Their plan was a simple one: take the elements that made the Rainbow such a legend in Melbourne’s inner north and provide a similar experience to people a little further out. Firstly, that was via the Lambs Go Bar in Fitzroy before they took over the Rainbow Hotel, a short distance away in a Fitzroy side street, and turned it into the institution it is today. The new custodians of The Woodlands are two brothers who have been bringing craft beer to Melburnians for longer than most: Jason and Adam King. It’s a direction that's been continued by the family who took over the pub in late 2019, a takeover that wouldn’t have caused any concern among regulars given the identity of the new owners. The upstairs dining room only takes that theme further: there, chandeliers in the bathrooms, two metre tall wooden soldiers and the occasional throne create a dining space fit for the royals – assuming royals love delicious, fresh beer, of course, given the eight taps downstairs and half dozen upstairs were turned over to local brewers. It’s a space where even on your fifth visit you’re likely to discover more, whether it’s the bird statues, the movie projector, the quirky lighting fixtures or replica of a prehistoric skull. The sprawling building was filled with the quirky and the unusual, creating something akin to a Lewis Carroll dream – if his energy had been directed into designing pubs instead of writing books. In 2011, Hayden George and his family took over the old and slightly unloved boozer, transforming it into a remarkable space. The site in Coburg has been one pub or another since 1851 and although it’s worn many guises over the years – including hosting its own racing track at the rear at one stage – more recently it’s turned its focus to craft beer. For one, there’s not actually many pubs across the city that don’t sit on a corner block, and there are few that cut quite as impressive a figure as The Woodlands does over Sydney Road. Melbourne is home to many a pub – indeed, the city is famous for them – but none feel or look anything like The Woodlands Hotel.
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