Brodburger, Kingston (ACT) by Big Fil

Brodburger was Ms International Jetsetters second nomination for a place to eat in Canberra.  'You've got to come to Brodburger.  Best hamburger you'll ever have'.  Given that it was somewhere I'd heard of and would have suggested trying anyway the decision was easily made and off to Brodburger we went.

Apparently they had originally operated out of a food van but these days it's a fairly swish glass fronted shop in what feels like the middle of a construction site.  It's not the ideal situation in terms of feel or parking but I'd guess as the area develops it will improve.

When you enter it's just a little bit classy for a hamburger joint, bright and well lit with much more a cafe than downmarket diner feel to it.  I have vague memory's of interesting music in the background but the whole place having a fairly sterile feel to it.  This was a bit surprising given how busy it was, being lucky to get a seat despite arriving fairly early for dinner.  A few minutes later and it would have been either a long wait or takeaway for us!



Ordering is at the back next to the little kitchen.  The staff are friendly enough and will take you through the various ordering options, which include a variety of burgers including an unusual vegetarian option which apparently replaces the usual meat patty with a single large mushroom (one for next time).  One thing I did like was the different options for the cheese to go with your burger, something I don't recall having seen before.

I've heard a few comments about the time food takes here after ordering.  Based on my experience I suspect there is some truth to this.  For a place three quarters full when we arrived and not seeming short of staff I was a bit surprised that our food took around thirty minutes to arrive.  It wasn't an outrageous time to wait but it wasn't clear on the reason why it took so long, whether the cooking area is small or just a little inefficient, but when the orders start to back up the wait could be considerable.



First to hit the table were our fries.  These were of the thin shoe string variety, and while the serve was generous I wasn't such a great fan.  I had the impression that they definitely weren't straight from the fryer.  Lukewarm, soft rather than crispy, my preference is always from fat hand cut chips but even for fries I thought these were a bit average.  Ms IJ though loved them, which I think is another example of that we just all have slightly different tastes in food.



Better was my burger.  There are a variety of options and mine was the Brodburger, with bacon and brie cheese.  While I wouldn't agree that it's the best burger I've ever had, I did think it was a good one.  In taste and texture it felt a mixture of the new school movement - neat with high quality ingredients - and a messy but so tasty old school burger.  Two things in particular stood out.  The combination of the creamy richness of the bree and the juice from the meaty patty was a match from heaven.  Secondly, while the bun was nothing to look at, it performed its primary task well of holding the potentially messy fillings together, making it possible to eat without getting burger juice all over you.

Overall
Felt a little disorganised and needed more atmosphere, but as far as the burgers go pretty good.

Verdict
Food - 7.5
Ambience - 7
Service - 6.5
Price - 7

Address
11 Wentworth Avenue
Kingston ACT
Tel: 04 2463 5824