North & Common Has Transformed Pentridge Prison's Former Mess Hall into an Elegant Restaurant

We can't imagine prison food is normally much to get excited about. But Melbourne's latest dining destination is out to prove that theory wrong. North & Common is the sprawling new restaurant that's today made its home in the very space that once housed Pentridge Prison's mess hall.

Sibling and neighbour to recently launched wine bar Olivine, North & Common has transformed the historic site into an inviting 180-seat diner, decked out with lots of soft curves and mellow hues, all courtesy of renowned design studio CHADA.

The space remains cosy despite its size, its long-standing bluestone walls and the lofty original ceilings that soar 10 metres above. The main dining room plays modern finishes against the building's heritage elements, while a roomy al fresco terrace features its own giant fireplace and a retractable roof for all kinds of weather.

North & Common's food offering will be an ever-evolving nod to modern Australian cuisine, deftly driven by acclaimed chef Mark Glenn, whose resume includes time at Cumulus Inc, Dinner by Heston and Pialligo Estate. Its menus are unpretentious and approachable, though also thoughtfully honed.

Come breakfast, you're in for the likes of spanner crab omelette; a brekkie roll that piles sausage, bacon and house-made barbecue sauce into a soft milk bun; and lemon curd french toast reimagined using croissant loaf.

The dinner menu flexes even more creativity, kicking off with smalls like the grilled ox tongue paired with a cashew cream, burrata elevated with charred green fig, and butter-poached calamari with fried sprouts.

Deeper in, find plates like the spanner crab risoni, a slow-roasted lamb shoulder, and spatchcock done with fermented chilli and confit shallot. Plus, inventive creations like a sweet potato mille-feuille with bergamot and fig feature throughout the dessert list.

It's just brekkie and dinner for now, though a weekend lunch service is set to kick off from June.

Olivine's wine pedigree also gets a look-in here at North & Common, by way of a drinks program curated by the bar's star sommelier Liinaa Berry. There are 150-plus bottles in the lineup, sourced from near and far, spanning the full gamut of styles, and celebrating sustainable production in a big way.

Alongside, a signature cocktail selection isn't afraid to push the envelope in reimagining classic sips. Expect local pours from the likes of Patient Wolf and Starward used across concoctions like a truffle and sundried tomato martini, and the Tequila, Rosemary and Thyme Sour.

Find North & Common at 1 Pentridge Boulevard, Coburg. It's open daily from 7–10am and again from 5.30–11pm. Lunch will run from 12–3pm Saturday and Sunday starting from June.