The Argo

Ph: 9867 3344; 64 Argo St, South Yarra 3141 www.theargo.com.au

Modern Australian, $$, * for Ambience
Open Wed-Sun noon-3pm Tue-Sat 6pm-late, Closed Some public holidays; Licensed; AE DC MC V
Chef Dwayne Bourke & Peter Ojansuu (5-12-08) Owner Damien Hobday (5-12-08)

Mietta's Review
People come and meet at The Argo for a drink and something to eat, sometimes in the bar, sometimes just with a good pizza or sometimes to spend a couple of hours in the more formal dining area. The wine list is reasonably extensive and well priced with a number of good choices by the glass. M.T. says the Victorian wine selection is good and likes a glass with the wood-fired pizza. Management are quick to point out that there is no entertainment here, it is an eating and drinking place and does very well in that capacity attracting a range of customers. A comfortable place, not flash and not super trendy.

Other published opinions

Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 14/20 "If South Yarra was a desert, this gastropub would be its oasis. Unlike many oases, however, there's little danger that shimmering promise will dissolve into disappointment"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: * "The leafy, renovated backblocks of South Yarra are the ideal setting for a pub like The Argo. With its swish but understated good looks - shiny floorboards, natural light, comfortable banquettes - and its serious food focus, The Argo is perfectly pitched to the local clientele"

Herald Sun Stephen Downes, 15-07-08 Score: ** "Long ago this joint was a pub"

Herald Sun Dining Out, Stephen Downes, 2-10-07 "There are possibly dimmer Melbourne restaurants than the Argo's dining room but none comes to mind. The food shows signs that it could be better than it is, and the wine list is an absolute corker - a long inventory of fascinating, mostly expensive and regal drops from Italy, Spain, France and, of course, Australia. Nine table whites, a rose and seven reds are sold by the glass."

Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 15/20, One Hat "The Argo was an opportunity begging for exploitation: a lovely old pub in an area that should be able to support a food and wine specialist"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "Food, wine, convivial atmosphere - they should work together. Using this idea is how restaurateur Damian Hobday approached the renovation of The Argo, a gastropub with food to complement the wine, not vice-versa"

Herald Sun Bob Hart, 28-04-07 "Anyway, whenever I eat in a pub I really like, I have an overwhelming urge to sell up, pack and move to the area. And just last week - after lunching with a mate in The Argo - I gave serious thought to moving to South Yarra, despite the fact that I lack the resources, the physique and the wardrobe to do any such thing. But even a sensibly proportioned chap can dream, surely ."

The Age John Lethlean, 25-1-2007 "if the pub - and we use the term loosely, as in: it has a bar and a hotel licence, but that's about where comparison with trad hotels ends - remains one of those places only locals know about, and keep to themselves, it surely won't stay that way long. Not any more. The inevitable whacking over the head with an interior-design stick has given this graceful swan a bit of up-to-the-minute grooming. And what we have left is a bar with a great courtyard where they do snacky food, the kind you appreciate after a couple of drinks (such as wood-fired pizza), a glamorous and quite large private dining room, and a restaurant. A proper restaurant. All linen and Riedel glassware and elegantly restored masonry with arched windows and lavish examples of the florist's craft, smart wine list and a menu that makes you go, "Mmmm"."