The team behind Fancy Hank’s and Good Heavens is preparing a new public bar on a bustling corner of town, with a retro menu and old-school style in spades.
Melbourne has plenty of great pubs, but the vast majority of them are outside the CBD. Mike Patrick, owner of the new Springrock Public Bar on Bourke Street, wants to help change that.
“It was about building a really good pub in the heart of the city. There aren’t many options,” he said.
Patrick also owns Fancy Hank’s BBQ restaurant and Good Heavens rooftop bar. When the Grand Trailer Park Taverna’s neighbouring site on the corner of Bourke and Exhibition streets became available during the pandemic, he jumped on it for Springrock.
“It was about building a really nice pub in the heart of the city. There aren’t many options.”
Mike Patrick, owner of Springrock
Jarrod Di Blasi, who has a solid pedigree, is at the helm of the kitchen. He was most recently head chef at Japanese restaurant Izakaya Den, which closed in April. Before that, he worked at Ezard and, in 2017, was named The guide to good eating habits for seniors Young Chef of the Year.
That means the food prepared at Springrock’s counter gets an extra level of care. “I don’t want to say ‘high’, but we really care about the products we use,” says Patrick. The schnitzel is made with Hazeldenes chicken, there’s Riverina Black Angus striploin and the cheeseburger patty is ground in-house daily from brisket trimmings from Fancy Hank’s.
The three sister establishments share a renovated central kitchen – now housing a charcoal barbecue – which leads to a natural cross-pollination of ideas.
Kilpatrick oysters are topped with Fancy Hank’s barbecue sauce. Another retro-inspired dish from Di Blasi is slow-cooked lamb shoulder, pressed and fried into nuggets, served with jalapeno-mint jelly.
The nostalgia of the menu is reflected in the design, which recalls old country pubs and the work of Patrick’s grandfather, who was a mid-century architect. Dark wood paneling and patterned carpeting are focal points, while large windows frame numerous views of the city.
The centrepiece is a horseshoe-shaped jarrah bar where you can stop for a pint of house ale – made in collaboration with Abbotsford’s Bodriggy Brewery – or a mainly Victorian negroni made with Gindu gin, Saison vermouth and a smoked rosemary garnish.
In classic pub style, it offers daily specials including Sunday roasts and a happy hour with $8 wines and $10 pints, as well as TVs to entertain punters with live sport.
Springrock opens Thursday, July 4 at 4 p.m.
Open Sunday to Wednesday from noon to midnight, Thursday to Saturday from noon to 2 a.m.
87 Bourke Street, Melbourne, springrock.com.au