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'Old-school feel': new chapter for historic Islington hotel

The painted black walls and windows are gone, the sticky floors replaced, and potted plants hang from the ceiling. The Newcastle Hotel on Maitland Road is now the Islington Barracks Hotel, and its shift from a nightclub to family-friendly local pub has rendered it almost unrecognisable. Newcastle locals Lukas Thodas, and brothers John and Phil Elsley, wasted no time putting their stamp on the 135-year-old hotel after agreeing to take over the lease earlier this year. "The owners approached us about the hotel and asked if we wanted to have a go, and we're all Newcastle boys, and we'd always look at the pub and go 'Oh, it could be awesome', so we took it on," Thodas said. "I used to go there with work colleagues when I was 18 or 19 and worked at The Exchange, it was the only place open when we finished our shift, so I had a bit of a soft spot for the place." The trio also lease the Lambton Park Hotel and own the Grand Hotel in Newcastle, while the Elsleys own "a bunch of other venues" including Bartholomew's in Newcastle and Good Folk Brewing Co. in Hamilton. "All our pubs are proper pubs. What we've done at the Grand is to restore it back to that traditional style, and with the Islington Barracks, it's got that original old-school feel as well," Thodas said. "We just wanted to make sure we made it a locals' pub, and so far, so good. The feedback has been great from the community." The 139 Maitland Road premises has had various names over the years, including the Criterion, the Barracks, King George Tavern, the Newy and the Gateway. It looked very different, Thodas says, when he was first handed the keys. "All the windows in the bar were blacked out when we took over. There was a DJ set-up in the main bar and in the dining area, there was a DJ set-up in the front room, and then there was the ballroom section which has the full stage set-up as well," he said. "The whole venue was operating as a club. "We've gutted the dining area. Every surface in there is new, there's new booth seating ... there's even a new soundproof ceiling. We put a completely new kitchen in, and we redid the beer garden. There's a totally different feel now. It's come up well." The hotel's new colour palette was inspired by the original tiles in the bar area, some of which feature a lion motif. "I look at this pub as a bit of a mix between the other two pubs. We're going for that community focus - family friendly, dog friendly in the beer garden, the menu is all gluten-free - but we'll also have the live music element in the band room, and lots of different sports on televisions in the front bar," Thodas said. It was certainly a warm and welcoming space to visit for lunch on a cold and rainy day, and the beer garden will no doubt be popular in the summer months. The food offering is a definite point of difference. It's gluten-free and coeliac-friendly, and executive chef Jeremy Fahy cooks on a spit rotisserie which he says is "partly French-influenced, partly classic Aussie '80s bistro" in style. The mixed rotisserie plate for two is a must-try: a flavoursome mix of pork, chicken and lamb with drip-pan potatoes, endive, apple and walnut salad, and sauce. Delicious. So, too, were the rotisserie chicken croquettes (slow-cooked rotisserie chicken with chicken fat bechamel). Fahy says the rotisserie rolls are popular: the Classic Chicken Roll (herb-roasted chicken, butter, gravy and fries), Pork and Apple Roll (salsa verde apple slaw, mustard mayo and crackling lamb), Mint Roll (pulled lamb, minted yoghurt, cucumber and pickled onion) and the Mushroom and Brie Roll (garlic mushrooms, brie, caramelised onion and dijon mayo). All the pub classics are there, too, and in gluten-free form: schniztels, burgers, rump steaks and fries. The wine list has a strong Hunter Valley presence. The upstairs rooms are being refurbished, and a variety of live gigs have already been booked, including I See Stars (US), Justice Crew and comedian Julian Woods. "We're not going to pigeonhole ourselves into a certain style, and we'll have regular non-ticketed events too," Thodas said. "Now that we're open, plus the The Oak, Cross Keys Hotel, The Oriental, you can actually go on a suburban pub crawl on the fringe of the CBD, kind of like Enmore, Surry Hills and Newtown on Sydney's