The Captain Cook Hotel in Sydney’s Paddington was reopened this week by Bird & Bear, boasting a curated business model that specifically does not include pokies.
The Captain Cook Hotel has been a part of the Paddington landscape since 1882 and was redesigned by renowned architect John Burcham Clamp in 1914 after a fire had destroyed the original building.
Sold last year for $6.6 million without its gaming entitlements, hospitality group Bird & Bear have thoughtfully restored and upgraded the hotel, retaining original features where possible.
The group began its pokies-free model three years ago when it acquired The Village Inn, also in Paddington. The new model tripled clientele, relying solely on community engagement. Bird & Bear listened to the locals, who wanted dog-friendly spaces with outdoor seating.
They have used the same model with The Navy Bear in Rushcutters Bay, prioritising community engagement, offering “welcoming, familiar and human” hospitality.
Now, with The Captain Cook Hotel, the renovation has including reimagining the old gaming room into Joe’s Kitchen, a light-filled Italian-inspired pizzeria fronting Josephson Laneway, and a dog-friendly beer garden.
A highlight of the hotel’s new outlook, Bird & Bear’s head of culinary, Eric Tan, and head chef Gil Dela Cueva worked with pizza consultant Alessandro Sistopaoli, an Italian-trained chef, and supplier Alberto Facci of Quality Centre. The result is cold-fermented pinsa dough and Roman-style toppings, alongside a thoughtful wine list offering a mix of Italian and Australian wines.
“It’s relaxed, flavour-driven food, designed to be enjoyed slice after slice,” said Tan.
The Captain Cook Hotel has retained its old-school pub sports bar, which leads smoothly into a contemporary bistro (also dog friendly) offering pub classics with an Italian feel, creating a pub anchored in sport, food and its locals.
The group has lodged an application to increase the outdoor seating.
Odd Culture Group has similarly gone pokies-free at The Duke of Enmore and Wooloomooloo’s The Old Fitzroy Hotel.
“We’ve demonstrated you can do it … 100 per cent we’d do it again,” chief executive James Thorpe told The SMH.
Likewise, the Lord Gladstone Hotel is another that has gone through the process of EGM removal.
