The Firehouse restaurant review: Go whole hog at this Ringwood smokehouse
There’s a reason this suburban-American barbecue restaurant inside an old fire station is doing a roaring trade.
Food
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If the walls of The Firehouse could talk, I bet they’d tell some ripper tales.
The red-brick charmer was Ringwood’s fire station from 1929 to 2000, then it became someone’s home, followed by a restaurant, cafe and, now, a smokehouse.
Nick Allardice, Romaric Senelas and Benjamin Avramides have earned their keep in hospitality by reviving struggling businesses through Bon Vivant Group.
They flipped and sold the Montague Hotel in South Melbourne and also ran The Cricketers in Port Melbourne, Mt Buller’s Villager and Little Villager and most recently St Kilda’s Post Office Club, so firing up the Maroondah Highway gem was a no-brainer.
The Firehouse is a marketer’s dream; the concept writes itself: “An old fire station? Let’s make it an American BBQ smokehouse, and kit out the interior with vintage fire gear, black-and-white brigade photos (which have been donated over the years). Keep the fire pole”.
The boys go the whole hog and tip their hats to the deep south of the US and deck out the restaurant with cowhide rugs, a fireplace and croonin’ country tunes on the stereo.
Bon Vivant executive chef James Turno (of Grossi Florentino, The Montague) does most of his cooking in the smoker, kicking things off with brunch and churning through late into the evening.
There is Gippsland porterhouse, King Island scotch and a 1.2kg tomahawk steak thrown on to the barbie, yet still plenty of food that doesn’t moo, such as half or whole mustard-smoked cauliflower, a mac and cheese hash jammed into a bun, or the fish of the day with charred greens and quinoa.
You may start with squares of golden fried mac and cheese bites ($13.50 for two) crowned with chipotle aioli or spiced sweet potato fingers swiped in garlicky hummus ($14), but that pork belly ($17) was so overcooked its usual crisp skin turned to rubbery ruin.
It rode alongside housemate nduja oil (spicy pork sausage), which sadly had no spark, though the sweet celeriac puree was quite nice.
The great value pitmaster tray ($36) takes three meats from the smoker, pickles, slaw and a milk bun. If you add another bun and a couple of sides, you’d get away sharing this between two.
Black Angus brisket is best on plate, slathered in a Texas rub and smoked low and slow over a blend of ironbark and red gum, giving off a faint smokiness and a salty, sweet kick with every bite. Dab in Turner’s lockdown-perfected pomegranate molasses barbecue sauce for a hint of sweet heat. Delicious. Pro-tip: You can buy a bottle of sauce to take home.
A close second is the bay leaf-brined chicken thigh cutlet that spends three hours in the smoker before it’s dunked in a spiced buttermilk batter and whacked in the fryer until shatter crisp. Gnaw that juicy meat straight from the bone for ultimate pleasure.
Flinders and Co pulled pork is a vast improvement on the belly, dry spiced and smoked for three hours until stupidly juicy, though it finished a little sweet for my liking.
You’d be happy if you stopped here, but we persisted with an apple crumble cronut – the pastry hybrid of croissant and doughnut – filled with custard, diced apples and decorated with a buttery crumble and vanilla ice cream. Served warm without that trademark flake, it’s impossible to eat with a spoon.
Better to drink your calories with the sugar-loaded fairy floss cocktail made from gin, chambord, strawberry liqueur and pineapple juice with hundreds and thousands sprinkles around the rim.
Or if you’re after the hard stuff, the drinks program has negroni and old-fashioned cocktails aged in oak for 30 days, also available in takeaway bottles.
The Firehouse has its moments of misery and marvel, but there’s enough meat on the bone to keep you coming back. No doubt you’ll have a story to tell.
The Firehouse
253 Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood
Open: Wed-Sun: 12pm till late
Go-to dish: Pitmaster tray
Try this if you like: Burn City Smokers, Fancy Hanks
Cost: Entree ($4-$17) Main ($13-$50) Dessert ($14-$15)
RATING: 6/10
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