The Terminus Hotel

March 3, 2013

We've been pub-clubbing around the inner-north for bloody ages now and have started to struggle to find new places to visit, lazily settling on a cycle of Fox/Tramway/Gasometer. I was determined to extend out list (currently at 33) and figured we should give the Terminus a shot. I'd been put off in the past by their focus on steak and other meaty treats, but their website made it clear that they had plenty to offer vegos as well (vegans will find things a bit trickier, but can probably cobble together something from the sides, starters and salads).

The pub itself is quite pleasant - there's a few big outdoor tables, a dark and fairly relaxed front bar and, apparently, a more formal dining room somewhere out the back. They're also in the midst of some renovations, promising another bar area and a beer garden in the not-too-distant future. We settled in and happily sampled from their excellent range of tap beers while sizing up our menu options.

There are a couple of mains to choose from, along with heaps of starters and sides. We decided to sample things from across the menu, starting with the obligatory fries and sauce ($6.90).

Is there anything better than chips and beer? It's hard to imagine.

We kept the fried-vibe going with the cheddar and oregano croquettes with mojo picon ($9.90).

These were beautifully crisp little cheese pockets with gooey and delicious centres for soaking up the sweet and slightly spicy sauce.

Our final small dish was the most interesting (and most likely to be vegan): betel leaves with crispy tofu, coconut, chilli, green papaya salad ($13.90).

This was terrific - the tofu was lightly battered (almost tempura-style), and the papaya salad was spicy, sweet and sour in exactly the right combination.

To cap things off we split a kale bisteeya (a pastry cylinder stuffed with kale, fetta, almonds, served with sumac and tahini yoghurt and a chickpea salad, $24.90), one of the two veggie mains (the other being a goats cheese tortellini).

This takes the standard vegetarian option of a spinach and cheese pastry and kicks it up several notches - the pastry itself was perfect, and the filling rich and tasty. The accompanying salad was excellent too, acting as more than just a plate-filler. 

It was fantastic to discover the impressive array of vegetarian food on offer at The Terminus (we also sampled the broccoli, farro, almond and caper salad, which was superb) and to realise that it's not quite the stuffy foodie pub I was imagining, although the food is a little on the pricey side. They did a solid trade, with a mix of families and small groups like ours, but the food all came out quickly and we enjoyed the laidback Sunday evening vibe. The Terminus is well worth a visit - we'll be pub-clubbing there again before too long.

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The Terminus is pretty well-liked, with FoodsCrazy, Up Here in Cazaly, The Tasty Dozen, Gastrology, Where Adles Eats, eat, drink, stagger and Parma Daze all enjoying their visits, while juganaut's foodie thoughts wasn't overly impressed.

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The Terminus Hotel
492 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill
9481 3182
veg sides and starters $6.90-13.90, mains $24.90
http://www.terminus.com.au

Accessibility: There's a couple of small steps as you enter the front bar, which has a reasonably spread out mix of high and regular tables. Ordering and payment happens at the front bar. We didn't visit the toilets.