Pub:  The Fleece
Where:  120 Montague St., Sth Melb  
Phone:  9329 4877
Date:   20 November 2009
Score:   13.5/20

There are two distinct faces to South Melbourne; the first, urbane, genteel St. Vincent’s Place, near the old Lake Oval and where the preferred watering hole is Pam Lamaro’s beautiful old pub.

The other is heavy industrial bit near the Westgate where the preferred watering hole was Curly Allen’s Golden Fleece, who self proclamation of the best beer in Melbourne screamed at you when stuck in the Montague St., traffic.

The Golden Fleece was sold with a heavy heart some 12-18 months ago but with snappier, smarter, trendier pubs as competition, this haven for the blue collar workers ran a real risk of being time trapped.

A question that always confronts new owners is the ‘not to scare off the locals and grow the business’ and to quote the late great race-caller Ken Howard you can bet London to brick that only half of this delicate equation is ever satisfied.

The makeover commences.  Gunmetal grey exterior, the front bar an eye popping incandescent lime with tables dotted throughout and a dining room which basically had been brought into the 21st century.  The interior bears no resemblance to the previous owner.

To burn off any link with the past, the Golden is dropped and The Fleece is the new name.

My feeling on entering the Fleece was like that of going to someone’s home and sitting on the new sofa with the plastic still wrapped around it. You’re just not sure where to move to, or get truly comfortable.

To be fair, the pub’s been operating around  a month, and no doubt the walls will be dressed soon enough adding that innate warm layer to the bar.

But with an area of the bar still awaiting council approval to consume (it was the old bottle shop and somehow it’s a no-go area - not sure why) it’s hard to really settle in.

But, the beer was excellent (no 200ml glasses again) and the offer of smaller plates, and a mix of interesting pizzas (which surely is the most added dish to any pub in 2009), it chugs along nicely in its infancy.

Deciding to eat in the bar, four smaller plates, ranging from $6.50-9 were tried.  

Saganaki, that glorious fried cheese, was cooked perfectly, Crispy prawn pakoras with a mango chutney (3 pieces) were meaty and tasty, grilled lamb kofta with tzatziki, the equal of any you could find in Sydney rd., and Sucuk, nine small disks of this delicious spicy Turkish sausage.

The restaurant has the full menu, prices settling in the mid-high $20 mark.  But sticking to the bar menu, pizza was to be choice and the gloriously named Johnny Turk chosen.  

The price range for the 6 on offer was $17-19, but with the thinnest of bases and interesting toppings, I thought this was reasonable.  Only from a personal POV, I would have liked a little more to the base (a minor quibble).

The JT, with Turkish sausage, tomato, kassar cheese and pickled chilli (nice touch) was very easy eating, better than the majority you will find in pubs.

Momo, a NZ Sav Blanc, was $7/glass//$35 bottle, which for mine was priced to the mark.  Nonetheless, a very easy to drink, not sweet S/B.  Wine prices to be in the mid-30s range.

It is too easy to pop this into the ‘traditional pub with modern twist’ basket as it finds its feet, but I suspect it will appeal more to younger Sth Melbourne than older as it becomes worn in.

As I have written before, the Sth/Port Melbourne pub scene is the most competitive in Melbourne. I’m betting the Fleece will more than hold its own.

3AW Pub Of The Week 2009

3AW Pub Of The Week is back - and better than ever - on 3AW.com.au. Take the tour through Victoria's best and worst pubs with our expert, Tony Leonard. Click the image on the right to read all of the reviews for 2009.