First Look: Cremorne’s Cherry Tree Hotel Has a New Lease on Life

In Richmond, pubs are a dime a dozen. But in neighbouring Cremorne, the one-square-kilometre pocket better known for startups than schooners, there appears to be just one: the Cherry Tree Hotel.

The pub dates back to the mid-1800s, when it was a popular haunt for workers at the nearby Rosella tomato sauce factory (the hand-painted Rosella signage can still be found on a neighbouring wall.) It was a hive of local criminal activity in the 1980s, when notorious pimp and drug dealer Dennis “Mr Death” Allen made it his headquarters; and was once co-owned by Aussie rules legend Ron Barassi. 

Most recently though, the pub was known as a dependable post-work watering hole, managed by Nathan Weston, who recently took over The Carringbush Hotel in Abbotsford. Now, after a six-month renovation, the Cherry Tree has reopened under new ownership and a complete redesign from Studio Y. 

“People were obviously tentative about what we were going to do,” says head chef and co-owner Dan Hilton (The Graham Hotel, The Leveson, The Wayside Inn). But before he took over, Hilton was a Cherry Tree regular. Living locally, he knew exactly what the suburb stood to lose. “It was a very cherished pub.”

“We initially set out to just renovate the toilets, clean the place up a bit, then reopen,” co-owner Keith Gallacher previously told Broadsheet. “But every time we fixed one thing, we’d find something else that needed attention. It’s such an old building that we weren’t willing to ignore the structural stuff, so we’ve ended up redoing most of the interior.”

Aside from the layout, almost everything is new. Stained glass greets you at the entrance, dark timber wraps the front bar, the bathroom has been spruced up, and deep cherry-red accents run throughout. Large windows that open onto the street flood what was once a dark, enclosed space with light, while the communal tables out front remain. “The constant feedback is, ‘Thanks for making it a pub again – and keeping it a pub’,” says Gallacher (formerly of The Railway Club Hotel and The Graham Hotel).

The timing is apt. As Cremorne has somewhat transformed into Melbourne’s tech hub, the Cherry Tree has evolved alongside it. “Beforehand, it was only the workers coming here,” says Gallacher. “You wouldn’t bring clients here.” But with no bookings in the front bar and no public holiday surcharges, Gallacher is determined not to lose sight of the locals who kept the pub going.

“If every table was booked on a Thursday night, that’s not a local pub,” he says. “We built this pub as the sort of place we’d want to come to.”

That philosophy extends to the menu. Pub classics like chicken parmas, fish’n’chips, burgers and steak sandwiches remain, alongside daily specials: $20 burgers on Mondays, $22 parmas and schnitzels on Tuesdays, and 40 per cent off every steak on Wednesdays. But there’s been an upgrade in quality, with Sher Wagyu burgers and Flinders & Co scotch fillets replacing lower-tier cuts.

Hilton also gives himself room to play, drawing inspiration from wine bar-style plates. “We want to have fun in the kitchen,” he says. “It keeps it interesting for us as much as for the customers.” Dry-aged pork cotoletta sits alongside steak tartare with smoked oyster mushroom mayonnaise and pickled shimeji mushrooms. Welsh-rarebit-inspired croquettes come with malt vinegar mayonnaise and pickled mustard seeds; oysters are dressed with finger lime and Vegemite hot sauce; and Mr. Cannubi mortadella from Ballarat is paired with stracciatella and house-made chilli oil.

Beer remains a big focus. The team poured through 50 barrels in the first five days after reopening. Find Guinness and Kirin alongside beers from independent Victorian breweries such as Stomping Ground. Plus, a new wine list, with the majority of bottles produced in Australia.

Cherry Tree Hotel

53 Balmain Street, Cremorne

03 5796 9393

Hours:

Sun to Thu 11am–11pm
Fri & Sat 11am–1am

cherrytreehotel.com.au

@cherrytreehotel