Just Open: Marquis of Lorne, Fitzroy

After a year sitting lonesome and boarded up on the corner of George Street in Fitzroy, the Marquis of Lorne has reopened, with Will Benjamin (ex-Newmarket Hotel) and Callan Hitchens (Eau De Vie cocktail bar) fronting the venue and Matt Vero and Steve Rowley (owners of Touchwood and Tall Timber cafes) involved behind the scenes.

It's quite a different proposition to the squeaky old boozer that stood here before. The new Marquis has a glass charcuterie cabinet in the old dumb waiter, fine taxidermy between the op shop artwork on the walls, a short, sharp menu of gussied up pub classics (including an excellent value 800-gram hangar steak for $55), and a rooftop garden rich with tubs of craft beer tinnies and Bloody Marys for Sunday sessions.

On the beer front they've made some keen choices. Thirst-quenching cans of Moritz and Mountain Goat Summer Ale are backed by a range of more complex, hoppier stuff from Feral Brewing in WA and Lost Coast in California.

Overall, it's cleaner, brighter and a little fancier, but the carpet on the floor still cost just $80 and the attitude remains low-key.

Open Monday to Thursday from 3pm, and Friday to Sunday from noon.

411 George St, Fitzroy, 9417 5001, marquisoflorne.com.au