Melbourne pub to unveil a $7.5 million revamp

One of Melbourne's favourite traditional pubs will unveil a new look in August after a $7.4 million facelift.

The Palace Hotel, a landmark in Camberwell in the inner east of the city, will have a revamped ground floor, while upstairs the restoration of the building’s original balcony will offer a relaxed new space.

A new menu from executive chef Tony Moss, will have a focus on sharing and snack-led social food for upstairs, including hand-stretched Roman-style pizza.

Downstairs will offer classic modern counter meals.

Venue manager Neil O’Connor says: "The Palace Hotel has always held a special place in Camberwell, and this renovation ensures it continues to be a cherished gathering spot for generations to come.

"We've created a unique offering that caters to every mood and occasion, from a casual weeknight to a sophisticated evening out, all built around a serious dedication to quality F&B.

The Palace has been a cornerstone of the local community for over 130 years. The renewal project, led by Cayas + Ward and built by Five One Group, celebrates the building's authentic character while introducing modern amenities and distinct experiences across its two levels.

ALH Hotels managing director Paul Carew says: "We're taking our redevelopments seriously to ensure every ALH venue, like The Palace Hotel, sets a new standard for customer satisfaction.

"We believe in honouring the rich history of these iconic venues while innovating, to deliver truly outstanding food and beverage experiences."

For more info see www.palacecamberwell.com.au.

Pub thieves think Clarkson's glasses are top gear

When you are a celebrity with a pub you are apparently fair game for souvenir hunters.

Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has described the theft of branded pint glasses from his pub as “worse than galling”.

Clarkson owns the The Farmer’s Dog in Burford, Oxfordshire, producing Hawkstone beers. He has pleaded with libationists to stop their larcenous ways.

Clarkson revealed that on one day last week 104 pint glasses “went missing”, which was making it harder for the pub to turn a profit, website the drinks business reported.

“People seem to have it in their heads that if they come in for a pint they are entitled to go home with the glass in which it was served,” he said.

“Last Sunday 104 [pint glasses] went missing. And that cost must be added to the £100 a day we spend on fuel for the generator, the £400 a week it costs to provide warmth on the terrace and the £27,000 a month we must spend on parking and traffic marshals to keep the council off our back.”

Some of the Hawkstone-branded pint glasses have already appeared on ebay.

To dissuade thieving tipplers from pocketing his glasses, Clarkson has resorted to printing new beer mats featuring his face and the words: “Jeremy is watching. Don’t steal his pint glasses!”

Clarkson’s pub is located just 15 kilometres away from the motoring journalist’s Diddly Squat Farm.

Heritage Paddo pub gets million dollar makeover

Heritage Paddington pub The Royal Hotel has just been given a million dollar makeover across all four levels. 

The Royal sits at the Five Ways junction, with the historic building dating back to 1888 and reign of Queen Victoria. 

The hotel was purchased by Public House Management Group in 2015 and work started on the renovations last year. 

Starting from the ground up, the Royal’s sports bar has been expanded to take over the previous bottle shop area and provides multi-screen viewing for sports lovers. 

On level one is the popular Veranda Bar and Balcony, and one floor up is the Elephant Bar, which is dedicated to private events and functions. 

The jewel in the crown is The Royal’s rooftop with views over the Sydney city skyline, 

With the new-look Royal comes a fresh menu, designed by PHMG executive chef Scott Greve. 

Classics like the Royal burger, LPs hot dog and steak frites with Café de Paris butter complement more modern dishes like the Poke Bowl. 

There are a range of regular offerings, including Monday-Friday happy hour from 4-6pm with $6.50 house wine, beer and bubbles and a Monday-Sunday bottomless dinner from 5.30pm-7.30pm every evening with a a two-course sharing menu including bottomless selected cocktails, wines and beer for $105 per person. 

Traditional Sunday roasts are another favourite. 

The wine list, however, is disappointing with a very limited choice by the glass and, peculiarly, one one wine from the Hunter Valley and none from anywhere else in NSW. Some serious work is needed here.  

See www.royalhotel.com.au

Images: Maria Boyadgis 

All change for Sydney fish stars as they enter the pub business

Seafood restaurateurs and butchers Josh and Julie Niland are going into the pub business.

