St Kilda's New Beachside Bar Pontoon Opens Inside Revamped Stokehouse Precinct

It was an incredibly sad day when iconic St Kilda venue Stokehouse burned down in 2014. Now, after a two and a half year hiatus, it's finally coming back, renovated and designated into a 'precinct' of multiple bars and restaurants, set to dominate that seaside like only Stokehouse can.

Last month fish and chip kiosk Paper Fish opened as the first stage of the new precinct, and this weekend second venue Pontoon — a casual beachside bar and eatery — will open on the ground floor. This chic new 400-capacity beach-inspired establishment precede the opening of the highly anticipated relaunch of Stokehouse St Kilda restaurant, which is slated to launch on December 6.

The Pontoon menu will be casual and over the counter (think of the kind of food you can eat while standing with a drink in the other hand), and will put their four-metre grill to good use. You can expect a lot of seafood, wood-fired pizzas, and noms like the wood-roasted beef brisket toastie. The epic 18-metre-long bar will house a strong wine list, 18 beer taps and of course, cocktails. They'll also be serving up globally trending anomaly 'frosé', because how could they not.

Peppered with the furniture and trimmings of local Melbourne designers, the interior has been designed by George Livissianis (the design dynamo behind recent Sydney renos of The Dolphin Hotel, The Apollo and Cho Cho San). Expect a casual layout and a mixture of warm, natural materials (think wood, leather and cane) offset by concrete and brick. "Looking out onto St Kilda beach was a great starting point in considering colours and materials that would compliment the concrete and blackened timber building," said Livissianis.

Pontoon will open at midday on Saturday, November 12 on the ground floor of the rebuilt Stokehouse building, 30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda. They'll be open from midday, seven days a week. For more info, visit pontoonstkildabeach.com.au.

Images: Kristoffer Paulsen.