fringe. "It's good for the area, I think, to have these places open up to the community." The painted black walls and windows are gone, the sticky floors replaced, and potted plants hang from the ceiling. The Newcastle Hotel on Maitland Road is now the Islington Barracks Hotel, and its shift from a nightclub to family-friendly local pub has rendered it almost unrecognisable. Newcastle locals Lukas Thodas, and brothers John and Phil Elsley, wasted no time putting their stamp on the 135-year-old hotel after agreeing to take over the lease earlier this year. "The owners approached us about the hotel and asked if we wanted to have a go, and we're all Newcastle boys, and we'd always look at the pub and go 'Oh, it could be awesome', so we took it on," Thodas said. "I used to go there with work colleagues when I was 18 or 19 and worked at The Exchange, it was the only place open when we finished our shift, so I had a bit of a soft spot for the place." The trio also lease the Lambton Park Hotel and own the Grand Hotel in Newcastle, while the Elsleys own "a bunch of other venues" including Bartholomew's in Newcastle and Good Folk Brewing Co. in Hamilton. "All our pubs are proper pubs. What we've done at the Grand is to restore it back to that traditional style, and with the Islington Barracks, it's got that original old-school feel as well," Thodas said. "We just wanted to make sure we made it a locals' pub, and so far, so good. The feedback has been great from the community." The 139 Maitland Road premises has had various names over the years, including the Criterion, the Barracks, King George Tavern, the Newy and the Gateway. It looked very different, Thodas says, when he was first handed the keys. "All the windows in the bar were blacked out when we took over. There was a DJ set-up in the main bar and in the dining area, there was a DJ set-up in the front room, and then there was the ballroom section which has the full stage set-up as well," he said. "The whole venue was operating as a club. "We've gutted the dining area. Every surface in there is new, there's new booth seating ... there's even a new soundproof ceiling. We put a completely new kitchen in, and we redid the beer garden. There's a totally different feel now. It's come up well." The hotel's new colour palette was inspired by the original tiles in the bar area, some of which feature a lion motif. "I look at this pub as a bit of a mix between the other two pubs. We're going for that community focus - family friendly, dog friendly in the beer garden, the menu is all gluten-free - but we'll also have the live music element in the band room, and lots of different sports on televisions in the front bar," Thodas said. It was certainly a warm and welcoming space to visit for lunch on a cold and rainy day, and the beer garden will no doubt be popular in the summer months. The food offering is a definite point of difference. It's gluten-free and coeliac-friendly, and executive chef Jeremy Fahy cooks on a spit rotisserie which he says is "partly French-influenced, partly classic Aussie '80s bistro" in style. The mixed rotisserie plate for two is a must-try: a flavoursome mix of pork, chicken and lamb with drip-pan potatoes, endive, apple and walnut salad, and sauce. Delicious. So, too, were the rotisserie chicken croquettes (slow-cooked rotisserie chicken with chicken fat bechamel). Fahy says the rotisserie rolls are popular: the Classic Chicken Roll (herb-roasted chicken, butter, gravy and fries), Pork and Apple Roll (salsa verde apple slaw, mustard mayo and crackling lamb), Mint Roll (pulled lamb, minted yoghurt, cucumber and pickled onion) and the Mushroom and Brie Roll (garlic mushrooms, brie, caramelised onion and dijon mayo). All the pub classics are there, too, and in gluten-free form: schniztels, burgers, rump steaks and fries. The wine list has a strong Hunter Valley presence. The upstairs rooms are being refurbished, and a variety of live gigs have already been booked, including I See Stars (US), Justice Crew and comedian Julian Woods. "We're not going to pigeonhole ourselves into a certain style, and we'll have regular non-ticketed events too," Thodas said. "Now that we're open, plus the The Oak, Cross Keys Hotel, The Oriental, you can actually go on a suburban pub crawl on the fringe of the CBD, kind of like Enmore, Surry Hills and Newtown on Sydney's fringe. "It's good for the area, I