Picture this: a far-off land where futuristic drones fly overhead delivering coffee, while a group of unusual creatures seek refuge from their quest in a dark, medieval tavern on the ground.
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No, it's not a new Orwell/Tolkien collaboration - it's Tuggeranong.
Brand new restaurant The Copper Dragon opens this week on Reed Street: a fantasy-themed venue that's part Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, with a dash of Harry Potter.
It's the dream of Canberra couple and self-confessed "geeks" Isobel and Shane Majewski; she's a cosplayer and costuming fanatic, he's an artist and Dungeons and Dragons games master.
The Copper Dragon is like the tavern from every single one of your favourite fantasy books (or the guild house from your favourite anime series) - a place to meet new characters and a place of refuge during a life-changing quest.
"The theme is fantasy but as far as fantasy goes it's probably more into that medieval stream," Isobel says.
"The reason we picked that theme is because in all fantasy and sci-fi movies and books, the tavern is a central place - it's where all the adventurers always end up."
While the deep south might seem an unusual place to open a themed restaurant, Isobel and Shane walked into 38 Reed Street North and knew it had "the bones" of exactly what they wanted to create: tavern-style wooden finishings, iron lamps, a bar and booths for playing board games.
Isobel had always dreamed of starting her own business but it wasn't until she took a voluntary redundancy from the public service that she finally had the financial security to do so. She tried cake decorating and wedding planning but more than anything wanted to open a meeting place for the thousands of Canberrans into role playing, cosplay and gaming.
"We want people to find The Copper Dragon safe and relaxing, and for it to become a place to meet new people," she says.
"We want people to enjoy the food and the atmosphere, and feel that they can be whoever they want to be.
"So if they've had a rough day we've got bar stools they can sit on and have a chat with bar staff.
"Two of The Copper Dragon's dining booths will be earmarked public booths, which means that if you sit there, you're happy for other people to join you, even if you don't know them."
As for the food and drink offering, The Copper Dragon is a licensed venue offering beer, wine and, of course, potions. But if you thought the food offering would be all about rack of lamb, beef and bacon pie and blueberry tarts, think again.
The Copper Dragon will serve pub style food, and look to South America to inspire its 'shared plate' offering.
"In Chile there's a dish called chorrillana, which is basically thick cut fries with an onion gravy and eggs on top," Isobal says.
"It's a favourite shared dish over there where they sit down and just start dipping fries in gravy and egg. It's definitely going to be one of the heroes of the menu."
The Copper Dragon opens at Shop 5, 38 Reed Street North, Tuggeranong on December 7.
