A Melbourne couple has created a new pub for St Kilda, channelling the look, feel, taste and name of the classic British boozer in their unveiling of the Lion & Wombat.
Aspiring public house creator Alex Back spent time managing pubs in the UK, and he and wife Sophie Machin were looking to craft a suburban local for the waterside Victorian precinct.
They deemed it essential to utilise an old building, or it simply wouldn’t feel like a British pub, settling on a corner of Grey Street that has spent time as a dairy, café and a design studio.
It was also important that the name evoke thoughts of pubs in London, such as The Queen’s Head or Slug & Lettuce. The pair listed every Australian and British animal combination they could imagine; the Red Lion is the most common name for a pub in Britain, akin to the Royal in Australia, and Back and Machin decided on The Lion & Wombat.
The building’s interior had to be overhauled, which the couple did themselves. A coat of arms featuring the two animals now guards the entrance, while a larger-than-life Union Jack greets entrants through the front door. The compact two-storey pub also boasts a sunroom, and a beer garden at the rear.
After months of work, the Lion opened in June – facetiously claiming the year 3182.
Influenced by pub cuisine from both here and the UK, the menu aims to use seasonal local ingredients wherever possible, to produce British-inspired dishes, such as the Scotch egg – a soft-boiled egg wrapped in mince, crumbed and deep-fried – or the “elevated” fish finger sandwich, or the weekly Sunday roast, served with all the trimmings, including peas and gravy and a rotation roast of beef or chicken, or a vegan nut creation.
On the drinks menu there are dozens of wines to choose from beyond the half-dozen local beers on tap, significantly including the Stomping Ground creation Wombat Draught.
But headlining the alcoholic offerings are the cocktails, which Back says embody “lots of nods” to the UK. Patrons can choose from the Cuppa Tea, using jasmine-infused gin alongside ginger and peach, the Paddington, with marmalade and whiskey, or the mighty Big Liz, made with lavender and pear.
PubTIC was unable to make contact with team Lion & Wombat prior to publication.
