O’Connell’s Hotel is often credited as one of Melbourne’s first gastropubs, with a series of talented chefs – including Greg Malouf and Adrian Richardson – passing through the kitchen since 1991. These days it’s run by the team behind Prahran’s Flying Duck Hotel.

The menu is seafood- and protein-leaning, with most mains cooked on the venue’s longstanding Josper oven. Another nod to former tenants is the Silk Road Martini, a continent-spanning mix of vodka, pickled chilli brine, cucumber and rosewater that’s a tribute to Malouf’s pioneering Middle Eastern pub menu of the 1990s.

Inside you’ll find a front bar, dining room and tobacco-hued timber booths with maroon counters. From the pub’s storage cellar the team has also pulled a stash of memorabilia, including original drawings of the building from the 1870s, to hang on the walls. The outdoor space is a pleasant place to grab a beer and watch the world go by in this sleepy pocket of South Melbourne.