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The Lincoln

91 Cardigan Street Carlton 3053
Phone
03 9958 8663
Website
hotellincoln.com.au
Instagram
@thelincolncarlton

Read time 4 Mins

Posted 09 May 2022

By
Michael Harden

This old-school Carlton pub keeps it traditional with food and service, but updates the drinks list with craft beer, wine from small producers and classic cocktails.

The Lincoln Bar interiors
Why you go

Updating a pub is not a balancing act for the faint-hearted. Pub fans are a tough crowd, expecting any upgrade to hit that specific sweet-spot midway between too fancy and too safe. The Lincoln faced this challenge a few years back and, by seamlessly blending the old and the new, emerged victorious, making regular appearances on Melbourne’s best pubs lists ever since. Leaving many of the building’s original features intact (including the magnificent green and cream terrazzo-clad front bar and the semi-detached dining area), The Lincoln added street-side seating, sports screens, a dozen taps pouring a constantly changing range of Australia’s finest craft beers (plus Carlton Draught for the traditionalists), a wine list that champions small producers and an excellent kitchen that’ll feed you both a whopping sirloin with hand-cut chips and delicate spanner-crab toast topped with gin-marinated caviar. 

The something-for-everyone approach pulls a crowd, but equal billing goes to the service, an appealing mix of pub casual and restaurant expertise that’s led by energetic publican Iain Ling. His constant and enthusiastic presence is the type to make you feel like a regular even if you’ve never set foot in the place before. It’s a reminder of why we love pubs in the first place.

Why you stayThe Lincoln is the sort of shape-shifting venue that makes itself suitable for every occasion, be it dinner with the folks in the dining room, watching footy with mates in the front bar, popping in for a quick pint of whatever’s new on tap or celebrating your birthday with a posse of your nearest and dearest around a big table. The menu also embraces flexibility, making it as easy to pull together a few salty snacks – grilled sardines, a bowl of fries, a tin of anchovies or a plate of excellent cured meat – as it is to go pub-casual with schnitzel or fish and chips, or more lavish with a slow-cooked lamb shoulder served with mash and carrots and big enough for four people to share. (A side note: the kitchen also does gravy, specifically designed to go with your creamy mash. Order the gravy.) The flexibility runs to the drinks list, too. There’s a strong selection of not-boring low- and no-alcoholic options – PS Soda’s smoked lemonade, for instance, or Heaps Normal’s Quiet XPA, plus above-average coffee and tea – and the cocktail list is hit parade of tried-and-true mixed drinks, including old favourites like Mimosas and Sangria. And that’s before you get to the beer and wine lists, both of which offer the good stuff whether you’re an expert or a novice.
Bar interiors at The Lincoln
Indoor Bar Seating at The Lincoln
What drink to orderThose looking for a quick summary of where the Australian craft-beer scene is right now should pay attention to the Lincoln’s 12 taps. Alongside more familiar names such as Stone & Wood, Boatrocker and Colonial Brewing Co, there are brews from small operators across the country, like Silent Knight Porter from New South Wales’ Modus Operandi or Cleansing Ale from Tasmania’s Two Metre Tall. The wine list goes in a similar direction by also favouring smaller producers, but it gets global about it – you can get a chenin blanc from South Africa, South Australia or France and shiraz from six different Victorian producers, including Heathcote label Syrahmi on tap. The folks behind the bar are well across the lists of both wine and beer so don’t be afraid to ask for help if there’s nothing you recognise – the enthusiastic and accurate advice is as endearing and unpretentious as The Lincoln itself.
Regular's tipThe Lincoln has a recently opened private dining room in a Victorian shopfront a couple of doors down from the pub. It’s a great space – a casually sophisticated mix of painted brick and wooden furniture and joinery, with one wall dominated by an enormous, vibrant vintage advertising poster. There are two set menus of different sizes to choose from and seated service for up to 30 of your closest friends. The full Lincoln drinks list is also available so guests will be as well watered as they are well fed.
Sponsor logo
In partnership with Melbourne Food & Wine Festival
image credits: Moo Brew Brewery
Authour image
Michael HardenAfter 25 years writing about wine and food, Michael Harden is getting the hang of it.
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Drinks DirectoryVego Food OptionsCasual catch-upMelbourneOutdoor areaTop notch wine listPubBrilliant beer listMeal and a bevBarMelbourne – Inner North
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