Why The Lincoln holds a magical place among Melbourne's beloved pubs

There is a place, a magical place, where all the following things are possible: a beer in an old-fashioned front bar with mates; an elegant meal cooked by a chef with Michelin star credibility; a lunch of classic fish and chips; a celebration that calls for a magnum of $300-plus wine; an occasion on which you might exclaim, "Damn, that's a really good pina colada".

For all the love and accolades the Lincoln Hotel has received over the years, what has always stood out to me is its usability, its versatility.

It's where my siblings took me on the day I moved home to Australia after decades away, and the first meal I had out after lockdowns lifted. It's the place I took my kid for his first cocktail when he turned 18, because I knew they'd do it right. It's where I meet friends and colleagues for after-work drinks, for a bowl of chips and a pint, but also where I celebrate milestones and sometimes fork out for the really good wine.

All of the best pubs function as living rooms for their neighbourhoods, but few go as far as the Lincoln, which, since Iain Ling took over in 2014, has been known as much for its excellent food as it has for its regular pub utility.

That has been thanks to a number of chefs over the years, all of whom have gone on to do great things. In August, Ling brought on Richard Hayes, a chef originally from Victoria but who has worked in some serious kitchens abroad, including The Ledbury in London, and Restaurant Quinsou in Paris.

In the months since he's taken the reins, Hayes has proven that he understands the spirit and ambition of the Lincoln perfectly.

For those who are fans of the super crispy schnitzel served with vinegary salad and chips ($29), an absolute paragon of the form that's been served in some form since day one of Ling's ownership, you need not worry – it's still here, along with a few other classics for which the pub is known.

But there's a new energy and elegance to the more creative and modern dishes, and some of them would not be out of place in a fine-dining setting.

Take the Spring Bay mussels ($18), which have been taken from their shells and poached in wine and then swathed in cream, resulting in a glossy sauce spiked with garden herbs and served nestled back in two large shells. This is old-school decadence with a new-school twist – because the meat of the mollusc is unburdened of its casing, the cook is more delicate and uniform, the sauce better integrated and more voluptuous, and you get all the reward of a fantastic bowl of mussels without the fiddly mess of pulling and prying.

Steak tartare ($22) is dotted with oyster cream and flavoured with cornichon, shallot, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Often when tartare is this aggressively dressed, the richness and deep meatiness of the beef gets lost, but Hayes somehow manages a lovely balance between the integrity of the star ingredient and his own creativity.

The market fish – pink snapper on the day I visited – is almost a throwback to the fine dining of 30 years ago, its skin crisped just-so, served with a ragout of cannellini beans and greens wrapped in thin slices of zucchini. For $39 I'd maybe expect a slightly larger serving of fish, but perhaps that's the pub-goer in me talking – and most pubs don't serve food of anywhere near this quality.

Speaking of pub food, even the classics get a bit of a spin here: the pie of the day recently was made from venison and stout ($28) rather than beef or lamb, and it was fantastic, served with a silky mash and onion jam.

The wine and beer lists are obviously labours of love, with everything from crowd-pleasers to nerdy finds at almost every price point.

Service, while hardly formal (which would be out of place in this colourful, sometimes raucous room), is smart and passionate and, above all, friendly.

Isn't that what we all want from our pubs? A friendly face, something good to drink, a decent feed?

The Lincoln does all of those things and then pushes further to be better, to be more than we would reasonably expect, without succumbing to pretension or losing its casual, welcoming-to-all essence.

It's a charming trick that Ling and his crew manage, and I hope they continue to pull it off for years to come.

Vibe Old-school pub with a colourful back dining room

Go-to dish Spring bay mussels, $18

Drinks Fantastic on every front: cocktails, beer and wine

Cost About $120 for two plus drinks