A pub for the long Friday night.

A pub, but make it ours

Royal Reels opened in November 2019 in what used to be a mechanic's garage on Crown Street. We kept the brick, polished the concrete floor, dragged in a wood-fired oven from Tuscany, and called it a pub.

We're not a craft-beer temple, a cocktail bar, or a gastropub trying to be fine dining. We're a pub. The kind where you can come alone on a Tuesday, sit at the bar, eat a $24 burger, and not be hassled.

The team

Maya Okafor - Owner and licence holder. Ex-bar manager at the Old Fitzroy Hotel. Believes a good pub is a civic service. Has been known to overrule her own managers on a Friday night.

Sam Reid - Head chef. Trained at Rockpool, then wandered through kitchen jobs in London, Tokyo, and Mexico City. Came back for the produce. Refuses to write down the chilli honey recipe. Will tell you if you're wrong about wine.

Jess Nguyen - Front-of-house lead. Has worked every position behind the bar. Knows the wine list by heart. Will absolutely cut you off if you've had enough, and you'll thank her in the morning.

Tom Williams - Sound engineer and Thursday-night booker. The reason the live music doesn't sound like a tin can. Listens to more records than he drinks beer, which is saying something.

What we believe

1. A pub should be a third place. Not home, not work, somewhere in between. You should be able to walk in at 3pm on a Wednesday and stay until last drinks.
2. The kitchen matters as much as the bar. Pub food used to mean frozen chips and a deep fryer. Ours doesn't.
3. Music is part of the room. We book local acts, we pay them, we don't book tribute bands.
4. Hospitality is a job, not a calling. Our staff work set rosters, get penalty rates, and go home on time.
5. Drink responsibly. Always. See our responsible service policy for the operational details.

The Royal Reels name

"Reels" came from the cinema that used to be two doors up - the old Valhalla, which closed in 2015. We wanted to keep something of the street's history in the name.

The "Royal" part is, frankly, a bit cheeky. We're not royal. We just like the word.

What's next

We're not opening a second venue. We're not franchising. We're going to keep doing exactly what we're doing - pulling pints, firing pizzas, booking bands, and staying open late on weekends.

If you've been coming for a while, thank you. If you're new, welcome. Pull up a stool.

The Baroness's Notes

"I opened this pub because I was tired of going to other people's. The first Friday, we ran out of beer by 9pm. We've come a long way." - Maya, Owner