Morris House pub, rooftop bar and comedy club opens in Melbourne CBD - The Age

Melbourne’s CBD has a pub problem. For every fantastic small bar wedged into some improbable location, the city seemingly lacks a large, friendly pub built for all-comers. But next week, the pubs score a point with the opening of Morris House on July 10 in what was the European Bier Cafe.

It might be more of a mega-venue, with its four storeys of dining, rooftop revelry and live comedy, but it is run by Australian Venue Co, who have more than a bit of form (200 venues and counting) in the pub game.

Morris House’s freshly painted light, bright facade is a contrast to the building’s formerly black exterior.Jake Roden

Spending $4 million on a top to bottom renovation, the group has peeled back the building’s harsh black palette, kept the basement comedy club, and delivered a white-fronted, green-accented temple to big-city fun for big groups.

The rooftop bar fits 180 people who can lounge on coastal European-inspired furniture, sip mezcal cocktails dosed with healthy green juice and nod along to DJs playing unobtrusive sets.

The ground-floor is for diners rather than drinkers, with table service, rattan chairs, timber finishes and a cream and green palette.

Bagels feature on the New York-inspired menu.Jake Roden

The menu reads like a time warp – there’s baked camembert and chocolate-pistachio fondant – but also like a postcard from New York. There are four bagels, all served with fries, a Waldorf-ish salad, and a baked cheesecake with a boozy jelly that channels a Manhattan cocktail.

Spanner crab pasta, steaks, a wagyu burger, garlic prawns and other easy-to-love dishes join a large section of charcuterie and salumi, all served with house-baked focaccia, playing to the big corporate gatherings that Morris House is built for.

The New York-style cheesecake with boozy Manhattan jelly.Jake Roden

Between the rooftop and the dining room is a level akin to a front bar: there’s live music each week, a terrace, booths to cram into and the option of doing drinks or dinner. All up, Morris House fits 550 people.

The full menu is available on every level, except the basement, where comedy is planned on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights. Styled on the comedy venues of New York, there are exposed brick walls, theatre-style seating and timber finishes to enhance the acoustics.

The mega-venue includes a leafy, European-styled rooftop bar.Jake Roden

“It’s not your typical pub, especially with how dynamic it is,” says venue manager Dylan Hewlett. “No other pub in Melbourne has comedy in the basement alongside a dining room and a Mediterranean-inspired rooftop.”

Open Sun-Thu noon-11pm, Fri-Sat noon-late from July 10

120 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, 03 8563 0080, morrishouse.com.au

Emma Breheny – Emma is Good Food's Melbourne-based reporter and co-editor of The Age Good Food Guide 2024.

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2023-07-06 05:55:46Z
CBMitgFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L2dvb2Rmb29kL21lbGJvdXJuZS1lYXRpbmctb3V0L21vcnJpcy1ob3VzZS1pcy1tZWxib3VybmUtY2JkLXMtbmV3LWZvdXItc3RvcmV5LW1lZ2EtdmVudWUtd2l0aC1hLXJvb2Z0b3AtYmFyLWxpdmUtY29tZWR5LW5pZ2h0cy1hbmQtbW9yZS0yMDIzMDcwNS1wNWRseXkuaHRtbNIBAA