About Us
“The Lincoln is a pub that has stood the test of the time and remains one of the best in Melbourne.”
Experience our brand of friendly and attentive service while enjoying a comforting and delicious menu showcasing Australian produce at its finest. Our kitchen is focused on using the highest quality regional, sustainable and seasonal produce, buying direct from fishers and farmers where possible.
Our art-deco bar is a throwback to Melbourne’s past, with a charming open fireplace, and bar stools that have been propping up punters for years. The deeply atmospheric space and aesthetic details recall a bygone era. If the tan and green terrazzo tiled bar could talk, they could tell some stories!
Our bar has 12 taps featuring a rotating list of craft beers, as well as a carefully curated wine list showcasing small producers. The tap beers and wines on offer changes regularly, so there is always something new and interesting to discover.
We have a beautifully refurbished Private Dining Room known as “The Lincoln Arms” located at 138 Queensberry Street that offers much sought after privacy while still offering the same excellent service, food and drinks.
Celebrate all your birthdays, Christmas parties, leaving parties, anniversaries, christenings, catch-ups large and small, corporate lunches, event wind-downs, team-building dinner, end of financial year lunches, any milestone event and function with us.
There is always good booze, hot meals, great banter and memorable times at The Lincoln.
Our History.
Pioneer Melbourne hotelier, contractor and politician Patrick Costello (1824-1896) who was the great, great grandfather of former Federal treasurer Peter Costello & world vision CEO Rev. Tim Costello, bought the land on the corner of Queensberry and Cardigan Streets in Carlton on 10 October 1853 for £1,200 and erected a two-storey brick building.
A licence was granted to its first licensee, Thomas Marris on 3 May 1854 who registered the premises as “The Old Lincoln Inn". The site has been continuously occupied by a hotel/pub ever since. A photograph of these premises was taken by Melbourne photographer Charles Nettleton some time between 1878 to 1881.
A major renovation was undertaken in 1939 at a cost of £3600 (an astonishing amount for its time), when the hotel was transformed into its current art deco style and henceforth known as the Hotel Lincoln.
In late 2014, The Lincoln was taken over by Iain Ling and under his guidance, the pub saw a reversal of its fortunes, becoming more progressive and winning a strong and loyal customer base, while still remaining true to its historic roots in the community.
Awards & Media
City of Melbourne Lord Mayor’s Small Business Achievement Award 10+ Years June 2024
The 10-plus years Lord Mayor’s Small Business Achievement Award recognises small businesses that have operated continuously within the City of Melbourne for at least 10 years.
“With an uncompromising and consistent commitment to simply delicious food and drinks, a warm welcome and a relaxed feel, The Lincoln is a pub that has stood the test of time and remains one of the best in Melbourne.”
The 22 greatest pubs in Australia / Time Out Australia April 2024
“No.1 - The Lincoln.
They slipped in an excellent wine list, an exciting collection of craft brews and a bistro menu that wouldn’t look out of place on white linen with candlelight at The Lincoln, all while not diminishing the heart and soul of this pub - something often easier said than done. Punters have loved this pub since seemingly the beginning of time (having been established in 1854), and it doesn't look like they're going anywhere else, anytime soon. ”
Winner / Melbourne Bar of Tomorrow Award Oct 2023
“In partnership with Pernod Ricard, Time Out is awarding the first-ever Bar of Tomorrow title to one Melbourne bar that’s going above and beyond to lead a more sustainable bar scene.
The Lincoln impressed the judges with its relatively high supply chain visibility over key areas including provenance, farming practices, energy and waste.
The judges were delighted by the Lincoln’s decision to serve house wine on tap (and) the venue’s investment in infrastructure was also outstanding, with an eWater system and Bottlecycler on site.
This innovative pub is the winner of the inaugural Bar of Tomorrow Award.”
Publican of the Year / Australian Liquor Industry Awards 2019
“In the major individual award of the night, Iain Ling of The Lincoln in Carlton was named Publican of the Year. It’s the second major award for the hotel in consecutive years, with The Lincoln named Hotel of the Year at last year’s event.”
