O’Connell’s Hotel is looking good for its 150 years, after a careful restoration by the team behind Prahran local The Flying Duck. As well as the refreshed front bar, a new-look dining room has the fireplaces cranking, just in time for winter. The food offering passes as a classic gastropub menu at first glance, but reveals cameos by native ingredients like pepperberry and bush tomato, while a Josper charcoal grill turns out cuts of prime beef sourced in collaboration with high-end butcher Flinders + Co. Every day of the week delivers a different special: from pies and porterhouse to parma and pasta. 407 Coventry St, South Melbourne; oconnells.com.au

A Fiztroy staple since the 1970s, The Rochey (formerly known as The Rochester Hotel) has resisted the siren call of sterile renovations, staying true to the classic pub model. Parma, burger, steak, curry – the gang’s all here, and the beer is cold. When the beer garden is looking too chilly, the interior is a winter haven, boasting not one but three fireplaces throughout the pub; in the red-brick front bar by the pool table, the more formal dining room and the Bowie bar at the back of the pub. 202 Johnston St, Fitzroy; rochey.com.au

Pouring pints continuously since 1854, The Lincoln has warmed Melbourne through many long winters. Behind its Art Deco facade (legacy of a lavish 1930s renovation), The Lincoln serves up everything you could want in an inner-city local, including a menu that balances pub classics with bistro trappings (think wild boar dim sims from Jo Barrett’s Wildpie; lion’s mane mushroom with a French potato galette; and a red wine, venison pie), craft beers on tap and open fireplaces when it’s nasty out. 91 Cardigan St, Carlton; hotellincoln.com.au

The St Kilda destination pub may be by the water, but its many fireplaces make it a year-round kind of vibe. There’s the outdoor fireplace in the beer garden, the ornate marble centrepiece in the Cantonese restaurant Mya Tiger on level 2, and the one upstairs – when the light streams in through the bay windows on a sunny winter’s day and the fire is on, there’s no place you’d rather be. Hungry? You’re spoiled for choice on the food front, from an expansive pub menu in the main bar to easy Italian at Louey’s Bar and Kitchen on the ground floor. 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda; hotelesplanade.com.au

Helping it reclaim its place as a hub of Melbourne’s pub culture, South Melbourne welcomed back The George Hotel after a refurb by Scott Connolly (of The Orrong Hotel, Healesville Hotel). The publican has kept the soul of the historic hotel, directly opposite the South Melbourne Market, but given new life to a menu of upscale pub classics, with plenty of weekly specials for spendthrifts. In the colder months, the fires are lit in the front bar – all the better to warm your cockles as you catch the footy on a weekend. 139 Cecil Street, South Melbourne, thegeorge.au

The Doutta Galla Hotel – AKA The Doot – returned in late 2025 after a year of renovations, with some famous new backers. The three-story corner pub was transformed by the Kickon Group, of The Terminus Hotel and Sorrento’s The Continental, which now includes actor Travis Fimmel and AFL stars Luke Hodge and Andrew Walker. The end result makes full use of the surprisingly spacious site, offering four bars in total, with fireplaces keeping the whole thing cosy all winter. 339 Racecourse Rd, Kensington; douttagallahotel.com

An iron fireplace crackles at the centre of The Graham’s greenhouse-like dining room, a very modern conversion of a former courtyard in the 150-year-old pub. Tuck into a gastropub menu in front of the flames in the light, bright space with its beech wood and fluid banquettes; cosy up in front of the The Sandridge Room’s fireplace with a bottle from the hotel’s cellar; or catch the footy in the classic front bar. 97 Graham St, Port Melbourne; thegrahamhotel.com.au

The Golden Gate is one of the oldest hotels in a suburb lousy with them. A stunning fireplace, with stacks of freshly chopped logs of wood, takes centre stage in its dining room. It’s a double-whammy of warmth – the fire takes care of your outer layer as the food warms you up from the inside. Befitting a former regular of the South Melbourne Swans, there’s always sports on live and loud somewhere in the building. 238 Clarendon St, South Melbourne; goldengatehotel.com.au

After recent renovations, the Morning Star now shines with a ’70s California-style vibe, but there’s still a fireplace for when the weather’s not so beachy keen. The menu here is also decidedly not LA-friendly – there’s plenty of carbs on offer, for one. You’ll find all your pub favourites, along with a smattering of British plates (including Guinness and treacle bread, a Sunday roast and Scotch eggs), a soupçon of French and Middle Eastern fare, and a few US and Italian classics. Confusing? Yes. Delicious? Also yes. Throw some Mexican into the muddle with a marg or two, and you’ll feel like a true globetrotter. 3 Electra St, Williamstown; morningstarhotel.com.au

At first glance the fare inside this Carlton corner pub might seem to hit all the normal notes – you’ll spy a parma, ‘flank steak’ and crisp-fried ‘calamari’; but look closer and you’ll realise that no animals were harmed in the making of the menu. The parm features crisp-crumbed eggplant, with hemp mozzarella; the calamari is king oyster mushroom flash-fried in sichuan chilli salt; and that steak – lion’s main mushroom. Green Man’s Arms is a vegetarian haven meets friendly old-mans’ pub a stone’s throw from Melbourne Uni, warmed through in winter with a roaring wood heater in the front bar. 418 Lygon St, Carlton; greenmansarms.com.au

There’s no shortage of places to grab a pint on Church Street, but the Prince Alfred has become a local favourite in the cooler months thanks to its warming fireplace perfectly located next to its leather booths. Grab a gang and settle in. 619 Church St, Richmond; princealfredhotel.com.au

Over the decades, ‘The Spotty’ has overseen the transformation of its inner-west burb from rough-around-the-edges to real-estate hotspot. Born in 1888 as the Spottiswoode, the beloved local has shaken off its less-than salubrious history (including a stint as a strip club), undergoing its own metamorphosis under a hospitality collective featuring several ex-Bulldogs, who are also custodians of the Ascot Vale Hotel and Mona Castle Hotel. The open fires are lit again at The Spotswood, beckoning when it’s too cold for the sprawling beer garden; cosy up over a Sunday roast and ponder what stories those walls could tell. 62 Hudsons Rd, Spotswood; thespotswoodhotel.com

Formerly the Fitzroy Pinnacle, this wedge-shaped corner pub recently closed, then quickly reopened under new management earlier this year. The man behind it is Michael Bascetta, who’s best known for Melbourne venues Bar Liberty wine bar, Capitano pizzeria and Falco bakery. While the pub has been given a bit of a glow-up, the fireplace thankfully remains, as does much of the building’s quaint old-world charm. The kitchen is where things get serious; at the helm is Scott Eddington – the chef behind Kensington wine bar Arnold’s. Expect elevated pub fare, along with fancier plates and a considered wine list. 251 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North; thepinnacle.melbourne

What goes hand-in-hand with a roaring fireplace? A leather chesterfield lounge that you can really sink into. The Exchange hotel in Port Melbourne has you covered for both, alongside a British-meets-Aussie menu of pub grub that offers up such winter-appropriate fare as an Irish spice bag and pies with mash and greens. 39 Bay St, Port Melbourne; theexchangehotel.net.au

As if Old Palm Liquor didn’t already feel as cosy as your best mate’s house, in winter, an open fireplace makes it the preferred second living room for the entire neighbourhood. Part wine bar, part bistro, part bar, the Lygon Street mainstay is all things to all comers, meaning you can stop by for creative snacks and a glass of minimum-intervention wine; or a multi-course meal. 133B Lygon St, Brunswick East; oldpalmliquor.com