Marquis of Lorne
When Matt Vero and Steve Rowley took over a pub that had stood on the corner of George and Kerr for more than 150 years, Broadsheet reported the decision plainly: they "decided not to turn it into something it's not."
Why go
Three levels, a sunny rooftop, and one menu that runs on all of them, which is a small operational decision that changes how a pub works for a group. The kitchen came from Jacob Swain, out of Epocha and the Builders Arms, and cooks counter meals rather than a gastropub menu: potato cakes, Pacific oysters, grilled octopus, chicken schnitzel, a 250-gram scotch fillet, slow-cooked lamb ribs, a chilli and fennel dog. Wooden tables sit out front for a pot in the sun and there is a TV in one corner for the footy. Time Out, writing up its 2023 Food and Drink Awards, put the survival test simply: the room has kept "consistently packed-out capacity since its 2014 refurbishment."
Order this / avoid
- Order: potato cakes to start, then the chicken schnitzel off the counter-meal list, or the scotch fillet. A pot outside if the sun is on the front tables.
- Avoid: counting on the roof at short notice. It is why the pub is full.
What locals & experts say
- Time Out Melbourne, Food & Drink Awards 2023, naming it in the Best Casual Drinking Venue category:
some places seem to maintain an indistinguishable allure, bolstered by their persistence to keep things fresh and their loyal patrons happy, and judging by Marquis of Lorne's consistently packed-out capacity since its 2014 refurbishment, it's one of them.
2 - Broadsheet Melbourne on what the new owners did with a 150-year-old pub: gave the three-level hotel
a good spit and polish, so it retains its classic pub feel.
1 - Nothing recent. Time Out has no venue page and Broadsheet's dates from 2014. No critic has assessed the food here in anything we could reach, which is why this entry is marked for more work.
Good to know
- Where: the corner of George and Kerr Streets, Fitzroy.
- Timing: not confirmed. Check the venue's own site.
- Booking: worth making, especially for the rooftop, and there is a 12-seat private dining room.
- Groups: the one menu runs on all three floors, so a split party still eats the same food.
- On the parma: no source we read names one, and the counter-meal list runs to a chicken schnitzel instead. Confirm before you make it the reason you go.
- Safety: Victoria publishes no per-venue hygiene rating. Safe Food Victoria's register of court convictions under the Food Act 1984 was read in full on 1 August 2026 and does not list this venue.4
Verdict
could-visit — A three-level corner pub that has stood at George and Kerr for more than 150 years, and a set of owners who took it on in 2014 and, in Broadsheet's phrase, decided not to turn it into something it is not. That means the same menu on all three floors, wooden tables out the front for a pot in the sun, a TV in the corner for the footy, and a rooftop that is the reason it fills up. The kitchen came out of Epocha and the Builders Arms and cooks counter meals: potato cakes, chicken schnitzel, a scotch fillet, lamb ribs. Time Out's 2023 awards write-up noted it has been packed since the refurbishment. The honest caveat is that almost everything above was reported in 2014, and nobody has assessed the food since. It is a good pub. Check the menu before you promise anyone a parma.