Can I have an umbrella in that?" asks the 30-something male in the new cocktail bar at the recently reopened Caledonian Hotel in Maitland. It's not something you would have heard in the knockabout blue-collar pub a few years ago.
But The Caly - as it's now known - has had a facelift. The poker machine room has been transformed into a cosy cocktail bar with velvet lounges and armchairs with an entire wall devoted to the list of 30-odd cocktails.
"We're now a pokie-free pub," says owner Rob Williams. "We wanted to bring back the pub culture of when I was a kid, when pubs were more family friendly and everyone felt welcome."
Rob and fiancée Ashlee Smith, who previously owned The Quinn cocktail bar in Branxton, took over The Caly three months ago.
"The first thing we did was put a roof on the beer garden because I knew it would be a great place to have live music. In fact, I picked up the stage before I even started renovating the kitchen," Rob laughs.
That's probably not surprising because he's a passionate musician you see - guitar and vocals - and one of his regrets at The Quinn was they didn't have a license for live music.
"I knew this would be a great place for live entertainment and since we opened in early September the locals think so too. We have a younger crowd coming on Friday nights, but on Saturday night there's everyone from their 30s to their 60s," he says.
To cater for the older crowd, he's expanding the line-up to include blues and country rock, which he admits is a favourite of his.
"I went to the US years ago and it really opened my eyes to country music. It's not the whiny country I was used to. I'm also in a band - A Little Alright - that plays country rock, so from October I'm going to showcase country rock bands once a month, as well as a local original band once a month too."
He's also showcasing a new cuisine.
"Middle Eastern food is a real passion of mine. I grew up in Guildford in Western Sydney and had lots of friends who were Middle Eastern and when I moved to the Hunter 10 years ago what I missed the most was that food."
Rob trained as a chef in Sydney but ditched it for a corporate career and, after moving to the Hunter, started a catering business for weddings and special events on the side.
"Earlier this year I decided to quit my full-time job and was looking for a commercial kitchen to handle the increase in bookings for our catering business and I also missed our time at The Quinn. So, when we walked into The Caly we thought it was perfect - a manageable size with a kitchen the ideal size for our pub food and catering business, and an area for live music."
He overhauled the kitchen and spent months tracking down a commercial grill using lava rocks.
"The secret to Middle Eastern food is cooking over the rocks. Typically, it would be cooked over charcoal, but indoor filtration systems cost a bomb, so lava rocks are the closest thing to that authentic experience.
"As you cook the meat over the rocks the juices vaporise and infuse back into the meat, so you don't lose the flavour," he says.
That's why the minced lamb and chicken breast skewers are so juicy and flavoursome.
The menu still has classic pub fare like steak, burgers and chicken schnitzel - he's selling 15-20kg of schnitzels a week - but the smoky, spicy flavours of the platters of meat skewers with hommus, garlic dip, tabouli and Lebanese bread is winning fans.
Ebony Dee - previously at Onxy Cafe in Newcastle - is in charge of the kitchen.
"Traditionally she was a breakfast chef, which has a lot of grill work, so that gave her the relevant experience to turn her hand to a Middle Eastern grill," Rob says.
She's a dab hand with a pizza oven too.
"We bought Gozney roccboxes - portable gas/woodfired pizza ovens that can cook a pizza in 60 seconds for our catering business, and we've got one in the kitchen here too.
"We started with dessert pizzas - Nutella and strawberries, and caramelised banana - and have just added some traditional savoury pizzas, including margarita, pepperoni and Hawaiian, as well as two Middle Eastern-inspired pizzas, including a za'atar (spice blend) pizza and a minced beef and herb pizza."
The Caly is just a two-minute walk from Maitland Railway Station, so no designated driver required.
No designated driver, a good drinks list and tasty food ... it's a heady mix.
The Caledonian Hotel, 89 Church Street, Maitland, 4933 6360. Open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10am. Bistro closed Wednesdays.
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