think, to have these places open up to the community." The painted black walls and windows are gone, the sticky floors replaced, and potted plants hang from the ceiling. The Newcastle Hotel on Maitland Road is now the Islington Barracks Hotel, and its shift from a nightclub to family-friendly local pub has rendered it almost unrecognisable. Newcastle locals Lukas Thodas, and brothers John and Phil Elsley, wasted no time putting their stamp on the 135-year-old hotel after agreeing to take over the lease earlier this year. "The owners approached us about the hotel and asked if we wanted to have a go, and we're all Newcastle boys, and we'd always look at the pub and go 'Oh, it could be awesome', so we took it on," Thodas said. "I used to go there with work colleagues when I was 18 or 19 and worked at The Exchange, it was the only place open when we finished our shift, so I had a bit of a soft spot for the place." The trio also lease the Lambton Park Hotel and own the Grand Hotel in Newcastle, while the Elsleys own "a bunch of other venues" including Bartholomew's in Newcastle and Good Folk Brewing Co. in Hamilton. "All our pubs are proper pubs. What we've done at the Grand is to restore it back to that traditional style, and with the Islington Barracks, it's got that original old-school feel as well," Thodas said. "We just wanted to make sure we made it a locals' pub, and so far, so good. The feedback has been great from the community." The 139 Maitland Road premises has had various names over the years, including the Criterion, the Barracks, King George Tavern, the Newy and the Gateway. It looked very different, Thodas says, when he was first handed the keys. "All the windows in the bar were blacked out when we took over. There was a DJ set-up in the main bar and in the dining area, there was a DJ set-up in the front room, and then there was the ballroom section which has the full stage set-up as well," he said. "The whole venue was operating as a club. "We've gutted the dining area. Every surface in there is new, there's new booth seating ... there's even a new soundproof ceiling. We put a completely new kitchen in, and we redid the beer garden. There's a totally different feel now. It's come up well." The hotel's new colour palette was inspired by the original tiles in the bar area, some of which feature a lion motif. "I look at this pub as a bit of a mix between the other two pubs. We're going for that community focus - family friendly, dog friendly in the beer garden, the menu is all gluten-free - but we'll also have the live music element in the band room, and lots of different sports on televisions in the front bar," Thodas said. It was certainly a warm and welcoming space to visit for lunch on a cold and rainy day, and the beer garden will no doubt be popular in the summer months. The food offering is a definite point of difference. It's gluten-free and coeliac-friendly, and executive chef Jeremy Fahy cooks on a spit rotisserie which he says is "partly French-influenced, partly classic Aussie '80s bistro" in style. The mixed rotisserie plate for two is a must-try: a flavoursome mix of pork, chicken and lamb with drip-pan potatoes, endive, apple and walnut salad, and sauce. Delicious. So, too, were the rotisserie chicken croquettes (slow-cooked rotisserie chicken with chicken fat bechamel). Fahy says the rotisserie rolls are popular: the Classic Chicken Roll (herb-roasted chicken, butter, gravy and fries), Pork and Apple Roll (salsa verde apple slaw, mustard mayo and crackling lamb), Mint Roll (pulled lamb, minted yoghurt, cucumber and pickled onion) and the Mushroom and Brie Roll (garlic mushrooms, brie, caramelised onion and dijon mayo). All the pub classics are there, too, and in gluten-free form: schniztels, burgers, rump steaks and fries. The wine list has a strong Hunter Valley presence. The upstairs rooms are being refurbished, and a variety of live gigs have already been booked, including I See Stars (US), Justice Crew and comedian Julian Woods. "We're not going to pigeonhole ourselves into a certain style, and we'll have regular non-ticketed events too," Thodas said. "Now that we're open, plus the The Oak, Cross Keys Hotel, The Oriental, you can actually go on a suburban pub crawl on the fringe of the CBD, kind of like Enmore, Surry Hills and Newtown on Sydney's fringe. "It's good for the area, I think, to have these places