The Federation Burger @ Charlie & CoSeasoned Angus beef pattie with tomato relish,
tomatoes, lettuce, aged cheddar, fried egg, bacon, sautéed onion and aioli 

Panu and I are on the hunt for (in our very humble opinion) the best burger in Sydney. We like our burgers. I’m not sure if it’s the casualness of it all, the simple yet satisfying combination of good beef on a good bun with good sauce… but there’s something about burgers that we just love, and well, we want to find one which truly steals our hearts here in Sydney.

But we’re yet to find one (and recommendations are most welcome).

It’s not that we haven’t been trying. There’s been Moo Burgers, and remember how that turned out? I had to go home and ice my mouth with salted peanut gelato. I know, boo hoo.

We’ve made a list and are strategically ticking them off one at a time. Strategically how? Totally going by which shop name I think sounds cool 😉 I know, it’s a science.

A couple of weeks ago we dropped by Grill’d in Darlinghurst for lunch and I had the Simply Grill’d:

Simply Grill’d burger @ Grill’d
Grilled 100% lean beef, salad, relish & herbed mayo 

It was fine… a little dry maybe, but didn’t rock my socks at all. Maybe it’s because Grill’d markets themselves as serving “healthy burgers” with patties which are “super low in fat”. Hm. If you ask me, burgers will never be the healthiest of things, chock full of cheese and sauce and what-not, so why not just embrace it?

Grill’d
314 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010
(02) 9331 6562
website

Grill'd on Urbanspoon

There’s also been Burgerfuel just up the road in Newtown. Here’s the Third Pounder with Cheese:

Third Pounder with Cheese @ Burgerfuel
1/3 pound ground beef, melted cheddar, bread & butter pickles, dijon mustard, relish, aioli

I actually thought this burger wasn’t bad. Soft buns, simple and oozy innards. That’s pretty much what makes a good burger, right? But for some reason Panu wasn’t all too impressed. I can’t remember why and nor does he, so maybe it needs a revisit, at least to try their kumara (sweet potato) fries!

Burgerfuel
172 King Street
Newtown, NSW, 2042
(02) 9519 4700
website

Burger Fuel on Urbanspoon

Aaaand, on Friday night we had burgers at Charlie & Co. I really wanted to try this one, mainly because… I really like the name “Charlie & Co”. Told you it was a science.

We tried both the Wagyu & Co burger (below) and the Federation burger (top):

The Wagyu & Co Burger @ Charlie & Co
Wagyu burger with beetroot relish, pickled gherkin, lettuce, aged cheddar and aioli 

Ok, I really liked the burgers at Charlie & Co, but what annoyed me was that they didn’t have a simple cheese burger on the menu. Much like judging a good pizza restaurant by their simple margherita pizzas, a burger joint has to be judged on its cheese burger, but the simpliest burger on the menu is a double cheese & bacon.

Regardless, I still liked the burgers although the Federation is a little humongous and there’s simply no graceful way to eat it.

Oh, if you go, please do yourself a huge favour and order the parmensan and truffle fries. Holy mother of double cooked fries.

parmesan & truffle fries @ Charlie & Co

Charlie & Co
Level 5, Westfield Sydney
Cnr Market & Castlereigh St, NSW, 2000
(02) 8072 7777
website

Charlie & Co Burgers on Urbanspoon

So this is where we’re at, people. We still have a fairly extended list of burger joints to check out, including Rockpool Bar, Burger Man, The Counter, Ben Bry Burgers, Burger Joint and Four In Hand. But I’m genuinely worried that we’re not going to find a burger that knocks us off our feet. We’re a little spoiled from such burger-awesomeness as NYC’s Shake Shack and London’s Meateasy (now Meat Liquor) that it’s gonna take quite a little patty and bun to blitz those memories…

… but I am definitely still hopeful, ready and willing!

29 Thoughts on “still looking for the best burger in Sydney…

  1. I’m going to start a little comment here of my own… as people are suggesting other burger joints in Twitter and Facebook. So, adding to the list:

    * Lotus Bistro, Potts Point
    * Burger Bun, Broadway

  2. Aww, I’m sorry burger fuel didn’t wow your compatriot, because that was going to be my suggestion. I would say Burgerlicious, but it’s been a while since I’ve been there.

  3. Oh yes a good burger is a thing of beauty. Have you tried the really Old Skool burgers at Paul’s in Sylvania?

  4. Lucas: dang, I thought it was nice but yeah, no as great as what I’ve had before. As for Burgerlicious, we walk past it a lot in Newtown but it just doesn’t appeal! Maybe it should be on the list anyway…

    Lorraine: I haven’t but.. Sylvania? Do I need a passport to get there? 😉

  5. Miss Glutton on December 6, 2011 at 1:41 am said:

    Hi Catty!

    Not sure if you’ve tried this, but try out Cafe Giula’s burger in Chippendale :p

  6. HAHAHA i love this post! Burgers are one of my guilty pleasures hehe i’ve tried going vegie and eating the vegie burger but it just doesn’t do it 🙂
    Hmmm….I’m not too sure about the burger scene in Sydney but a friend of mine works at Rockpool in Melbourne and he said the burgers there are quite nice and hehe he makes the ‘buns’ 😛 if you get the chance to come to Melb maybe you can go try it out ~

  7. Ooh Rockpool is meant to be the shiz! I do have a special spot for C&C but the second time I went, I was severely let down – shame

  8. Miss Glutton: Oooh I’ve only been there for breakfast. Will have to try the burger 🙂

    Flower: Rockpool is definitely on our list! We tried to order it when we were at the restaurant a couple of weeks ago but we weren’t allowed to order from the bar menu haha. Will go back for it though!

