Crown back on the Queen’s Head

IN a year where the commonwealth lost Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Ballarat’s own queen has been brought back to full life and re-crowned.

Publicans Gigi Milone and Dean Mangion, who locals may recognise as the couple behind the iconic Royal Oak, have revived Ballarat East’s The Queen’s Head Hotel.

The bar and dining room reference the style of traditional English pubs, with old pound notes on the wall, an eclectic mix of antique chairs with character, and QEII memorabilia on display.

Reflecting on their first two months as the operators of the historic watering hole, Mr Mangion said feedback has been positive, especially from residents who’ve missed their local.

“The older locals are coming back and they’re just happy the pub’s open,” he said.

“We’re seeing a lot of new young families that have come into the area, some people from Melbourne, that haven’t been into the pub before.

“We just want to be a friendly, homely pub with food, drink, and something for everyone, whether that’s a family, or tradies.”

The couple picked up the keys to The Queen’s Head over Easter weekend this year and carefully renovated the space until this spring.

“Where the Royal Oak has always had its own identity, with the Queen’s Head, we’re trying something different,” Mr Mangion said.

“We’ve always been cautious with it. It’s just me and Gigi involved, so we made sure we worked out a budget and strategy.

“We’ve exposed the original ceiling, and it’s higher. A lot of people thought we’d extended the bar or made the window bigger, but it’s just more open and people are enjoying it.”

The old dining room celling has been painted burgundy, as when the couple pulled down the false ceiling, one of the old rooms was already that colour.

“We thought that was really fun, so we decided to carry it on. We wanted it to feel a little bit more mature in here,” Ms Milone said.

The beer taps have even been upcycled from the Royal Oak. Ms Milone said the project was like nothing they’d done before, but a fun one, working alongside local tradespeople.

“We’ve been lucky with all the trades we met. Everyone introduced us to the next person, and they were an amazing group of people that really got behind it and understood what we wanted to do,” she said.

“We know nothing happens overnight. We’re always open to people’s thoughts, to be flexible, and to find out what people want.

“But our emphasis will always be hospitality, and not going too gimmicky with anything. Just come in, have a chat with whoever’s behind the bar and taking your order, and relax.”

The Queen’s Head Hotel is open Wednesday to Sunday with English-style pub food and traditional Australian classics, and this week, they have started serving lunches.

“A lot of people have told us that the lunches used to go crazy here, and they’d like to see us open for lunch, so we’re really excited to get that going.” Ms Milone said.

“Hopefully people are excited to find new things that they love. You can’t beat a scotch egg.

“We’ll have lots of changing specials and keep it exciting for everyone.” The business has a new phone number, 4368 7774.