With winter in full swing, Melbourne’s finest pubs are turning up the heat. Nothing defrosts the hands quite like a glass of house red by the fire. We've compiled a list of the warmest drinking dens from all city corners so you’ll know where to go for your next knock-off drink on a frigid winter's day. So head down to your local, or someone else’s local, to counteract the colder season blues with a bev beside a built-in fireplace.
With a cozy pub in almost every suburb, this is where to find the best pubs with fireplaces in Melbourne:
The Wolf Windsor
WINDSOR
The Wolf Windsor is one of Chapel Street's infamous pubs and it has all the trappings of a good local including a fireplace right by the dining room. This pub honestly does it all with its trivia nights, weekend dancefloor and extensive menu. Plus, the cocktail list and beers on offer certainly won’t leave you disappointed. If you’re searching for a warm pub to unwind with a glass of wine in the week or turn up with several beers over the weekend, The Wolf Windsor will certainly deliver.
Union Club Hotel
FITZROY
The landmark Union Club Hotel is situated on the corner of Gore and Webb Street. Their fireplace is conveniently set up by the pool tables and screens showing the footy, two classic Melbourne winter pass times. Whether you’re looking for a solid pub feed or a beer on tap to warm you from the inside out, the Union Club Hotel has got all the right stuff. You can secure your table by booking ahead online or test out your luck with a spontaneous walk-in.
The Post Office Hotel
COBURG
The Post Office Hotel is infamous for its beer garden in the summer but it's also a top contender for the best pub with a fireplace in Melbourne. So if you’re looking for a spot to enjoy a classic parma by a roaring fire, look no further. The Coburg Lager battered fish and chips are a venue standout and definitely a season-appropriate choice. Their onsite brewery, bottle shop and live music make it a one-stop-shop for a winter’s night out.
Trinket
CBD
Melbourne’s Trinket has quickly become a staple for city-goers who are looking for a slick venue that knows how to make a mean drink. Trinket certainly has its own charm with its old-world interior, think velvet couches, vintage light fixtures and exposed brick walls. It's a mix of an up-market pub and an intimate bar but the fireplace certainly sets both the mood and temperature in the colder months.
Union House
RICHMOND
Union House is the local's local and for good reason. The corner pub has become a fixture in the Richmond area. If you’re serious about fighting off the cold and leaning into winter traditions why not head down on a Sunday for their roast night. Alongside the toasty fireplace, you’re also welcome to take the party home with their booze to-go menu which includes canned cocktails, tap beers and fireball shots.
Grace Darling Hotel
COLLINGWOOD
Collingwood's favourite Grace Darling Hotel is winter-ready with its fireplace. Walk-ins are always welcome but you might be tempted to make a booking for the whole group chat for Tuesday parma night, Wednesday Burger night or Thursday steak night. You’ll also be spoilt for choice with beers on tap, bottled and tinned.
The Palace Hotel
SOUTH MELBOURNE
The Palace Hotel is the perfect place to kick back with mates and down a beer or two by the fire. The best seats in the house are right up in the bistro area where you’ll find long cosy banquettes snuggled around a roaring fireplace set into the exposed brick wall. If you’re after something to wash down the pub grub they’ve also got a wide range of craft brews on offer for fellow hopheads to enjoy.
The Last Jar
CBD
The Last Jar is known as one of Melbourne’s best authentic Irish pubs. The establishment is Irish-owned and mostly Irish-staffed. You know they’re definitely serving Guinness, Kilkenny and Boag’s Daught by the pint. Order an Irish feast with a cold beer and warm up by The Last Jar’s fireplace. While you’re there give their Irish chips a try, hot chips with cheese and McDonnell's curry sauce.
Old Palm Liquour
BRUNSWICK EAST
Old Palm Liquor is ready to welcome you with its warm interior and hot fireplace. You might head over to the Old Palm for a single glass of wine but you’ll most likely end up staying for a bottle and a couple of plates off the menu. They’re always updating their seasonal dishes so you know it's going to be primed for those ice-windy days. Right now they’re dishing up scotch steak doused in bone marrow butter and roasted pumpkin with fried oyster mushrooms.
