The Standard Hotel

I quite like this pub despite the fact that it can become quite crowded at times (especially on a Friday). Mind you that doesn’t detract from the place, especially with the huge beer garden that happens to be out the back. They have a good assortment of beers on tap (though generally the usual affair with a few popular craft beers — nothing all that fancy) and the staff are genuinely helpful. However, the thing I like the most about this place (other than the fact that it is hidden away in a back street) is the beer garden — there always seems to be space to sit down even on the most crowded of evenings. Sure, I probably don’t get to go around here all that often, but as a pub it certainly isn’t bad.

You know those nights when you just cannot be effed cooking and all you want is a cheeky beer and to complain about your day to your best mate? The next time this all-​familar feeling washes over you, get to The Standard ASAP if not sooner.
Yes, this place is even more perfect in the summer due to the spacious courtyard out the back, but I think The Standard has great charm in the colder months too. Grab a seat up at the bar or nestle down by the fireplace and tell your mate what a jerk your boss is.

The Standard is our local and we love it. It’s great in the summer with the awesome beer garden and the fire in the winter means we’re often fighting the urge to go every night!
The food is excellent and the specials menu has never disappointed. They also have a good dessert range with sticky date pudding, but we haven’t actually managed to try any yet because we always end up getting there too late for dessert…
The Standard serves Guinness too, which is great to see, but you do have to go back for it and sometimes when it’s busy, the staff forget to do the second pour so you’re waiting a bit longer than you would like to.
That said, it’s a great bar that’s full of character and they always get a good crowd. It’s also worth remembering they sell drinks to go, which is great if you’re in a jam.

Despite the mixed reviews that say this place is not good in the winter, I had a lovely Saturday afternoon drinks/​meal here in June with friends. It was a particularly nice day though.
Inside just looks like a traditional, small old school Melbourne pub, but then out back is about 25 picnic tables/​benches in a garden with people hanging out.
We popped in about 3, grabbed some beers and waited for one to free up, which took about 15 min. The Bastard beer on tap is really tasty.
We also ordered food at some point: greek salad, fish + chips, and steak sandwich. The food is really good quality for what you’d expect from the old school pub style inside. Definitely above average pub food, lightly cooked/​tasty.
The bartenders are also really friendly etc.
My only qualm is its a tad pricier than what you’d expect. But I had a great few hours here, and I could justify the prices/​would happily return.

While The Standard does indeed have one of the best beer gardens in Melbourne, it’s not as cosy as it could be in the winter time. Lots and lots of seating, but mostly large communal tables that just don’t have that cosy pub in winter feel that you’re after when you need a night cap on a cold cold rainy day. The food is good, lots of veggie options that are reasonably priced. The Standard is worth checking out on a summer evening, if only for the beer garden.

Nobody likes working on a Sunday.
Thankfully The Standard makes a great office alternative. There’s a great beer garden out the back and no dickheads to disturb you.
What’s more is there’s not a single pokie machine in sight. It’s a pub. A plain old Fitzroy pub with good grub and nice people.

The Standard is a good pub option in Fitzroy; nothing mind-​blowing, but decent pub fare, friendly people, and a really big beer garden. As you’d expect, this space fills up really quickly in warmer months, so to nab an outdoor table on a Saturday night, you’d need to get there around the 4pm mark.
But once you’re there, kick back with a jug of something, and bask in the smugness of having secured prime real estate. It’s a great place to while away the afternoon and push on into the evening with a bunch of friends.

You’ll find the Standard Hotel on Fitzroy Street in Fitzroy. The place is an old-​fashioned pub with seating inside and outside in their classy greeny garden area.
There’s a great selection of both local and imported beers on tap and the food options are not bad either. A meal will generally set you back north of $ 15 and, on the menu, you’ll find a Char Grilled Chicken burger, Steak Sandwich, Chicken Kiev, Standard burger with bacon, egg etc., Calamari Salad, the ever popular parma to name a few.
The Standard has live music on Wednesday and Sunday nights and it is a great place to hang out over a few crisp beers with your mates.

A very divey pub with a massive beer garden. I suspect quite brilliant in summer time. In winter, less so!

THe place in summer

You on the lookout for an amazing parma? Go no further. The Standard will deliver a parma that can have you raving about it for days to come.
The Standard Hotel promises to be a old mans pub, it’s dark and grungy on the inside yet cosy. Great place for big groups and as many before me have stated, probably the best beer garden in Melbourne. it is huge. Great in the summer as it’s well shaded and very comfortable in the winter with its shelter and outdoor heating.
It draws a good crowd and the staff are friendly.
Menu is varied and caters for all preferences.

