Fitzroy's Rose Hotel reopens, Harry and Frankie next up

The football season is already underway but publican Tom Hogan says it's not too late to sign up for footy tipping at his recently renovated Fitzroy pub, the Rose. In fact the competition's already begun – he and co-owner John Tennent called all of the old regulars and signed them to play from first kick. You've got some catching up to do.

Hogan and Tennent, of Port Melbourne wine bar Harry and Frankie, took on the site in December last year, stripping it to the bones for a smart rebuild. The grimy carpet, ashtray well around the base of the bar and rickety toilets? Gone.

It's a two-stage process, the Rose reopened Friday, April 15; next Friday, (April 22) they'll unveil Harry and Frankie (No.2) upstairs – a 70-seat reinvention of their Port Melbourne bar: think cheese, charcuterie and a wine room with "bloody affordable" prices.

Downstairs they've knocked out a couple of walls, added some high tables, plenty of stools and five TVs, preserving the AFL memorabilia that came with the sale.

Hogan says that despite the polish, it's not a gastropub: "The old pub was dying; we wanted to step in and save it from becoming apartments ... we've really made an effort to make it still feel like a pub."

Executive chef Sam Webb (ex-Stoke Bar & Kitchen) spent the past seven months at the southside location prepping for a Fitzroy stint.

He's turning out pub classics downstairs – a no-nonsense chicken parma, bowls of mussels steamed in white wine and garlic, and his take on the Rose mixed grill – with more-refined, wine-friendly food planned for upstairs.

There's no drinks menu, grab a bottle from the wine room upstairs or refer to a chalkboard by-the-glass list, but it's really all about the beers: 13 brews on tap from Carlton Draught to Brooklyn Lager. Cheers to that.

Open Mon-Thu 3pm-midnight; Fri-Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-midnight.

406 Napier Street (corner Rose Street), Fitzroy; 03 9417 3626, therosefitzroy.com.au