The Napier Hotel
FITZROY
The Napier Hotel regards itself as a big warm Fitzroy hug and we can’t think of anything more fitting for the cold winter months. It has proudly avoided the northside gentrification and remains a true pillar of the Fitzroy area. The fire-lit pool lounge is where you’ll want to gather with mates over a beer or two and a drawn-out game. The 130-year-old institution still sits on the corner of Napier and Moore Streets ready to welcome locals and visitors inside its warm walls.
Windsor Castle
WINDSOR
Windsor Castle is tucked neatly behind Windsor Station but is hard to miss with its lime-green facade. This south-side icon is a winter favourite amongst locals thanks to its fireplaces, pool tables and couches. The Windsor Castle is primed for entertaining patrons on cold days. The cosy interior is only made better by its modern pub menu that features dishes like mushroom bolognese, lamb saag, eggplant parma and a warm duck salad
The Lincoln
CARLTON
The Lincoln, a cherished Carlton gem that is steeped in history has withstood the test of time after undergoing a significant refurbishment in 1939 that saw the hotel transform into its current art-deco style, featuring green terrazzo tiles which echo the hotel’s prior interior. With its alluring open fireplace, 12 taps of rotating craft beers on offer and meals that use quality sustainable and seasonal produce to serve up some pub classics, including beer-battered fish and chicken schnitzel, The Lincoln is an easy inclusion in the best pubs with fireplaces in Melbourne.
The Gasometer Hotel
COLLINGWOOD
The Gasometer Hotel is not just a friendly face to gen z patrons who hit the hotel up on the weekend for some banging tunes in the disco-ball band room but is also a warm and inviting space that sees punters enjoying a pint while basking in the allure and warmth of the Gaso’s fireplace during the cooler months with some cracking and hearty pub classics.
The Local Taphouse
ST KILDA
The European-inspired neighbourhood tavern, The Local Taphouse, is a familiar sight to many St Kilda residents with its expansive list of craft beers and hearty meals that sees locals returning. With its cosy outdoor fireplace, inviting beer-bottled wall interior and food specials including, steak night, curry night and the classic Sunday roast with trivia that encourages friends to gather at the tavern during the cooler months, The Local Taphouse is undoubtedly one of the best pubs with fireplaces Melbourne has to offer.
Marquis of Lorne
FITZROY
The Marquis of Lorne is a Fitzroy charm offering some cracking pub classics from Sunday roasts to chicken schnittys as well as some more refined dishes including, barbequed swordfish with saffron braised fennel and roasted mushrooms with macadamia pesto and fried polenta. Marquis’s three blazing open fireplaces that adds to their dimly lit atmosphere aesthetic makes for an ideal choice of pubs with fireplaces in Melbourne to cosy up to this winter.
O’Connell’s Centenary Hotel
WINDSOR
A South-side favourite that prides itself on contemporary Australian pub dining, O’Connel’s Centenary Hotel is at the forefront of the best pubs with fireplaces Melbourne has to offer with its refined yet inviting atmosphere that features a cosy fireplace and large windows that provide vistas of the Coventry Street courtyard. Its swish spin on pub classics is also by no means lacking since renowned chefs including, Gref Malouf and Cath Kalka have made their culinary mark at the hotel.
The Quiet Man
KENSINGTON
Flemington’s cherished pub, The Quiet Man is an authentic Irish joint serving up typical meals with traditional Irish ingredients including beef, pork and chicken roasts as well as Jameson chicken along with Guinness. With live music on the weekends, happy hours, trivia nights and a crackling fireplace, The Quiet Man is undoubtedly one of the best pubs with a fireplace to settle into in the colder season.
Orrong Hotel
ARMADALE
One of oldest pubs with fireplaces in Melbourne that dates back to 1875, The Orrong Hotel has undergone a makeover with contemporary accompaniments like craft beers on tap yet it remains true to pub roots with its timeless roast on Sundays, parma and pot on Wednesdays and steak night on Thursdays.
Middle Park Hotel
MIDDLE PARK
The Middle Park Hotel’s interior is sleek yet warm and enticing with its roaring fireplace and dark wood floors, furniture and bar that sees punters pulling up a stool to enjoy a pint or two. With its dining menu that values seasonality and sustainable produce such as grass-fed beef and food specials such as parma night and trivia night on Wednesdays as well as Sunday roasts sessions, it is a no-brainer that Middle Park Hotel is one of the best pubs with fireplaces to nestle into this winter.
If you prefer a bit of a breeze, check out the best beer gardens in Melbourne here.
Image credit: Willem-Dirk du Toit