Eastland Town Square public space in Ringwood

The Maroondah Pub Guide: How the Local Became a Suburban Meeting Place

Maroondah’s current pub map is small but revealing. Eight approved, operational venues meet the MX guide rules: five traditional hotels, two brewpubs and one modern pub-style venue. They are concentrated in Bayswater, Croydon and Ringwood rather than spread across every neighbourhood strip.

This is not a list of the area’s “best pubs”. It is a dated directory and a local story about how the pub changed from a stopping place and meeting room into the suburban bistro, sports bar, function venue, brewery taproom and family gathering place.

Eastland Town Square public space in Ringwood

Eastland Town Square is home to The Suburban, a modern version of the local with a public bar, dining room, rooftop and courtyard. MX photograph, July 2026.

The story behind the local

Why the pub became more than a place for a drink

Australia’s early inns and public houses carried British and Irish traditions into a very different setting. They provided accommodation, food and drink, but their practical importance was wider: they were places where travellers stopped, residents met, news circulated and community business was conducted.

Melbourne’s hotels became centres for food, leisure, entertainment and meetings. Their history was never wholly welcoming or harmless. Public bars were long shaped by male drinking culture, and alcohol-related harm, exclusion and temperance campaigns are also part of the record. The familiar Australian “local” grew from that complicated history, then kept changing with licensing laws, transport, suburban growth and social expectations.

The early roadside local

Maroondah’s heritage study records an inn on the Coach and Horses site from the 1850s. A stopping place was established in the 1870s as coach traffic moved between Melbourne and Lilydale. Hotels along Whitehorse Road offered travellers accommodation and became gathering places for amusement, leisure and meetings.

The post-war suburban local

As travel became faster and suburbs expanded, the model changed. Dorset Gardens opened in 1967 and the new Croydon Hotel in 1970. These larger complexes combined bars with restaurants, private function rooms and, in some cases, motel accommodation.

The Coach carries the oldest thread

The strongest connection between the present guide and Maroondah’s early hotel history is The Coach in Ringwood. Council’s heritage study traces an inn on the site to the 1850s and a Coach and Horses stopping place to the 1870s. The earlier hotel burned down in 1907 and was replaced with a brick building. The present Coach and Horses Hotel was built opposite in 1939.

The name still recalls the road and coach era, but the current venue describes itself as a family pub with dining, sport, functions and community grants. That shift is the larger Maroondah story in one place: a travelling stop became a suburban social destination.

What the current map shows

Five traditional hotels still anchor the guide: Bayswater Hotel, Castello’s Croydon Hotel, Dorset Gardens Hotel, Manhattan Hotel and The Coach. Their official sites emphasise combinations of dining, sport, functions, entertainment, accommodation and spaces for family or group gatherings.

Two brewpubs show how the local has moved into a newer setting. Hard Road Brewing occupies Bayswater’s industrial area and makes its beer on site. 8 Track Brewery operates a small-batch brewery and taproom in Ringwood near Heatherdale station. Both use events and functions to build the social side of the venue around the brewery itself.

The Suburban at Eastland openly calls itself a “new local”. Its public bar, restaurant, rooftop and live music sit inside a major shopping and entertainment precinct rather than on a historic roadside hotel site. The format is different, but the social promise is recognisable.

Five strong public-rating signals

For this dated comparison, a venue had to be one of the eight places in the guide and have at least 100 Google reviews. Eligible venues were ordered by displayed rating, with review count separating equal ratings.

  1. Hard Road Brewing, Bayswater: 4.9 stars from 628 Google reviews
  2. 8 Track Brewery, Ringwood: 4.8 stars from 235 Google reviews
  3. Manhattan Hotel, Ringwood: 4.2 stars from 2,679 Google reviews
  4. The Suburban Dining & Rooftop, Ringwood: 4.2 stars from 1,198 Google reviews
  5. Bayswater Hotel, Bayswater: 4.1 stars from 1,938 Google reviews

These figures are public rating signals, not MX awards. They cannot compare the role each venue plays, the kind of visit someone wants, value, accessibility, menu range, family needs or the experience of a long-standing regular. Ratings also change, which is why the checked date matters.

The current Maroondah pub directory

Select a venue name to open its Google location. Each official website is also linked so readers can check current menus, opening hours, events, bookings and access before visiting. Links open in a new tab.

Jump to: Bayswater · Croydon · Ringwood

Bayswater (2)

  • Bayswater Hotel (Traditional hotel)
    780 Mountain Highway, Bayswater VIC 3153 · Official website
    Bistro, bar, beer garden, sport and functions.
  • Hard Road Brewing (Brewpub)
    31 Holloway Drive, Bayswater VIC 3153 · Official website
    Independent small-batch brewery with beer made on site, food, functions and a program of local events.

Croydon (2)

Ringwood (4)

  • 8 Track Brewery (Brewpub)
    8 Yallourn Parade, Ringwood VIC 3134 · Official website
    Small-batch brewery and taproom with snacks, rotating beers, functions and regular events.
  • Manhattan Hotel (Traditional hotel)
    Corner of Heatherdale and Canterbury roads, Ringwood VIC 3134 · Official website
    Buffet dining, back bar, live sport, functions and accommodation.
  • The Coach (Traditional hotel)
    33 Maroondah Highway, Ringwood VIC 3134 · Official website
    Bistro, sports bar, alfresco area, functions and community grants program.
  • The Suburban Dining & Rooftop (Modern pub-style venue)
    Shop R10, Town Square Eastland, 171-173 Maroondah Highway, Ringwood VIC 3134 · Official website
    Independent pub with restaurant, public bar, rooftop, courtyard, functions and live music.

Why clubs and RSLs have a separate lane

Club Kilsyth and Ringwood RSL also provide dining, bars, sport, functions and community meeting spaces. They matter to the same social story, but they are member-based community clubs rather than pubs. MX is keeping them outside the eight-place pub count so the directory does not blur unlike business models.

That distinction gives us a useful future story of its own: how pubs, RSLs, sporting clubs and community clubs each create a different kind of local gathering place.

What makes a place your local?

A database can identify a pub, a brewpub and a public rating. It cannot tell us which team meets there after a game, where several generations hold family dinners, which room hosted a milestone or why regulars keep returning.

Share this guide with someone who remembers a Maroondah pub from another era, then tell MX: Which venue has been your local, and what story should be part of its history?

Share a memory, recommendation or correction with MX.

Sources and method

Explore more local food stories in the MX Food and Drink guide.

Data note: this page uses the approved MX Food Business Master dated 18 August 2026. The core directory includes eight approved, operational venues within the defined suburb and postcode coverage: five traditional hotels, two brewpubs and one independently described pub-style venue. Public categories can be incomplete, so MX used current official venue evidence to confirm the editorial boundary. Ratings, opening hours, menus, events, access and business details can change; check directly before visiting. Please drink responsibly.