Happy butt sniffing

The Palace Hotel, just one block from the North Eastern boundary between South and Port Melbourne, has been through more than its fair share of incarnations its 139 year history. In recent years of course it's gone from (Luke Mangan's) Palace Hotel, briefly to SoHo and back, but it was originally built as Meagher's Hotel and has also been known as the Partner’s Tavern and, my personal favourite, the Pickled Pig Hotel.

Given its recent history, as a restaurant in pub clothing, it seems quite audacious for Jess, Pratty and Dan, the latest operators, to reverse the general trend and attempt to fashion an old-school local pub from the space. It's a certainly a transformation seeing beer trays, a pool table and particularly a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, where there used to be crisp white table clothes. They're justifiably proud to be free of TAB and loud music, and of the rarest of pub assets ... a leafy (and now mutt welcoming) garden.

The beer loving inhabitants of Port Melbourne can save their legs, as the range and enthusiasm for craft beers here is at least as great as at the nearby Wayside Inn and O'Connells. The only downside that I can see is that the huddle of stools round the bar, favoured by regulars, creates a bit of a barrier to ordering that passing trade may find off putting.

Beers on tap: Carlton, Trumer Pils, Stone & Wood Pacific Ale, 3 Ravens Pale Ale, Bridge Port IPA, Mountain Goat IPA, Hargreaves Hill ESB, Moo Brew Dark Ale
Wine range: $9.50 - $11
Parma: Yes ($12 on Mondays)
Gastro: No and proud of it
Tradie vs Yuppy: Deliberately an all-comers kind of place