The Carpenter’s Ruin
A “mini pub” by The Walrus team, just next door.
The Carpenter’s Ruin
Pub dining$$
The team behind The Walrus Oyster Bar in St Kilda has opened a second bar, The Carpenter’s Ruin, right next door. Moving into what was Karen Martini’s popular pizza spot, Mr Wolf, the new venue has a nautical look with woven crab traps slung from the ceiling and maritime flags pinned to midnight-blue walls. Half the room is given over to high tables with stools, the other half to sit-down dining. Dad rock is the music vibe.
Chef and co-owner Ciara Woodside is running a pub-bistro menu with a few quirks. Fried balls of goat’s cheese are served with chilli marmalade, there’s smoked bone marrow for scraping onto grilled bread, mussels are tumbled into an enamel bowl for happy snacking, and a double cheeseburger towers over waffle fries sprinkled with pickle salt.
Fans of The Walrus will recognise a couple of dishes (hello, salted ice-cream sandwich) but the menus are distinct. Dishes for both are prepared at The Carpenter’s Ruin and ferried through a small doorway that had been boarded over for years.
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Dani Valent is a food writer and restaurant reviewer.