Overview
While the last 97 years of its life have likely been filled with bake sales, dances and community get-togethers, St Kilda's historic Trinity church hall has just dived right into a new phase of existence. The triangular site at the intersection of Brighton Road and Chapel Street has been reborn as Trinity — a 300-person pub, beer garden, event space and food truck park.
The brainchild of third-generation Melbourne hospitality owner Matt Nikakis, the venue officially opened its doors last week, delivering a pet-friendly watering hole and meeting spot that's destined to become a St Kilda go-to.
Nicole Cleary
Step through the front gate and into an all-weather courtyard filled with outdoor tables and fringed by that day's food truck lineup. There'll always be a couple of guests on rotation (think, Nem 'n Nem and The Holiday Parlour) joining Trinity's resident kitchen, which makes its home in a shiny silver 1956 Airstream.
This is your pitstop for snacks like fried chicken tenders, mac 'n' cheese bites and crispy onion rings, alongside a range of things in buns — maybe a double beef and bacon number, a fried chicken burger, and a prawn and lobster roll laced with kewpie and dill.
Meanwhile, the red-brick former church hall building has been carefully converted into a lofty, light-filled beer hall, complete with soaring ceilings and a huge central bar. Emerald velvet booths means there is room for the whole crew, a separate sitting room is filled with a curation of vintage furniture, and elegant Art Deco-inspired finishes star all throughout the space.
Glance upwards and you'll also spy a glass-walled mezzanine level, available for private functions, and sporting its very own bar.
Nicole Cleary
Trinity's drinks offering is a hefty, crowd-pleasing one. A 12-strong tap list heroes familiar favourites from Balter, 4 Pines and Mountain Goat, while the beer fridges play host to drops like Colonial's pale ale, the Kaiju Krush tropical ale and a slew of Saintly seltzers.
Wines are largely local — think, Seville Estate's Sewn Chardonnay, or the Wilds Gully Tempranillo out of King Valley — and cocktails celebrate reworked classics. Settle in with one of three margaritas, try the house ode to Four Pillars' shiraz gin, or get into the good times groove with a yuzu-infused riff on the mojito.
Find Trinity at 2 Brighton Road, St Kilda. It's open daily from 12pm–late.
Images: Nicole Cleary