Their all-new Saint Peter Restaurant will open in July at The Grand National Hotel, Paddington, Sydney.

 
Saint Peter's new home is just down the road from its original location and the restaurant's opening in July will be the first phase for the refurbished 14-bedroom boutique hotel, with the rooms opening later this year.

Saint Peter at The Grand National will have a menu that reflects the ongoing journey of the owners.

From opening as a small fish eatery in 2016 on Oxford St, Paddington, the Nilands’ Saint Peter restaurant has provoked conversation around whole fish cooking, butchery, storing, and processing fish.

Saint Peter's new home will more than double the size of the original restaurant.

The new Saint Peter restaurant, bar, and private dining room are all located on the ground floor of the hotel.

The main dining room is flooded with natural light from an expansive skylight that frames the open kitchen and offers booth and banquette seating, along with a custom-made chef's table for six guests with front-row seats at the kitchen pass.

In addition to the capacity for 40 guests in the dining room and 30 in the bar, Saint Peter will have a private dining room offering bespoke dining for up to 15 guests.

This room will feature a restored heritage fireplace and have its own private entrance on Elizabeth St.

The Grand National Hotel has a rich history as one of Paddington’s favourite pubs.

The bar’s location at the front of the venue has been preserved to ensure that locals still have a welcoming place to meet.

The backbone of the bar menu will be Australian Rock Oysters with a list curated by Josh and the Fish Butchery team.



Lunch will be à la carte and change day-to-day, offering in-room guests, along with the local Paddington community, the opportunity to enjoy the restaurant more frequently.

“I don't want to lose what makes Saint Peter a special place, not only to eat and enjoy as a guest but also for me and our team to work,” says Josh Niland.

“We are excited about the challenge ahead of not just moving into a beautiful home for Saint Peter but also expanding our expression of hospitality to a wonderful bar and boutique hotel."

Julie Niland says: "We are working with some incredibly talented people to develop a world-class wine and cocktail offering. The luxury accommodation has been so beautifully designed that you will think you are in Paris - until you see the quintessentially Paddington rooftops and beautiful gum trees out your window.

"At the heart of Saint Peter remains a commitment to whole fish cooking, where the entirety of the fish is celebrated with Josh’s trademark respect and technique.

"With both a charcoal grill and rotisserie, fish will continue to be viewed and cooked in the same way as meat."

The Fish Butchery at nearby Waterloo will continue to be the processing kitchen for all fish for Saint Peter, while the beverage programme will be crafted by sommelier Houston Barakat.

Reservations for Saint Peter at the Grand National Hotel are now open for August and September. Reservations for July will be released closer to opening once dates are confirmed.

Opening times: Lunch Thursday-Sunday, dinner Tuesday-Saturday.

For reservations hit https://www.saintpeter.com.au/

Images: Christopher Pearce

Pub name slammed for being offensive...but

The MG Midget was a famous car brand made in the town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire.

So it made total sense that local pub owned by Greene King Breweries, was called The Midget, in honour of the local product.

The MG Midget was a small two-seater lightweight sports car produced by MG from 1961 to 1979.

Except...midget is also apparently seen as a derogatory term for small people.

Enter the name police.

A petition has been launched by Dr Erin Pritchard, a senior lecturer in Disability Studies at Liverpool Hope University who suffers from dwarfism, to change the name of the pub.

On the Disability Research Forum, Pritchard highlighted in her petition how the term midget is a derogatory word used towards people with dwarfism and is a term derived from the word ‘midge’ meaning Gnat or Sand-fly, which she says is dehumanising.

It was noted that “the term was popularised during the Victorian freak show era, "but unfortunately continues to be used as a form of hate speech towards people with dwarfism”, respected website The Drinks Business reports.

The disability research forum stated that Pritchard had pointed out how “people with dwarfism, including children with the condition, experience name calling on a daily basis. Furthermore, children with dwarfism experience high levels of bullying. As a result, people with dwarfism experience are nearly three times more likely to experience mental health issues than the general population. Thus, it is important to remove a term that is part of this problem”.

