LOCATIONMid-way between Brunswick and Smith Streets, on the corner of Napier Street.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThe Gertrude Hotel is a welcome addition to the Gertrude Street landscape, successfully turning a dank, seedy pub into a comfortable local where you can have a few beers and enjoy a decent pub meal as you watch the footy, or the goings on in the street. Complete with small courtyard, resident pub dog and friendly staff who are always up for a bit of a chat, the clientele is comprised mostly of locals who come to take advantage of the atmosphere sans attitude, and the weekly food specials. The usual suspects – burgers, pasta, parmas and fish and chips – are on offer here, well executed and satisfying to boot, but there’s also salt and pepper squid, duck pancakes or saganaki on the “small” menu, and salmon steak, Thai beef salad or Guinness pie for main sized fare.
Standard items are still prepared with love – order the eye fillet steak sandwich and you’re asked how you like it (and you get it). Desserts can get as sophisticated as an espresso martini or as simple as ice-cream and ice magic for the kids at heart. Twelve dollar meals on “mad Mondays” make an already reasonably priced menu well worth leaving the house for. Get in early to nab the top spot by the fire in the dining room, or perch at the high tables at the front for a quick bite. The Gertrude Hotel also serves weekend breakfast from 12pm – the breakfast chicken parma, complete with egg, bacon and hash browns, beckons!
Angela Costanzo