Opening a vegan diner in a footy-mad Newcastle pub might sound risky but then again, the Family Hotel is known for thinking outside the square.
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Pino's Diner is a labour of love for Newcastle chef Dion May, who also owns and runs Pino's Italian Restaurant in Islington.
He has been a chef for eight years and in that time has worked with Andy Allen at Three Blue Ducks, for Matt Moran at Opera Bar, at North Bondi Fish and Barangaroo House. He has also been head chef under fellow Novocastrian Cory Campbell.
Vegan ingredients and dishes have come a long way in recent years. Once upon a time you'd be lucky to find tofu in the fridge section of the supermarket. Now, packaged vegan food is a multimillion-dollar industry.
Equally impressive is what chefs can do with these ingredients. The Pino's vegan cheeseburger looks exactly like your average meat-filled cheeseburger and, May says, tastes the same too.
"We have vegans coming in to the diner who order the cheeseburger and bring it back to the kitchen, thinking it's not vegan," he said.
"They're shocked when we tell them. We don't have any meat at all in the pub."
Pino's has a new menu which May describes as "like an old-school American diner with trashy food that's all vegan". There are burgers, fries, shakes, mac and cheese, spring rolls, cauliflower "wings", desserts and even a "chicken parmy".
"I used to just cook vegan, but I've been vegan now for a few months and I'm loving it," May said.
"For me, the environment is a massive concern and I like the sustainability aspect of growing vegetables and turning them into a burger."
He says 70 to 80 per cent of his customers are vegan but everyone is welcome.
"Most people under 30 who come in to the hotel are very open to it and will try it at least once - as I said before, with the products we are getting you can barely tell the difference - but a lot of the older generation are very old school and want their traditional pub schnitzel which we can't cater for."
The recently engaged May divides his time between his two Pino's kitchens and his five-month-old daughter. Life is busy, he says, but fun.
"At Pino's Italian the menu changes every two weeks to a month and we have added vegan wines. A lot of people like what we do there and a lot of people aren't even aware that there's no meat," he said.
"People sometimes ask for veal and when told we don't use meat, they get up and leave, but it's very rare that that happens. Most times people just eat it and love it."
Pino's Diner is open 5pm to 10.30am, Tuesday to Saturday, at The Family Hotel (635 Hunter Street, Newcastle West).
You can eat in, take away or enjoy free home delivery (selected areas) by phoning 0403 499 764.
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