Speaking to db, spokesperson for Greene King said: “The pub was named after the MG Midget Car, which is from the iconic motoring brand in Abingdon, MG.

"As an inclusive business we want everyone to feel welcome in our pubs. With this in mind, and given the negative connotations of the word, we are assessing the current name.”

The pub opened as Magic Midget opened in 1974, when the car was still being manufactured, with its name shortened in 2000. 

The Miriam-Webster Dictionary says midget can describe "a front-engine, single-seat, open-wheel racing car smaller and of less engine displacement than standard cars of the type".  

My Collins Dictionary tells me that the word midget is offensive if used to describe a person. But midget is also used to describe an object which is small: like midget submarines, for instance, or junior ice hockey players.

There just might be a whole lot of name changing going on.

Image: Greene King    

A seriously fun Clare gourmet experience

Just about every town in regional Australia would like to have a “local” like the Watervale Hotel.

The up-market pub in a Clare Valley hamlet offers a wide range of drinks, several special spaces, gourmet food offerings and a lovely beer garden.

The hotel is part of a culinary project for Nicola Palmer (below), whose family used to own Skillogalee Wines, and former wine industry entrepreneur Warrick Duthy.

The couple purchased the local pub in 2017 and have subsequently renovated and extended it into a regional showcase.

The hotel’s premium experience is the Six Senses Penobscot Farm Tour followed by a six-course degustation dinner. Each course can be matched to Clare Valley wines or farm produce mocktails.

The couple recommends shared-plate feasts for group bookings.

The Farm Feast highlights organic vegetables from Penobscot Farm - owned by Palmer and Duthy - lamb from Martindale Farm and Greenslade’s free-range chicken, while the Gourmet Feast is a step up to dishes such as ceviche, carpaccio, and tomahawk steak.

Alternatively, there is an a la carte menu, along with a beverage list that promotes Clare Valley products with pub grub like meatballs and empanadas.

The menu is a constantly changing feast, but perhaps think dishes along the lines of wood-fired Spencer Gulf sardines and fresh baby fennel with blood orange, or perhaps seared duck breast with red and golden beetroot (below) paired with roast purple congo potatoes.   

A wine flight experience can be booked between 5-7pm for $40 that includes stuffed olives. This features four wines selected to celebrate the diversity of Clare Valley terroir.

The wine list showcases a range of Watervale rieslings and no fewer than 25 different grape varieties grown in the region.

The Watervale Hotel also has its own six-bedroom guesthouse next door that can sleep up to six couples. Farm tours, in-house chefs or dining packages can be added.

I revisited last week for a dinner hosted by Grosset Wines and Mount Horrocks and was again blown away by the professionalism of the team - and the sheer range of gourmet activities offered by these "ethical epicureans".

This is a local drinking haunt, restaurant and functions space in one. Well worth a trip.    

See https://watervalehotel.com.au/

Get a Covid jab and earn a free pint

A popular pub in Melbourne, Australia, is doing its bit to encourage locals to get vaccinated against Covid-19 by offering free beers to anyone who gets the jab.

Prince Alfred Hotel publicans Anna and Tom Streater “want to make people in Port Melbourne aware of where their local vaccination venue is and to help provide a little encouragement for people to do their bit and ultimately, to keep our pub open.” 

So, for one week only, Prince Alfred Port Melbourne is giving away free drinks to those who roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated at the Port Melbourne Town Hall - which is conveniently located across the road from their venue. 

Customers who present their blue vaccination card at the bar after their jab will be given a free drink of their choosing - whether it be a pint, a wine, or a house spirit and mixer. 

When Victoria went into its fourth lockdown in May, the state's 1,000-plus pubs shut again for in-house dining. 

For many Melbourne businesses, the extended lockdown periods are a protracted struggle for economic survival. 

"We want to encourage locals to ‘do their bit’, and we are happy to put our hand in our pocket to fund the initiative,” says publican Anna Streater. 

"We stand by our little pub business and the Port Melbourne community that supports us so loyally. If the vaccine is what stops the spread, stops outbreaks, stops lockdowns and keeps us open and our team in jobs, then we’re all for it."