2 glasses / Australia's Wine List of the Year Awards 2024
“Crafting a list with less than 100 wines is always a challenging proposition, but The Lincoln does it well. Every listing feels like it has some thought behind it, and with a balance between modern heroes and classic names… Finally, a proper beer list is also worth a big mention here too. Even the headings are creative.”
3AW’s Pub of the Decade 2010-19
“DeBortoli wanted to acknowledge longevity in the Melbourne pub scene, while being places that still have a “go to” factor about them. We genuinely believe that The Lincoln meets this criteria, simply put as consistent high achievement while remaining as popular as ever, and that is why it is one of our Pubs of the Decade.”
2 glasses / Australia's Wine List of the Year Awards 2018 & 2019
“…this list is almost entirely unconventional and delicious in the best possible way. Here, The Lincoln excels, in offering a collection of outstanding, diverse and interesting wines that gift customers a pass into exciting drinking… Gin and whisky is epic too. It's such a delightful and exciting list here.”
15/20 The Age Good Food 9 November 2022
“There is a place, a magical place, where all the following things are possible: a beer in an old-fashioned front bar with mates; an elegant meal cooked by a chef with Michelin star credibility; a lunch of classic fish and chips; a celebration that calls for a magnum of $300-plus wine; an occasion on which you might exclaim, "Damn, that's a really good pina colada".
“Isn't that what we all want from our pubs? A friendly face, something good to drink, a decent feed? The Lincoln does all of those things and then pushes further to be better, to be more than we would reasonably expect, without succumbing to pretension or losing its casual, welcoming-to-all essence.”
Good Food 8 June 2020 / Gemima Cody
“At a pub I knew I'd find proof that the whole world was still out there. When veteran Iain Ling took over in 2014, it developed serious dining credentials, championing Victorian produce, but unlike a lot of boozers-turned-gentrified-bistros it never lost its roots. You want community? It's here. It's good to have it back.”
Melbourne’s Best Sunday Roasts / Time Out Melbourne
“Each week, the menu rotates between chicken, pork and beef and lamb and the meat is accompanied by roast potatoes and heritage vegetables from Day’s Walk Farm. Book your plate of roast in advance if you don’t want to miss out – the word’s out!”
Boothby / Best Bars VIC 2024
No. 25
The Lincoln draws in all-comers, with a healthy selection of delicious and interesting things to drink (wine! great beer on tap!) and some of the finest food you’ll find in a boozer, anywhere.
Pub of the Year / Australian Bar Awards 2018
“At the 19th instalment of what is the Oscars of the bar industry, recognising the outstanding achievements of the country’s best bars, bar operators, and bartenders, The Lincoln took home the coveted Pub of the Year award.”
3AW Pub of the Week / Tony Leonard
“The Lincoln remains one of the best in Melbourne. For a quiet one in the bar, with all its wood and tiles, or out in the lovely dining room, the Lincoln is an any time, all occasion pub. The Lincoln is a charming, popular pub. Go and you will see why.”
14/20 The Age Good Food Guide 2019 & 2020
“The Lincoln is lively and generous in its offerings. On any given night, there will be loud and happy tables in the dining room, and the bar will be just as crowded and cheerful. The wine list is full of lesser-known labels, the spirits and beer epic. Hard-working waiters keep their good humour under pressure.”
Australia’s Burger of the Year 2019 / Food Service Magazine
“The most delicious burger in Australia awarded by Food Service Magazine in 2019.”
Hotel of the Year / Australian Liquor Industry Awards 2018
“The Lincoln won one of the night’s major awards, Hotel of the Year , at the industry’s night of nights, with attendees from all across the country.”
Pub of the Year / Time Out Melbourne Awards 2017
“Getting the mix of old and new right is a tough balancing act, but at the Lincoln they’re as sure footed as a Cirque Du Soleil acrobat, which means we get to smash natural wines sitting up at an Art Deco bar with the footy on behind us and a steak on the way. That’s why the Lincoln was our Pub of the Year”