“Live fire is super interesting because it’s so primal,” says Martin. “The smoke and flavour enhances food. It changes something even as simple as a chicken.” Roar puts its cooking fires in full view of the dining room. The fancy Mibrasa grill from Spain has a grate that can be raised and lowered with side wheels. There’s an open firebox and charcoal grill beside it.

As the name implies, expect show-stopping dishes like Fire Hung Chicken, Flambedou Grilled Beach Oysters, and even a Smoked Prime Roast Watermelon to be served after being cooked over live fire. ROAR offers breakfast, dinner, and drinks.

ROAR is the first new hotel restaurant in Tofino in seven years, and the excitement in the room is palpable. ROAR is all about cooking with fire, featuring everything from beach oysters to ribs and salmon grilled over a wood and charcoal grill, with an oven that tops out at a searing 900 degrees and a large smoker dedicated to house-smoked salmon and other delicacies.

“I personally rebel against the status quo of kitchens,” says Cudmore. “Respect towards all the people around me is paramount — the most important thing we do here in the kitchen is support and respect each other; and that comes before the food. The mindset that we’re all in here to do well for each other is what leads the kitchen.”

As the name implies, expect show-stopping dishes like Fire Hung Chicken, Flambedou Grilled Beach Oysters, and even a Smoked Prime Roast Watermelon to be served after being cooked over live fire. ROAR offers breakfast, dinner, and drinks.

“I personally rebel against the status quo of kitchens,” says Cudmore. “Respect towards all the people around me is paramount — the most important thing we do here in the kitchen is support and respect each other; and that comes before the food. The mindset that we’re all in here to do well for each other is what leads the kitchen.”

Awards aside, Dinah is more than just a mixologist; she’s a storyteller, a leader, and now the head bartender at ROAR, the funky, fiery new restaurant at Hotel Zed Tofino—where she works with a team that she calls her “tribe.”

ROAR was built on a foundation of hard work and perseverance. “Opening your first restaurant in the third wave of a global pandemic is not for the faint of heart,” says Trina Notman, VP of Marketing and Communications. “Mandy stuck to her vision and does what she always does, leads with love, to ensure an out of the ordinary ROAR experience with happy, well respected staff that she treats right.”

Tofino, BC: Gather around the fire for the West Coast’s first live fire restaurant, ROAR at Hotel Zed Tofino. Located in Tofino on Vancouver Island and famed for its seafood, beaches and laid-back lifestyle, ROAR brings the flavour of Tofino to the table for a comfortable and delicious Tofino experience.

Gather around the fire for the West Coast’s first live fire restaurant, ROAR at Hotel Zed Tofino is launching this summer. From the outdoor fire pits, wood-fire grill and charcoal grill, ROAR Tofino takes food back to its simplest form – fresh, local ingredients being cooked over live fire.

There's the "roar" of the ocean, the "roar" of fire, and the "roar" of a rebellious crowd speaking out, and it's the spirit of those three that inspired ROAR, a new restaurant that's worth the trek to Tofino. ROAR is the onsite restaurant of Hotel Zed Tofino. While the hotel made its debut back in late August 2020, ROAR didn't light the stoves until this May, but it's easy to see how it's already become a real hot spot.

From a young age, Dinah Kisil had a desire to express herself in an innovative way. “I am inspired by the opportunity that cocktails present for storytelling,” she says. “For example, Tofino is the site of one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian history. The people of Clayoquot Sound stopped a massive government plan to clear-cut ancient local rainforests … Our opening cocktail menu is my retelling of these stories through drinks, so that those who come to visit can develop a fuller understanding of this place.”

ROAR flickered to life on May 27. It’s the restaurant at the newest of three Hotel Zeds, this one in Tofino, and Kaelhub Cudmore is the chef in the wood-fired kitchen. Fire cooking, he said, is the simplest way to cook. “You let the food shine and as a chef, it’s almost cheating. We don’t grow the food. We find the best ingredients and put them on a plate and highlight them. They often get lost in techniques or whatever the trends happen to be.”

ROAR flickered to life on May 27. It’s the restaurant at the newest of three Hotel Zeds, this one in Tofino, and Kaelhub Cudmore is the chef in the wood-fired kitchen. Fire cooking, he said, is the simplest way to cook. “You let the food shine and as a chef, it’s almost cheating. We don’t grow the food. We find the best ingredients and put them on a plate and highlight them. They often get lost in techniques or whatever the trends happen to be.”