshed. Top dishes include the twice-cooked pork belly with caramelised apple and leek, petite apples and jus, and the Prince Alfred take on classic pub fish chips: battered rockling with fries, lime and seaweed tartare. For vegetarians there’s a pumpkin salad, and it’s as British as you can get for dessert: Eton mess with seasonal fruit, vanilla cream and coulis.

There’s a student-friendly $15 lunch menu of familiar pub food including steaks, parmigianas, fish and chips and a risotto. Or, on Sundays, drop by for a roast or a Yorkshire pudding. “We’ve made each of these dishes with English tradition and royalty in mind,” says Morshed. “All the produce is fresh, local and very high quality.”

The pub pours from 60 beer taps which highlight local, Victorian and larger well-known brews. The wine list showcases solely local and Victorian wine and the cocktail menu takes inspiration from the pub’s regal theme. In addition, a collaboration with Collingwood’s Stomping Ground is also in the works. There’s a cafe window, providing street-level access to Prince Alfred Hotel’s coffee shop (open from 7am).

CHEF’S PICK: FIVE THINGS TO ORDER

So what should you order? Morshed has championed this menu, so we thought he’d be the best person to ask. Here are five picks from the Prince Alfred menu.

The Prince Alfred is now open at 191 Grattan Street, Carlton. For more info, visit princealfred.com.

Keen to check out more newbies? Have a sift through the newest crop of Melbourne openings.

To find out more about Zantac, visit the website. Zantac relieves heartburn. Always read the label. Use only as directed. If symptoms persist consult your health professional. 

Words: Jonathan Ford. Images: Giulia Morlando.