Located in a non-​descript, white building in Fitzroy, the Standard Hotel is one another Australian pub that serves jugs of beers and pub food. You wouldn’t know it when you walked by, but it has a fantastic beer garden filled with picnic tables and vines that create natural shade.
The vibe here is great — young folks in large groups from the Fitzroy area. The service is also decent. However, the food can take awhile to come out.
There are a limited number of dishes on the menu, but there are the usual pub foods — standard burger, steak sandwich, porterhouse steak, and kangaroo fillets. There’s also a vegetarian parma that’s made from eggplants. Who could have thought a vegetarian parma could taste better than a regular parma? Although they have a small menu, they do offer the same number of daily specials, so you can be in for a surprise.
The Standard Hotel is great for summer drinking sessions out the back — just make sure you get there earlier enough to score a table outside. It gets just as busy as the Napier on most days.

Ah, The Standard! It’s about as old school and fail-​safe as a pub gets. Despite being hidden away on Fitzroy Street, the massive outdoor area fills up on Saturdays. But don’t worry, the manscaped tight t-​shirt brigade and their stiletto wearing girlfriends who’ve taken over Brunswick Street’s nights are yet to make it here — and even if they did wander in by mistake I think laid back kinda country vibe wouldn’t hold them for long.
Get in early if you want to have a meal — if you end up on the oft-​overcrowded bench seating outside people sometimes accidentally slop their drinks on your chips. By ‘people’, I mean me. I’ve done it to two different friends now, but it’s not my fault! There’s just not enough room for my elbows!
Anyway, the meals. They’re delicious! Really, everything about The Standard is spot on, so next time you’re after a night at the pub I’d recommend giving it a try.

As you’ve already read, they have a HUGE beer garden. It’s really heavenly, and heated in winter.
But the best part of this place is their PARMA! Of course you get chips, and of course you get salad, but the chicken here is huge, and so lightly breaded. This is nice because then you won’t feel like you’re a hippo after eating a whole parma by yourself.

Tucked away in a quiet back street in Fitzroy, The Standard Hotel is a gem hidden away from the craziness of Brunswick and Johnston Streets not far away. With Alt-​Country music playing on the radio, and enough western memorabilia above the bar to fill a due ranch, you pretty much know what you’re in for before you order your first pint.
Wooden floors, gigs on Wednesday and Sunday Nights and an ‘honest’ feel to the place makes The Standard one of the last true hidden treasures in Melbourne. The staff are nice, the food is fantastic, and the wine list is alarmingly large.
Open for dinner every night, and lunch also from Wednesday to Sunday, you can choose to eat inside or head out to the weaving courtyard and beer garden outside amongst the ferns. Perfect for after work drinks or a close group of friends wanting a drink somewhere where they can hear each other talk, it’s no surprise that this reviewer loves The Standard. Once found, you won’t forget this little treasure. Spread the word… but not too far.

The Standard Hotel has one of Melbourne’s best beer gardens. As such it is definitely a favourite of the locals and would probably be a favourite of non locals if it wasn’t tucked away in the backstreets of Fitzroy. Either way it doesn’t matter, because this place is always packed.
Having lived right next to the Standard Hotel for a long period of time I have been privy to some great drunken conversations from clientele leaving this establishment. I have heard a man being dumped by his french girlfriend, the grand plans of a local pub band and where they saw themselves in five years time and countless cat fights. And this is exactly what the Standard Hotel is about — great conversations in the back yard over a beer or two. Throw in a bit of pub food or a few cigarettes and even a some live music if you’re lucky and you have the makings of some great dialogue — just make sure you keep it civil enough so your French girlfriend doesn’t want to dump you on the spot.

I’ve only been to the Standard Hotel a few times despite it being so close to my house. It’s easy to forget it is there as it is set back away from the hustle and bustle of Brunswick Street.
However, when you are there you remember exactly what it has going for itself.
1) Huge Beer Garden with large wooden tables with a great atmosphere.
2) Good pub food in a similar vein to the Napier.
3) An extensive wine list.
Last time I ate there, I had the peppered kangaroo steaks with a bacon and chive mash and a sauce made from port wine. The mash was crazy good, the kangaroo delicious and the port wine gravy kept everything really moist. The place was pretty rammed and it did take quite a long time to arrive but it was worth the wait.
I’d say the Standard rivals the Napier but probably just gets pipped to the post. Nevertheless, I’d recommend it highly.

You’ll hear it before you see it nestled away amongst the houses between Brunswick and Nicholson Sts. That’s because the Standard is always filled with locals, rain, hail or shine.
They’ve got those first two covered, though — aside from the warren of rooms for dining and drinking, a fair portion of the huge beer garden is enclosed, sheltering the big wooden tables and the many big groups that claim them.
Big is definitely a word that comes to mind when inside this place, and the noisy (!), glass-​clinking atmosphere lends itself to big nights (and sometimes days). My only gripe is that there isn’t a bowl of chips on the menu, but the big plate of dips and Turkish bread is a tops substitute and the fish’n’chips are some of the best around.
There’s also a stage for not-​big local acts.