Why you goDespite the many apartment buildings shooting up around it, the Hotel Railway remains one of the neighbourhood’s more impressive structures. Dating back to 1889, the four-storey building next to the railway line in Brunswick is, to put it mildly, large and imposing. It also has a chequered past, which adds to the Railway’s haunted-mansion first impression, but that heightens the sense of pleasant surprise when you walk into the joint and find an interior that’s light and spacious rather than cavernous and gloomy. It’s cleverly divided into separate areas, each with its own mood – from the cosy, carpeted corner bar to a clean-lined dining room and light-filled central courtyard. The modernisation of the Railway – it reopened in early 2022 after a major revamp – also runs to the drinks and food lists, which achieve an excellent balance between trend and tradition. The 12 beers on tap, for instance, embrace both industrial and craft beers, and sit alongside good lists of wine, cocktails and vermouth, all with an Australian small-producer bent. Add a unique and pleasant outside area that runs alongside both railway line and bike track, and sports screens for those who’d rather stay indoors, and it’s little wonder the Railway is packing ’em in, locals and blow-ins alike.
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