Now Open: Not Much Has Changed at Fitzroy North's Railway Hotel, and That's a Good Thing

In 2002, with his now-mythical Brunswick Street music spot the Punters Club closed, Mat Everett (co-owner of the Corner Hotel, Northcote Social Club) needed something new. A Fitzroy North local, Everett had a pub in mind – the Railway Hotel. “I actually looked at it over 20 years ago now,” says Everett. “I had earmarked the Railway Hotel but couldn’t convince the then-owners Peter and Miriam [Negrelli] – who were the owners we eventually purchased from – to move at that time.” Twenty-one years on, Everett has finally snapped it up.

The Negrellis had run the Railway since the early ’70s and, as you’d expect of a family-owned pub, things have long been done a certain way. The place prompts extreme nostalgia thanks to a jumble of simply furnished rooms and cosy nooks decked out with terrazzo tiling, wood panelling, beer paraphernalia and a peekaboo fish tank. There’s always the potential in these transitions to lose something special among a wave of upgrades and mass appeal but Everett isn’t trying to do much with the place other than preserve it as a neighbourhood pub. Given his history, music might come (there’s an upstairs space that Everett thinks would suit) but otherwise string band the Railway Gang will continue its standing Thursday residency.

Previously, Miriam was running the kitchen nearly singlehandedly, offering a menu full of classic Italian dishes. Group executive chef David Falson has added a few pub classics like steak and parmas to the menu, but there’s plenty of winks to the place’s Italian heritage. There’s lasagne with a slow-cooked ragu of minced pork and veal, pork and fennel sausage, salami and pancetta, topped with provolone and mozzarella and served with a white slaw of onion, cabbage and fennel. The broken pasta is a play on the classic pasta in brodo (broth) – here, fettuccine is cracked and served in a double chicken stock with poached mussels and calamari.

Smaller options include the arancini (a suppli-style oval) of buttery risotto blended with house sugo and stuffed with basil and bocconcini, and a dish of ricotta whipped with confit garlic, served with fresh and pickled veg. It’s worth quickly pointing out the prices too. Pasta dishes like fettuccine with house-made rocket and basil pesto, and spaghetti with the same pork and veal ragu as the lasagne will get you a jangle of change from a 20. It’s another sign that, while things must eventually change, the Railway Hotel seems set to remain a faithful neighbourhood haunt for locals new and old.

The Railway Hotel
800 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy North

Hours:
Tue to Wed 3pm–11pm
Thu to Sun 12pm–11pm

railwayhotelfitzroy.com.au