Marquis Of Lorne

This place seems to have slowly evolved over the three years that I have been wondering around Melbourne. I remember the first time I came to check it out it happened to be closed, however I wandered back here a number of months later to discover that it was open, though pretty quiet. However since it is a little (but not too much) out of my way it wasn’t until much recently that I decided to come by here again, and I have to say that it is now really lively. Basically it is a back street pub, which is the type of pub that I really like. They do have a rooftop bar, but it gets pretty crowded with the smokers. They also have a restaurant on the second floor. It’s a pretty small pub, but pretty cool as well.

Visited the Marquis of Lorne for the first time on a lovely summery Saturday night.
The husband and I were keen for a delicious «gastro-​pub» meal and we certainly weren’t disappointed.
With no reservation, we rocked up and made our way up to the dining room. Lovely fit out and lovely staff who quickly found us a table for two beside a big open window with a gentle breeze drifting in.
The husband had the market fish (rainbow trout on this occasion) with peas, leeks, mint & garlic. I went old school and had the chicken schnitzel with vinegar slaw & salsa verde. Let me say this was not your usual counter meal schnitty. The chicken was perfect, covered in a light and crispy crumb, and was accompanied perfectly by the vinegary slaw. The husband also approved of the fish, although really did need a side of fries at least to fill out the meal (he is an Ironman in training after all and can put away some serious food at the moment).
We also ended up ordering dessert — a chocolate brownie sandwich with white chocolate & caramel; oh my! Being «with child» I forgot to ask if the dessert contained raw egg (fail), so had to ask once it had been brought out. Fortunately for me, no raw egg to be found; and the dessert was richly decadent and delicious! I must also say, the waitstaff were so so lovely about my query (and offered a big congrats) unlike some places, which make you feel like a nuisance for asking such inane (in their mind) questions. Major win!
The husband had a couple of «tinnies» of the Mornington Pale Ale, while I stuck to the lime & sodas, hold the vodka!
All in all a very lovey summer’s evening! We’ll end back for sure.

So this place was closed for a while and finally, in late 2014, there looked to be a bit of love being breathed in to it. It opened, the hipsters flocked. On a hot night they would be everywhere out the front drinking pints and looking too cool for school. Signs proclaimed happy hours! $ 16 steak night!
I wasn’t convinced I’d fit in with the hipsters (am I in denial?) but the $ 16 steak on Tuesday night sure did sound like an appealing way to test the waters. We arrived a little after 6pm and it was pretty dead. There was 4 or 5 others in the bar and not a single soul outside. Was it too early? Was it not sunny enough? Had the hipsters moved on to the new hot spot in town?
We ordered steaks ($ 16 for a 300gm porterhouse with chips and salad) and an extra portion of salad to make us feel better for clogging our arteries with the chips. A pint for him and a glass of Shiraz for me.
The steaks themselves were okay. The flavour was good but they were cooked a little over than our requested medium-​rare. The chips were super crunchy (twice fried?) and the portion of salad we ordered was, well, a bit strange. The cider dressing it was served with tasted suspiciouly like melted butter and congealed a bit on the raddichio leaves. Maybe it was supposed to do that, who knows?
Dinner for two at around $ 60 is pretty decent if you ask me. For a resonably priced Tuesday night meal in a quieter environment then the Marquis of Lorne isn’t a bad option

This place looks good and I was really looking forward to visiting, but it wasn’t for me.
Good selection of drinks and all but the service was really off. There was a bit of a «too cool for school» vibe and I didn’t feel massively welcome.
There’s talk of their rooftop but it is absolutely tiny, and no views to speak of. When I went up there everyone was squeezed in and if you’re not a smoker you probably won’t like it.
We were going to stay for dinner as the dining room looked awesome, but again the staff were a bit off when we asked a few questions so we decided to leave it. There’s way too many places nearby that are better.
I’d give it another go, as it may just have been an other day but the Napier and the Union have nothing to fear, I don’t think.

