Terminus Hotel’s 100th Birthday

What does it take to be around on your 100^th birthday, to have seen out a whole century and still be around to be a part of the new? Stoic adherence or openness and change? Careful planning or joyful abandonment? A life of moderation or excess? Milk Bar recently attended the 100^th Birthday celebrations of the Terminus Hotel, on Victoria St in Abbotsford, to find out.

Stepping in to this 100 year old beauty it is clear that “The Termo” isn’t stoic in its adherence to the original plans of Robert Dehnert back in 1923. While the space retains some clear and beautiful nods to the past with tiled walls and a large central bar, the space now features a few different areas. Whether finding a booth for a beer or belting out a tune with the live band (thanks to the CherryBomb Duo for some fantastic jams), enjoying a cocktail and dance upstairs or finding new friends in one of the two excellent beer gardens out back, the Terminus has done a brilliant job at catering for the many different needs of a punter on a night out.

We started our night with a couple of cold beers in the main bar, and then found ourselves in one of the booths to take in the crowd. Much like the suburb it’s in, the crowd was a great mix of people all enjoying the celebration, and the Terminus team did a fantastic job at keeping everyone well-hydrated and in good spirits. This was also our chance to look at what else we could drink and there was no shortage of options, with numerous beers on tap, both in tinnies and bottles, a well sized and planned wine and cocktail list, and a number of spirits options behind the four bars. We couldn’t go past a couple of the complimentary Vic Street Lagers (“When in Vic St”) before the smell of the BBQ conveyed us upstairs.

Out on the upper level of the beer garden, the team had put on a small but excellent BBQ as part of the celebrations and were pumping out burgers and snags. It’s hard to go past a good sausage and bread (plus onions and sauce of course) and they did a great job in making sure there was plenty for everyone. The burger was the standout though, with fresh lettuce and tomato matched with a smash paddy, cheese and burger sauce. Just the right level of meat and cheese excess that says you’ve made the right choice, and greasy in the way you want a good burger to be. It made us confident that, given this was a free celebration burger, the one on the Thursday Burger Day is definitely worth another visit for. We took a look at the wider food menu to find all bases were covered well, plus a few additional items that added to the “we should definitely come back here” list. If you’re like me and spent the last few years with not enough to do, there’s a few great looking options for children to order and then not eat. While it wasn’t a part of the event we also couldn’t go past the Fried Chicken with Mississippi sauce. It was a great test for the kitchen team, as it’s easy to get wrong. But the Termo kitchen delivered – the chicken was succulent while the coating was crisp and crunchy, exactly as you want it to be.

As our night wound to a close we had a conversation on our original question, what does it take to be around at 100? We all agreed that if we followed the examples of the Terminus Hotel; a little reinvention, a little maintenance of the past, some good drinks, great food, the footy on the screen, the crowd joining in with the band, then that would be a century well lived.

The Terminus Hotel
605 Victoria St, Abbotsford VIC 3067