Station Hotel

Ph: 9687 2913; 59 Napier St, FOOTSCRAY 3011

Modern Australian, $$ -, * for Food & Ambience
Open 7 days noon-2.30pm 6pm-9pm, Closed public holidays; Licensed; AE MC V EFT
Chef Sean Donovan Score: 16/20 (27-05-08) Owner

Other published opinions

Herald Sun GLUTTON, JOANNE HAWKINS, "Could Footscray be the new South Yarra? Perhaps not quite but, for chef Sean Donovan, who has swapped South Yarra's Botanical restaurant for the rather less salubrious Station Hotel in Footscray, there's nowhere he'd rather be"

The Age John Lethlean, 29-7-2008 Score: 15/20 "Sean Donovan's Footscray pub has had mainstream media attention. Donovan was the head chef for Paul Wilson at The Botanical, that quintessential South Yarra club, before crossing the Maribyrnong and hanging out his shingle at a pub that has, over the years, been emasculated of much of its period charm. Well, lucky old Footscray is all I can say. They've cleaned up the place, but The Station still feels very much like a simple pub bistro, where they doff their cloth cap to the traditional residents of the area (many of whom are at lunch with fried fish and a pot) while hinting at something interesting to a newer bunch. And that "something" is food passion: beautiful produce handled with great skill, but in a completely unpretentious manner so as not to scare anyone."

Herald Sun 10-06-08 Score: **** "The chef mastered his craft cooking for toffs (Radii, Botanical) but now cooks for real people"

Herald Sun Stephen Downes, 27-05-08 Score: 16/20 "I'll be going back to the Station Hotel for its food. You can't eat ambience, as the Station confirms. And there's just enough service that strikes the right affable tone to make an enjoyable night. In line with most wine lists these days, the Station's is dear, especially for a pub. It is limited, too, but cites many interesting drops. No bottle costs less than $35, and five table reds and five whites come by the glass."

Herald Sun Bob Hart, 3-05-08 "This unassuming pub, run by a chef who has (sensibly) escaped from Melbourne's Porsche belt - Domain Rd, South Yarra - to cook for real people, is a ripper. ... Now, Sean Donovan is new to both The Station Hotel, which he now runs, and to Footscray. But he is becoming increasingly enamoured of both. SINCE he vacated the No. 2 spot in the kitchen at Botanical some six months ago, he has been quietly reshaping this place."