Pendant Public Bar
The name came off a coaster. Linton and Kelly ran a Name Our Bar pop-up at Black Pearl in late 2023, and the suggestions kept referring to their kelpie's one floppy ear. A floppy ear is called a pendant ear.
Why go
Belinda Linton and Luke Kelly worked fifteen years for other people, her at Congress and Black Pearl, him at Mr West and Apollo Inn, and three years each at The Everleigh. The bar they eventually built is the opposite of the one they used to imagine. "Ten years ago, we were 22, fresh little bartenders," Kelly told Broadsheet. "Now we've used our knowledge and, rather than overloading the offer with a thousand bottles of the same thing, every product has a purpose." Six cocktails hold the list, led by a cognac-spiked Old Fashioned and a freezer martini at seven parts Never Never gin to one of dry vermouth, seasoned with the lightest touch of salt, sugar and acid to sharpen it. Four more rotate around them on a fixed shape: a tall spritz, a citrus one, something dark-spirited, something stirred and boozy. Guinness, Coopers, Stomping Ground pilsner and Fixation IPA on tap. The brief to the designers was "cosy old Irish pub meets balmy New Orleans cocktail bar."
Order this / avoid
- Order: the martini, and ask them to talk you through the seasoning. The cognac Old Fashioned. A Guinness. If you drink riesling, take the kerner made by monks in northern Italy, which is on the list to nudge people sideways.
- Avoid: planning to eat. Food is packets of Nobby's nuts and Samboy chips. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
What locals & experts say
- Australian Bar Awards 2026: three finalist placings on a peer vote of the trade. Best Bartenders' Bar, Small Bar of the Year, and Imogen Campbell for Host of the Year.4
- Luke Kelly, co-owner, on why there is no kitchen:
There is no greater feeling than finishing a meal with friends and hearing those cheeky, magic words, shall we have one more somewhere else? We'd like Pendant to be the answer to that.
2 - Belinda Linton, co-owner, on the drinks:
We're not out to change the game. The cocktails aren't revolutionary, they're classic at heart, but the way we like to drink them.
1 - No review found. Time Out Melbourne has no page for this bar, and searches on 1 August 2026 turned up openings coverage and award lists only. What is carrying this entry is a peer vote by working bartenders, which the ranking model rates above a critic, and the fact is stated rather than hidden.
Good to know
- Where: 1/366 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, in the old Enoteca Zingara site.
- Timing: Thursday to Monday, 4pm to midnight, as at opening in May 2025. Worth a check.
- Booking: walk in.
- Opened: Saturday 17 May 2025.
- 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.6
Verdict
should-visit — Belinda Linton and Luke Kelly spent fifteen years behind other people's bars, Black Pearl and Congress for her, Mr West and Apollo Inn for him, and three years each at The Everleigh. When they finally opened their own they made it small on purpose. Kelly: they had pictured a thousand-bottle back bar and experience turned that into a room where every bottle has a job. Six cocktails, four more that rotate on a fixed shape, Guinness on tap, and a martini at seven parts Never Never gin to one of dry vermouth, poured from the freezer and seasoned with salt, sugar and acid. There is no food beyond bagged nuts and chips, and that is deliberate: they wanted to be the answer to shall we have one more somewhere else. Nobody has reviewed it, but in July 2026 the Australian trade shortlisted it three times, including Best Bartenders' Bar, which is other bars' staff naming where they drink. Eat down the street and come here after.