The Leinster Arms Hotel
Editorial
That Melbourne takes the quality of its food and wine seriously is evident here at the Arms. Fresh produce comes from the kitchen, a range of varietals come from the cellar and these are consumed by an unlikely crowd to whom justice is not done with the term “diverse”.
Amid local graphic designers, harried parents and good old Collingwood boys, you might see a face you recognise from a Melbourne tabloid. The infamous as well as the famous populate a pub first licensed in 1865. Mark “Chopper” Read, a former convict routinely described as a “Colourful Identity”, likes to pop in from time to time. Whether he orders the pub's rather good seafood hotpot is unknown.
The only single storey hotel of its era, the joint appears modest when viewed outside. Inside, however, the warmth radiated by history, good food and Colourful Identities radiates throughout. Interior flourishes are few. But leadlight windows and an outsize fire place bathe this utilitarian 19th century pub in a flattering glow.
Today, pool habitués and football fans meet here. The Collingwood Historical Society has been known to uphold the connection to a bawdy past within these walls.
This pub does precisely what pubs were designed to do: it provides a focus for local public life.
SM King, April 2010
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