Terminus Hotel Fitzroy North

Overview

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 hit refresh on its culinary offering in 2021, 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.

Njörd

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.

Dylan Kindermann.

The Terminus has long been a champion of the local craft booze scene and Cinder happily jumped on board that train, with a suite of collaborations gracing the bar each year.

Cinder's launch came 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. The public bar, beer garden and casual dining offering have all had their own makeovers too, helping solidify this pub as one of Melbourne's best.

Top images: Njörd