open up to the community." The painted black walls and windows are gone, the sticky floors replaced, and potted plants hang from the ceiling. The Newcastle Hotel on Maitland Road is now the Islington Barracks Hotel, and its shift from a nightclub to family-friendly local pub has rendered it almost unrecognisable. Newcastle locals Lukas Thodas, and brothers John and Phil Elsley, wasted no time putting their stamp on the 135-year-old hotel after agreeing to take over the lease earlier this year. "The owners approached us about the hotel and asked if we wanted to have a go, and we're all Newcastle boys, and we'd always look at the pub and go 'Oh, it could be awesome', so we took it on," Thodas said. "I used to go there with work colleagues when I was 18 or 19 and worked at The Exchange, it was the only place open when we finished our shift, so I had a bit of a soft spot for the place." The trio also lease the Lambton Park Hotel and own the Grand Hotel in Newcastle, while the Elsleys own "a bunch of other venues" including Bartholomew's in Newcastle and Good Folk Brewing Co. in Hamilton. "All our pubs are proper pubs. What we've done at the Grand is to restore it back to that traditional style, and with the Islington Barracks, it's got that original old-school feel as well," Thodas said. "We just wanted to make sure we made it a locals' pub, and so far, so good. The feedback has been great from the community." The 139 Maitland Road premises has had various names over the years, including the Criterion, the Barracks, King George Tavern, the Newy and the Gateway. It looked very different, Thodas says, when he was first handed the keys. "All the windows in the bar were blacked out when we took over. There was a DJ set-up in the main bar and in the dining area, there was a DJ set-up in the front room, and then there was the ballroom section which has the full stage set-up as well," he said. "The whole venue was operating as a club. "We've gutted the dining area. Every surface in there is new, there's new booth seating ... there's even a new soundproof ceiling. We put a completely new kitchen in, and we redid the beer garden. There's a totally different feel now. It's come up well." The hotel's new colour palette was inspired by the original tiles in the bar area, some of which feature a lion motif. "I look at this pub as a bit of a mix between the other two pubs. We're going for that community focus - family friendly, dog friendly in the beer garden, the menu is all gluten-free - but we'll also have the live music element in the band room, and lots of different sports on televisions in the front bar," Thodas said. It was certainly a warm and welcoming space to visit for lunch on a cold and rainy day, and the beer garden will no doubt be popular in the summer months. The food offering is a definite point of difference. It's gluten-free and coeliac-friendly, and executive chef Jeremy Fahy cooks on a spit rotisserie which he says is "partly French-influenced, partly classic Aussie '80s bistro" in style. The mixed rotisserie plate for two is a must-try: a flavoursome mix of pork, chicken and lamb with drip-pan potatoes, endive, apple and walnut salad, and sauce. Delicious. So, too, were the rotisserie chicken croquettes (slow-cooked rotisserie chicken with chicken fat bechamel). Fahy says the rotisserie rolls are popular: the Classic Chicken Roll (herb-roasted chicken, butter, gravy and fries), Pork and Apple Roll (salsa verde apple slaw, mustard mayo and crackling lamb), Mint Roll (pulled lamb, minted yoghurt, cucumber and pickled onion) and the Mushroom and Brie Roll (garlic mushrooms, brie, caramelised onion and dijon mayo). All the pub classics are there, too, and in gluten-free form: schniztels, burgers, rump steaks and fries. The wine list has a strong Hunter Valley presence. The upstairs rooms are being refurbished, and a variety of live gigs have already been booked, including I See Stars (US), Justice Crew and comedian Julian Woods. "We're not going to pigeonhole ourselves into a certain style, and we'll have regular non-ticketed events too," Thodas said. "Now that we're open, plus the The Oak, Cross Keys Hotel, The Oriental, you can actually go on a suburban pub crawl on the fringe of the CBD, kind of like Enmore, Surry Hills and Newtown on Sydney's fringe. "It's good for the area, I think, to have these places open up to the community."