There are few Melbourne suburbs where a building can have quite so many lives as St Kilda. On Fitzroy Street, one particular address has been a bank, a pub, a nightclub and a restaurant. Now, after another turn of the wheel, it’s becoming The Saint again.
The Saint Hotel will reopen on Fitzroy Street this November, with Refinery Group—the team behind The Angel of Malvern—taking over the historic site and giving the old name a new life.
History behind The Saint in Fitzroy
The building dates back to 1914, when it opened as a State Savings Bank. Its subsequent careers have been considerably more social.
The new Saint will spread across two levels, with the action starting downstairs at the Public Bar, Santos Pizzeria and outdoor dining. Upstairs, the mood shifts with a Balcony Bar, private dining and a cocktail and listening lounge playing host to vinyl and DJs.
“We want The Saint to be a spot you can drop in for a beer or a glass of wine, stay for dinner, meet a few friends or kick on into the night,” says Refinery Group General Manager Operations Liam Burns.
That’s really the point of the new Saint. You can come for a beer, stay for dinner and head upstairs when you’re ready to keep the night going.
Pizza, pub food & something cold from the tap
Food is being handled by Refinery Group Executive Chef Justin North, who is keeping the proposition deliberately unfussy.
The menu will pair pub classics with Santos Pizzeria’s take on Detroit-style pizza, including pizza crust dippers made for the sort of grazing that happens naturally when drinks are involved.
“Every neighbourhood deserves an awesome pub,” North says. “The food is relaxed, sociable and familiar, but there’s serious technique behind it.”
The drinks list takes a similar approach. Browse between local and international wine, spirits, cocktails and a strong beer offering, including a house Saint Lager made for the Public Bar.
Burns describes it as “something cold, uncomplicated and very much at home at the Public Bar.” Upstairs, the drinks get more cocktail-focused, with the venue drawing on aperitivo culture and shifting gears as the evening progresses.
A St Kilda look, reworked
The design team has pulled from the suburb itself, mixing warm walnut, exposed brick, terracotta, brushed steel and patterned upholstery with vintage St Kilda prints and custom pieces, including a bespoke Saint pool table.
Studio McCue is handling the interior architecture, with Refinery Group’s in-house design team taking care of the furniture and fixtures. “We wanted the fitout to feel warm, layered and a little unexpected, with the character and irreverence of St Kilda running through it,” says Project Design Manager Holly Stevens.
She says the team wanted to balance polished details with “texture, colour, vintage references and pieces that feel as though they’ve always belonged here”.
It suits an address with such a long history of changing hands and identities. The building has spent more than 100 years changing with St Kilda, and this time around, it’s getting a new life with pizza, pints, cocktails, vinyl and DJs.
The Saint Hotel opens at 54 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, in November 2026.
