Grill’d

With all the hype about gourmet burgers going around, Sean and I decided to visit Grill’d one afternoon. Rather than gourmet ingredients like some of the other restaurants, Grill’d’s thang was healthy burgers!

To be honest, the idea didn’t exactly appeal to me at first. If you’re going to eat a burger, then why bother with healthy right?

Well the food better be good…and to be honest, it was. I expected dry, flavourless, tiny-portioned burgers, but instead I got yummy juicy burgers that didn’t feel heavy on the tummy at all!!

I got the Hot Mama ($11.90). It had a beef patty, roasted peppers, dill pickle, tasty cheese, tzatziki, salad, and a spread of harissa.

There was a choice of sourdough and wholemeal, and I couldn’t not choose the sourdough could I? =)

I really really loved the juiciness of the patty, and the hit of chilli and the end. I could’ve done with more harissa, but I think that the staff probably thought that killing the customer with chilli wasn’t a good idea. I personally thought that the dill pickles really brought it all together, and Sean (who is not a pickle fan BY FAR) thought so too. The sourdough was a bit over-toasted for my liking, but it’s still a really good burger.

Sean had the Almighty ($12.50) with a beef patty, tasty cheese, bacon, free-range egg, beetroot, salad, relish and herb mayo and he chose the wholemeal bun.

And…well it’s AWESOME! It’s just so moreish that you want mouthful after hearty mouthful. Again, it doesn’t sound like a particularly “gourmet burger” – you could probably make a similar burger at home – but it’s really nice to go out and be able to have something so comforting and not feel awful about yourself after.

We realise then that the wholemeal took to the toasting a lot better.

Also, what’s burgers without chips yes?

We ordered a large side of chips with all three sauces: Sweet Chilli Mayo, Herbed Mayo, and Tomato Relish ($0.75 each). We didn’t feel the mayos so much, but the Tomato Relish was DA BOMB. Awesome shizzle. It had just the right amount of tartness and depth, and wasn’t just plain and boring like tomato accompaniments usually are. Good stuff.

I also really liked that you could see all the ingredients at the counter too! Makes me feel like I know where (kinda) my food is coming from. Haha.

All in all, it was a really good experience. The food was good, if a bit pricey – there aren’t any magical, exotic ingredients – but I think the price is well worth while because 1) it’s in the city, all food would cost you that much and 2) it’s comfort food that doesn’t leave you feeling awful about yourself afterward.

Oh and the staff! The staff truly made it all a lovely day. The guy who was serving us at the counter looked truly happy to be there, and was great about making sure we were having the best time possible.

There is a downside though – and it’s a small one or a big one depending on your dietary habits. They have gluten free buns available (yay!) and the menu tells you how to make it a gluten free burger. Great! BUT their gluten free buns are toasted in the same toaster that toasts the regular buns, so it might just have some gluten in it. Really? Then what’s the point of the gluten free buns right? It’s quite annoying cause I can’t really bring my celiac friends there, but otherwise, it’s a good place to go.

We ate at:

Grill’d
Darling Harbour
100 Murray Street
Sydney 2000

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