VENUE PROFILE: TERMINUS HOTEL

A flaming success

A rethink of the elevated dining concept at Terminus Hotel in Fitzroy North has been a huge boon for Kickon Group.

WHEN CRAIG Shearer and his team at Kickon Group bought The Terminus Hotel in late 2019, they were not expecting the stop-start nature of operations that would plague the industry in 2020. But the multiple lockdowns over the next 18 months would allow Shearer and his team to reassess the pub’s offer and action new ideas for the venue. One such idea was to change up the offer in The Terminus Dining Room – a separate dining offer and space to the pub bistro – and rebrand the restaurant as Cinder.

Cinder is an elevated dining experience in a casual environment that celebrates high quality produce, cooked with fire. Shearer says the idea for the new concept was borne out of the experimentation afforded by lockdown, and at the behest of the pub’s executive chef.

“During the first lockdown, we renovated the space and reopened as the Terminus Dining Room. During the second lockdown, our executive chef Jake Furst really got into his dry aging meat program, and we decided that meat of that quality deserved to be cooked over real fire, so we installed the Josper grill, rebranded as Cinder, and tweaked our service styles to differentiate from the rest of the Terminus.”

Cinder opened late last year “after lockdown number five or six, not sure as we sort of lost count”. In that short amount of time the restaurant has proven to be a huge success for The Terminus Hotel.

“Cinder has wildly exceeded our expectations both financially and reputationally, culminating in us winning the AHA’s Best Pub Dining this year,” stated Shearer.

“It offers another skillset to our staff, and another option to our loyal customers.”

GRILL AND GREET

The offering at Cinder revolves heavily around the use of the Josper grill – something that had been on Furst’s wishlist for years – to cook meat, seafood and vegetables alike. Unsurprisingly steaks are the most popular item at Cinder.

“The char and flavour that the Josper gives to the meat, and also the theatre of the flame and smells it puts into the restaurant [is appealing]. If we are working upstairs, as soon as the Josper is lit the smell drives us crazy, it’s amazing,” exclaimed Shearer.

As a slightly more upmarket offer than the pub’s bistro, the service model has also been elevated.

“We provide a more refined level of full table service in Cinder, but we try to keep it real and genuine. The Terminus prides itself on being an iconic local Melbourne ‘corner’ pub, and giving great service is what we do.”

Besides the a la carte menu, Cinder also offers a daily chef’s table menu that allows for more interaction between diners and the kitchen staff.

Worth the wait: The Robbins island 9+ wagyu rump is the most popular steak at Cinder. The cut is aged on the bone and only 15 portions are available every 40 days, so they don’t last long!

“The chef’s table is the area right in front of the kitchen pass where guests get to see the Josper in action, and also get some interaction from our chefs. We have a couple of very passionate guys in there, Sunny and Rabin, who just love meat and take every chance to pop around and talk to the chef’s tables about what they are being served.

“We also offer a chef’s selection in the restaurant where guests let us know any dietaries, and we just bring it on. These are very popular and I think over half of diners would go for these options.”

Cinder has attracted quite a variety of diners since launching late last year, with spend per head being almost double that of the bistro. The restaurant serves high number of local regulars dining mid-week and on weekends, as well as a lot of birthday or special occasion dinners.

“We are also starting to see a higher number of real foodies that are looking to tick Cinder off their dining experience for the year,” states Shearer.

Having established itself as a haven for grill aficionados, Cinder will shortly launch ‘Cuts Club’. Furst has had 100 handcrafted Japanese steel knives made that are on display in the chefs table area. The Cinder team is offering memberships to the club that will give people direct access to the dry ager and to Jake and his team, as well as some meat inspired events throughout the year.