There’s nothing at all wrong with kicking back at a decent corner pub, but when someone decides to give one a spruce and shine and adds a menu that has one coming over all nostalgic it can really make your day.

That’s what has happened in Port Melbourne, with buddies and now business partners Steed Sherriff and Ashley Cranston taking over The Rose and rechristening it Rose Diner and Bar.

The interior – wooden tables, exposed bricks, bent-wood chairs – is smart without being fussy, so you feel as though you can exhale and relax. Which is exactly what you’ll want to do when you check out chef Stephen Drake’s menu.

Like any eatery worth its fleur de sel these days, the emphasis is on fresh, seasonal produce, but here’s where it gets interesting. Remember those dishes you used to eat when you went somewhere fancy with your mum and dad as a kid? Well, they’re all here.

Vol-au-vents stuffed with crayfish or coronation chicken, prawn cocktails, steak Diane and peach melba all make a showing. And they’re served on mismatched vintage crockery.

There’s also the Back Bar, for late-night cocktails and tunes, and Little Rose, a café with separate entrance serving jaffles for breakfast alongside salty caramel milkshakes.

Dining just made peachy.

Rose Diner and Bar
309 Bay Street, Port Melbourne
(Little Rose entrance via Heath St)
(03) 9681 8550