    Nic: Oh no – what happened? I just wish they had a normal cheeseburger because that’s all I want!

  9. Just realised my username changes all the time 😛 sorry! Do you guys have TGI Friday in Sydney? We have it in Melbourne it’s pretty good too hehe ~ i love their TGI Friday Burger ~

  10. The Counter is no more unfortunately. They closed down a while back.

    Will be keen to see how the others on your list fare. Some of those have been on my to-do list as well.

  11. The burgers all look pretty good! I’ve tried the Meatwagon burger and that is so delicious. Not sure if anything can really beat it.

  12. Daisy: haha hi again 🙂 Um, yes I believe we do, but I totally wrote off TGIF ages ago, it’s a little too noisy and.. something. I just didn’t like it! But maybe I should try the burger 🙂

    Simon: Ahhhh thanks for letting me know! I would have gotten there and been all sad 🙁 I’ll let you know when I try the others!

    jenny: Yeah the Meatwagon is somethin’ else huh?

  13. Hehe I laugh at your passport comment to come down to Sylvania. Feel bad disagreeing with Lorraine’s suggestion, but to be honest I am a local, and the trip isn’t worth a visit to Paul’s. The burgers were really good years ago, but with change in management ages ago (I mean ages), they really aren’t that great.

    All of your above mentioned, even the crispy burgers at Moo are better.

  14. My favourite used to be Plan B’s wagyu burger, but that was pre-Charlie & Co days, plus part of the allure was the fact it was only $10. Price and perceived value have ways of swaying the tastebuds and satisfaction levels.

  15. Sara: After thinking about it for a while I realised I actually have been to Paul’s before! The burgers are huge right? Yeah, not 100% my style, I actually like ’em small and simple 🙂

    Rita: Haha very true about price. Plan B is closed now right??

  16. Hey, I’ve been doing what you guys are doing basically =). I’m in Sydney for 1-2 months and have been trying a lot of burgers as lunch. I documented this quest on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8351778@N08/sets/72157628647285325/detail/ .

    The mini-reviews are in Dutch, maybe I should switch to English. Anyway, I liked Burgerfuel a lot (had the Bastard) but Benbry’s Burgers in Manly were pretty good too (still have to upload that photo). Also highly recommended comes Beautiful Burgers, rind behind central station. Time permitting I want to try Charlie & Co and Stitch.

    • Ahhhh cool! if you find something awesome let me know. We want to try Benbry’s in Manly too – but on the top of my list is definitely Rockpool Bar’s burger. If you haven’t already, try the burger at Glass Bistro & Bar at the Hilton hotel. Very good!

  17. The burgers at Rockpool Bar & Grill are insanely good. The last time I had on was over a year ago and no burger has lived up to it since. You have to try them!

  18. Back in Sydney after two months of SE Asia :). I’ve been to Charlie & Co. and while they are by no means bad I think they are overpriced. I tried the South American by the way. The bun was nothing special and I’ve had way better at places that didn’t talk about their bread as much.. the patty was good though quite salty. I do think their fries are out of this world though, and stand-alone a reason to visit C&C at least once.

    So far my Sydney favs are Beautiful Burgers (Chippendale), Burgerfuel (Newtown) and Benbry (Manly). On my radar, but haven’t had time to visit yet are Burger Me (Manly), Bite Me Burger (Pyrmont), Burger Bun (Chippendale) and Stich, Rockpool and Glass Bar (all CBD). There’s always next time :).

    I think all the chains (Moo, Burgerlicious, Grill’d) are pretty amazing and I’d kill to have some of those available at home, but in the grand picture of what’s offered in Sydney none of them are at the top for me.

    • Great feedback, Jochen! C&C are not bad, but too fancy. I do love their parmesan chips though! YUM! I haven’t tried Beautiful Burgers or Benbry, though Benbry has been on the list for a while (need to get out to manly!). You should try Rockpool and Glass Bar for a treat… 🙂 I don’t like Moo or Grill’d. Still have to try Burgerlicious!

  19. You need to try StreetSoul Burger Bar in The Spot, Randwick. Holy Mother of GOD! I had the Porky burger the other day (pretty sure they do the only Pork Burger right?) and it was freakin’ amazing – apple slices, avocado, pineapple, rocket lettuce, house-made mayo, and I think that was it? Totally out of the blue rock-your-socks-off! My partner had the Beef Man – Make it Cheesy and it was the best beef burger we’ve had since Rockpool! The other amazing place I was going to suggest before StreetSoul stole my heart was Rockpool

    • Thanks for the tip AJ! I will surely add to my list of burgers to try. I do like a simple burger though – good beef, cheese, some salad, soft bun. I don’t like gourmet burgers with all the trimmings (eg avo, pineapple, etc etc)!

  20. Hey catty they have pretty simple burgers too. Try the beef man (grassfed seasoned beef,lettuce, tomato, onion, aioli and relish) – their menu is basically very simple with options to “complicate” things with fancy stuff – with that said some of the “fancy” stuff is pure bliss!

  21. Jimal on June 26, 2013 at 2:12 pm said:

    You should try street soul burger bar in randwick (the spot) amazing !

  22. Third StreetSoul Burger in Randwick – look for the simple Beefman – salad, aioli and relish. Also churrrrr burger

  23. Botany Bites is an excellent new cafe in Botany. They do amazing burgers- especially the Portuguese chicken burger and love the cheeseburger. Great service, great value and super delicious .

  24. aludra on November 1, 2014 at 4:44 pm said:

    Have you tried Ribs & Burgers? The burgers great there too!

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