Railway Hotel Fitzroy North — Restaurant in Melbourne

The sad thing about writing this review is that they I have happy memories of The Railway as a classic inner north Melbourne pub that served excellent pub classics, and some wonderful hearty and well cooked Italian food. The decor always left something to be desired, and they had this weird system for wine whereby you just went into another part of the pub to the bottle shop, picked your wine, and took it back to the pub where they stuck a couple of bucks on it. I liked that, and they had (and still have) a pretty good range of wines and very reasonable prices.

Eight friends and I dined here recently on a Thursday night, and the whole experience was an unmitigated disaster from beginning to end. Not one person enjoyed their meal. Let me be specific: My veal parma was a very small serve of tough veal and very sparse topping (although the napoli sauce was pretty good). About eight chips accompanied the meal, and I have attache a photo of the so-called side salad. Oh, by the way, nothing had been eaten from that salad--that's how it landed on the table.

I ordered an $18 antipasto platter for the table to share. The tiny serve of very ordinary antipasto barely covered the middling sized plate it was served on. The meats were OK, but it wasn't served with any bread or accompaniments of any sort. At $7.50 or even $10 it would still have been ordinary, but at least cheap. At $18 it was a bald-face rip-off. There would have been about $3.00 worth of produce on the plate.

There was also close to an hour's gap between the antipasto and the main, despite the fact that I asked for the antipasto to come at the same time as the mains.

One of my companions ordered goat with polenta. When the tiny serve arrived with chips and salad, there was no polenta. When he asked, he was told that if you ordered chips and salad with the goat, you didn't get polenta, Eh?

No-one had a meal they enjoyed. Steak was tough, and the mixed grills were sparse and ordinary. The table was given two small plates of bread that was none too fresh.

Overall, it was a shocking dining experience. We have all put a massive line through this place and will never eat there again. The only good thing about the meal was some good wine at a very reasonable price.

As I said at the start of this review, the sad thing about this experience was that all of us had very happy memories of some excellent unpretentious pub classics and Italian food at this once venerable...

The Railway Hotel in Fitzroy North is not just a pub. It’s a portal. A vortex. A glittering jewel box of gnocchi, jewels and fish tanks.

The dishes? So clean I saw my future in the reflection of a schooner glass. Prateek moves faster than human eyes can track. One moment a plate exists, the next it’s vanished into the sparkling ether. Sonic the Hedgehog could never.

Then there’s the pumpkin gnocchi. I don’t know what witchcraft is happening in that kitchen but it feels like my Nonna (who doesn’t exist) came back from the dead just to feed me. It’s soft, pillowy, kissed by pumpkin, and somehow tastes like love. I cried at the table. People stared. I did not care.

Declan is the lighthouse guiding us home after a storm. He doesn’t serve you, he saves you. Duncan? A man of mystery. He doesn’t pour pints, he bestows them, jewels glinting like stolen treasure from Poseidon himself. British Tom… I swear he once faked his own death. He carries secrets not meant for mortals. One day, I’ll know.

A table of old cats swore Jarrah cooks the best steak in the north. Fun-slinging, steak-flinging magician energy. I believe them.

The fish tanks? Works of art. The fish are so happy I’m convinced they’re in on a secret. I think I saw one smile at me. Honestly, the aquascaping alone is worth the visit.

As a smoker, let me say: the beer garden is the best in the north. Philosophers could only dream of such clarity. Aristotle himself would have stubbed one out here himself. I only smoked out the front on the street side, flanked by the most beautiful, supportive security staff (Akir?). Like guardian angels in hi-vis, they made me feel safe. They made me feel seen.

The food? To die for. The staff? Legends. The vibes? Immaculate. The Railway isn’t just a pub. It’s...

A great country pub in the inner city with a comprehensive menu of delicious, affordable, simple Italian food. The owner / operators have run the place day in day out (except Sunday and January) for decades and they've mastered the art of local hospitality. Unlike too many of the beautiful grand hotels in Melbourne which have sold out to the temptation of easy Tab and pokie revenue, Peter and Miriam have stuck to their simple recipe of good food, footy, live music, Italian culture and customer service. The beer garden is amazing on a mild night and the vibe in the main bar on a Friday when about 60 strings are being plucked is warm and intimate. Tuesday night is quiz night and it's the best in Melbourne. You'll never win because the regulars are too good but there's plenty of chances to win a jug of beer. There's about 60 things on the menu for whatever you feel like but the popular favorites are the basic pasta's in the left hand column of the blackboard. The one or two at the bottom of that column are usually a rotating pasta special which can be a hand made gnocchi, canneloni or pasta which will often run out before 7pm because the regulars know it's good. They're all under under 15 bucks. The pool table costs a dollar and the fires crank on cold nights. The place is good and it should be... They've been doing it for...