The Best Pubs In North Melbourne For Your Next Cheeky Pint

Despite directly adjoining the hustle and bustle of the CBD, North Melbourne has a distinctly different feel. Quieter and more neighbourly, it deftly balances its history as a working class industrial suburb with a stylish and youthful transformation.

Its healthy pub scene is a reflection of this. North Melbourne’s heart can be found in character-filled old school pubs where the pints are cheap and the portions large, but you’ll also find the area’s young and hip milling about in polished, contemporary venues that can shake up a good cocktail.

These are the best pubs in North Melbourne to enjoy a pint and a parma in this year. 

Central Club Hotel

This newly refurbished boozer has quickly joined ranks as one of the best pubs in North Melbourne. After a sustainable restoration, the space at Central Club Hotel is both warm and elegant. It boasts a sleek fit-out and food and drink of the highest calibre, yet still maintains the feel of that classic corner pub we all know and love.

The drinks list is 100% Aussie; the wine list particularly good. The food menu shifts from excellent share plates through to quintessential pub meals with added refinement, and features market produce brought fresh from Queen Victoria Market. Start with the burrata, roasted beetroot and persimmon and the kingfish sashimi and wind up a quality steak, beer battered fish and chips, or handmade pumpkin cavatelli with black garlic oil and sage. 

240 - 248 Victoria Street, North Melbourne

The Victoria Hotel

The Victoria Hotel has been a historic landmark on the corner of Peel and Victoria streets since its establishment in 1863. All that history, with a fresh new refurbish in recent times, has ensured it is back on the books as one of the best pubs in North Melbourne. 

What was once an ailing pub now stands tall with a modern look and retained old charm in the form of original fireplaces. 

It offers nine beers on tap, from Carlton Dry to craft beers like Stone and Wood, while the menu options include jaffles in the daytime and burgers, fish and chips and hot wings at night. 

Catch up with friends over a game of pool, find a table to tuck in to some classic pub grub, and set up one of the many board games over a pint or two. Hard to go wrong here, right? 

Ground Floor/312-316 Victoria Street, North Melbourne 

The Town Hall Hotel

For a cold pint, cheerful feed and a spot of live music, you can’t go past The Town Hall Hotel. It’s a classic, and one of the best pubs in North Melbourne. The kind that’s harder and harder to find in the inner city these days, where the walls are plastered with rock memorabilia while the menu’s both delicious and pocket friendly. Jockey with local workers and regulars in the public bar, or catch up with mates in their sprawling beer garden, an all-seasons oasis that’s cool in summer and heated in winter. Back in the dining room an open fireplace will keep you toasty on cold nights – dig into your dinner here before checking out the gigs that play from Thursday to Sunday.

33 Errol Street, North Melbourne

The Last Jar 

It's hard to look past this iconic Irish boozer when it comes to best pubs in North Melbourne. The Last Jar has been a stalwart of the 'burb, not only for its traditional, warm and rustic atmosphere, but for it's hearty meals served up with homemade butter, bread and bacon.

Open Wednesday to Sunday, this excellent spot is particularly well loved for its variety of live music. Wednesdays and Sundays are traditional Irish music nights, reminiscent of what you would find back in Ireland where anyone is welcome to join in.

Thursday nights are home to a weekly residency starting from 7.00pm, which serves up a mixture of both Irish and Scottish jigs, reels, polkas and songs. Fridays feature rotating musicians - who will be sure to play all your favorite pub songs!

Grab a pint of Guinness or a dram of whisky and settle in for a charming evening. 

616 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne 

Bobbie Peels

Bobbie Peels’ classic corner pub exterior belies the laid back, contemporary operation that lives inside. Oozing both comfort and style, settle in for a cosy night at one of the best pubs in North Melbourne with a glass of local red and some of the delicious plates from their seasonal produce meets quintessential bistro menu. 

On Saturdays, there's nothing better than whiling away a lazy afternoon sharing rounds in the impressive beer garden, with the venue having long been a beacon for independent and craft beers. More of a wine person? Bobbie Peels stocks an array of them, from aged classics to modern natural, skin contact and boutiques.

You might enjoy an early 90's one-off Shiraz from Best's in the Great Western wine region, or select a supple Syrah from one of Melbourne's up and coming winemakers. Either way, Bobbie's is an icon, and one of the best pubs in North Melbourne no matter the season or occasion. 

351 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne

Limerick Castle Hotel

This reliable neighbourhood boozer has been a catchup spot for locals since 1886. Open seven days a week, it’s a place where there’s always sport on the TV and a friendly face to chat to. A drink in their well-worn rooms (complete with deep red carpet) puts you front seat to a slice of history, but the kitchen is flipping something new. Collingwood’s beloved burger joint Easey’s has taken over the Limerick’s kitchen, meaning it’s now become a hotspot for juicy American-style cheeseburgers, fried chicken sandwiches and chilli cheese dogs; meaning it's immediately on the best pubs in North Melbourne, at least in our minds. 

161 Errol Street, North Melbourne

Prudence

While technically more of a bar, Prudence has the same relaxed watering hole energy that we associate our favourite pubs. It’s no ordinary venue, either – while its contemporaries copy one another’s sleek, minimalist designs, this North Melbourne favourite indulges in excess. From the kitschy, vintage knick knack-filled walls and to the Victorian chandeliers, they embody a 'more is more' ethos when it comes to décor. To drink you’ll find trusty tap beers, local wines, single malt whiskies and all the spritzes and sours you know and love.

368 Victoria Street, North Melbourne 

The Leveson

For a more upmarket, polished vibe head to The Leveson, where a roomy modern fit out and trendy offering attracts the after-work crowd. There’s live music throughout most weekends, from acoustic performers during happy hour to DJs spinning the decks ‘til late, but if you’re just after a pizza and a pint with the sport in the background, there’s spaces for that too. Classic pub grub sits comfortably alongside the likes of lemongrass fried chicken, mussels in a nduja and tomato broth and rigatoni alla vodka. There's also a wide selection of local and imported beers and wine to dip into. One of our favourite spots for an excellent pub meal in North Melbourne. 

46 Leveson Street, North Melbourne

Albion Hotel

Linger awhile and you'll soon start to feel like you're one of the regulars at this beloved pub in North Melbourne.

This boozer is beautifully old-school. The kind of place you’d find out in the country, a place where everyone’s greeted like family whether it’s your first or fiftieth time walking through the door.

No frills but full of charm and character, you can always rely on the Albion Hotel for a great value meal and a freshly poured cold one. There’s no pokies to be found here, just live footy, great conversation and hearty pub meals cooked with care.  

171 Curzon Street, North Melbourne

The Castle Hotel

If you’re passionate about all things brewed, check out The Castle Hotel, where they have a specialty Belgian beer bar that’ll transport you to the beer halls of Europe. Belgian beers are known for balancing light body and low bitterness with fruity, spicy, floral and herbal aromas, and you can see for yourself with the Castle’s dozens of varieties on tap and in bottle form. Try four at once with a beer tasting paddle, best enjoyed with some crispy beer-battered John Dory fillets or a classic porterhouse steak. Come summer, this delightful local really shines as one of the best pubs in North Melbourne, due to it's gorgeous outdoor seating arrangement. 

56 Courtney Street, North Melbourne

Looking for more places to have a tipple? Check out these great value happy hours across Melbourne, our favourite new bars and the coolest cocktail bars in town. And now that the mercury’s dropping, you can get a glass of hot mulled wine at these bars and pubs too.