One of the first things you see when you walk into this pub is a picture behind the bar of Jesus emerging from a mollusk – an artwork by Vanja Zaric, dubbed “shellfish Jesus”. Look up and there’s a glowing, upside-down football field made of peg board. The exposed brick walls are lined in turns with garish tartan, Harvard posters, stained-glass windows, religious iconography and flat-screen televisions airing all kinds of classic sports matches.

Somehow, it works. But be warned that some of the gags flirt with the controversial.

The main idea was to create a “cool” sports bar, with a college vibe and cheap pizzas to appeal to the local Swinburne University students. The lure of all-day pizzas for $5 and a 24-hour nightclub upstairs – called Untz Untz – is catnip for local students, but the menu has been designed to appeal to everyone.

With the unlikely combination of themes, owner Nick Foley approached old friend Michael Delany to do the fit-out. Known for his irreverent style and approach to hospitality design, Delany was the obvious choice for a pub with multiple personalities, Foley says.

Former Black Pearl bartender Jenna Hemsworth (runner-up for Bartender of the Year in 2015) has developed a cocktail list that spans old classics to new signatures. Every Sunday, there is a “trilogy” of Bloody Marys – three spins on the classic in celebration for “Sunday Mass”.