Esplanade Hotel

Ph: (03) 9534 0211; 11 Upper Esplanade, St Kilda 3182

pub grub, $$ -, * for Ambience
Open mon-wed 5-11pm Thu 5pm-late fri noon-late sat-sun 8am-late; Licensed; AE DC MC V EFT

Mietta's Review
The Espy is the stuff of legends. Great music, fights - political and more basic ones - financial scandals. It's all started here. The music goes on, the beer flows and a part of St Kilda's history remains. Food from the Espy Kitchen is "cheap, fresh and delicious". The room has a very specific feel, it's about being in a local pub with a community kitchen where you pick up and then return your own plates to the wash up window.There's no 'decor' to speak of, it's completely internalised, there's nothing else to look at except the kitchen. There's a strong local following. You need to know how to find it which is by coming through the pool room of the hotel. The kitchen puts out healthy, interesting meals from a blackboard menu. Candles create an inward focus for each table.

Other published opinions

The Age Cheap Eats 2008 "This old rock dog's learnt some new tricks in recent years: after major renos there's now a flash mezzanine with chesterfields, shiny tables and a menu sporting harissa prawns, pad Thai and gado gado"

The Age Cheap Eats 2007 "The revamped Espy is real eye candy, with its shiny walls, chandeliers and bay views. But the core values remain: solid pub grub (with some fancy twists) in cosy digs."

The Age Cheap Eats 2006 Gone is the Espy Kitchen of old: what was a classic back-room pub eatery is now a slick, high-ceilinged space with views, and without grunge (apart from some die-hard customers). The menu has been revamped, too

The Age Cheap Eats 2005 "THE ESPY is a piece of old St Kilda that refuses to die, and its famous kitchen - up the back, beyond the pool tables - is part of that heritage. Given a fresh look not so long ago, this bistro still feels faintly grungy"

The Age Cheap Eats 2004,Somewhere really special,Good bar,'this classy pub diner has been smartened up-and so has the food.Quality ingrediants go into the superior comfort food,whether it's bangers and mash,a good beef rendang,or a steak sandwich with onion jam.'

The Age, A2, 15/5/04, Melinda Houston,'Feeding students,struggling artists and under-nourised musicians for the best part of a decade (and long before most other pubs realised the benefit of putting on hearty home-cooking along with beer), the Espy Kitchen is still going strong.'

The Age, Epicure, 13/1/04, Matt Preston,'The menu is the familar range of world food, with an emphasis on good prices-most stuff is under $16'

The Sunday Age, The 2003 Rugby World Cup, Ben Canaider,'is a Melbourne bands pub institution...There is little emphasis here on fine dining or sophisticated wine lists.It's beer and a bit of food for simple refuelling.'