Lamb roll was measly but same price as meals that came with chips and sides. It was really more a lunch thing. Considering the nice setting, the meals were nothing special. Also had to chase up our drinks.

REVMPED version of MoL rocks! So different yet so little has changed.
Good selection of craft beers food looked but didn’t eat anything this time. The staff were friendly talking to us about the work they done to the place. A relaxed local hangout. This is the pub it always should have been.
The Sample Golden Ale was gorgeous as was Grasscutter Summer Ale.
I will deffo come back.

Great to see it back; very nice bar and beautiful rooftop deck.

I noticed nobody had left a comment about the Marquis of Lorne for ages so thought I would add a little something and say it’s still as great as ever, living so close makes me a little biased but went there with some friends again recently and we all agreed it’s just one of those places you just want to keep coming back to, nice wine, nice food, nice company and gorgeous atmosphere.

I’ve only explored the ground level and outside of the Marquis of Lorne. It’s not so much an outside, but a standing area where people smoke. On a Saturday night, the bar was jam packed so I didn’t have the room and patience to maneuver around people and explore the rest of the building. That’s alright though — I’ve told myself the ground level is where it’s at.
I don’t know if it normally gets this busy, but I think a part of it was because there was live music on. Any bar with live music is great in my book. For this particular evening, there was a cello involved! They played some great tunes, but it was too crowded for my liking.
After the jug of beer we left, but I’ll definitely be coming back — good music, good vibes, lots to explore.

The Marquis of Lorne was the first Melbourne pub I visited where I realised that London had its work cut out for it in maintaining its mantle as the city with the best pubs. A tall, multi-​leveled and cavernous affair in between Smith and Brunswick Streets, the Marquis of Lorne is a good old fashioned pub with a very interesting food menu, a ridiculous amount of seating and a ruddy good roof garden that can accommodate up to 60 people.
Perhaps not as glamorous as some of Fitzroy’s other drinking holes, what it lacks in polish the Marquis of Lorne more than makes up for with its old fashioned charm and some indescribable quality that seems to ensure a great night whenever a visit to the Marquis is on the cards. The food is modern and different with an Asian influence and there is an ever-​changing roster of bands and the occasional great DJ. One of my favourite Fitzroy pubs.

The Marquis is one of those corner pubs that Fitzroy has very few of, that hovers below the radars of the bona fide hipsters and is actually good in spite of it’s Fitzroyal location. Part of the reason it’s so good, I guess, is that there are so many ‘cool’ places to drink in the area, that this shabby old joint probably doesn’t enter the consciousness of the rising generation.
The Marquis is also one of the few un-​renovated pubs around, so holds on to its inherent character and charm. It’s a multi-​layered behemoth and they serve food in the upstairs dining area. They also show the odd smaller gig and are open to things like book launches. And added plus is that the pub exists opposite the Centre for Contemporary Photography and a couple of other ripper galleries. She’s a grand old girl, don’t tell the youngsters.

This is a pub that just keeps going up. There are four levels to this building, including a little rooftop area — which I highly recommend.
Just one word of caution, the stairs are very very old and uneven, so be very careful as you carry your pint up those many flights. And be even more wary of laughing and belittling someone who manages to lose their pint twice on those dangerous stairs only to trip over yourself a few minutes later.
I have never eaten at the Marquis of Lorne, but the food looks pretty good. They even have a specific dining space on the second level. And it’s definitely worth a pop in for a pint or six if you are traveling through the back streets of Fitzroy.

Did anyone else not know that the Marquis has a rooftop drinking area? I only noticed the other day when a house for sale down the street had an aerial photo of the area out front and I noticed a few tables on top of the corner building.
Further investigation revealed a sunny outdoor spot next to that huge Carlton Draught sign and sealed the Marquis as a new summer-​day hangout.
There’s also a loft-​style room on the third level for when the sun goes down — and of course the rest of this backstreet pub is still a great place to hole up for a few hours. Especially with a more than decent gastro food menu and Little Creatures on tap, plus live music on Mondays and Wednesdays and really good rock’n’roll DJs on Friday and Saturday nights.