North Fitzroy's Terminus Hotel Has Unveiled Its New Fire-Driven, Modern-Australian Restaurant Cinder

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but that's certainly not the case at the Terminus Hotel. At the ripe old age of around 150, the historic North Fitzroy gastropub has just hit refresh on its culinary offering, building on an already stellar food reputation with the launch of new onsite restaurant Cinder.

While the pub's craft beer-focused front bar and beer garden will continue to serve up their usual goodness, they're now supported by a revamped dining room offering focused on modern Australian flavours and celebrating the art of cooking over flames.

Heading up the kitchen, chef Jake Furst (Beer Deluxe) has built a menu heavy on wood-fired creations, heroing a Josper oven and a dry-ageing program. Snacks and shares lean to the sophisticated, with the likes of sticky plum and gochujang lamb ribs, a slow-cooked beef shin with chimichurri and grilled house flatbread, and the coal-baked scallops finished with café de Paris butter.

Dylan Kindermann

Deeper in, you'll find plates like the crispy-skinned duck breast done with caramelised shallot and confit stone fruit, and a loaded seafood spaghetti, while sides run to the likes of miso mustard sweet potato, and grilled zucchini teamed with saffron ricotta.

Meanwhile, meat-lovers will find themselves in heaven when faced with the hefty grill menu, where a dry-aged beef burger and market fish sit alongside no less than six other specialty beef options.

To match its new offering, the pub's 60-seat ground-floor dining room space has been reworked in a vision of burnt orange, teal and walnut timber. The kitchen's also serving up a new Chef's Table experience, where diners can enjoy a bespoke four- or five-course feast, with no two menus the same.

Kate Shanasy

The Terminus has long been a champion of the local craft booze scene and Cinder will be happily jumping on board that train, with a suite of collaborations already in the works. First up, the venue's pouring an exclusive American Oak Barrel-Aged Negroni, done in partnership with Mountain Goat and crafted on the brewery's Hopped Gin.

Cinder's launch comes one year after the pub was taken over by hospitality developer Craig Shearer of Kickon Group (Plough Inn, Collective Palm Beach, The Osbourne, The Continental Sorrento), and is the latest in a suite of gentle improvements made to the building over the past few months. The public bar, beer garden and casual dining offering will continue as is.

Find Cinder at The Terminus Hotel, 492 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North. The new dining room is open 5.30pm–late Tuesday–Thursday, and 11.30am–late Friday and Saturday.

Top Images: Dylan Kindermann and Njörd