After several pub closures in the area, The Morning Star’s new crew of operators wanted “to bring pub culture back to Williamstown”. They’ve got form in reviving historic hotels, from the Bridge Hotel in Werribee to the Healesville Hotel.

A revamp of the grand 19th-century neighbourhood beacon by Studio A.mi (Wally’s) references the ’70s with amber bottle-glass doors, swirled California Burl timber, and corduroy upholstery. The menu skirts old and new –there’s Guinness and treacle bread; Scotch eggs with brown sauce; potato gratin with matbucha, the Moroccan condiment of slow-roasted peppers and tomato; and orecchiette with spring greens.

Done deal: A rotating butcher’s cut on weekends, priced between $100 and $120, makes group dining easy. Designed to share, it might be a 1.2-kilogram dry-aged rib-eye or a 1-kilogram chateaubriand. Weekly steak nights and Sunday roasts are coming in 2025.

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