I was surprised but excited to see The Burger Lounge open on the corner of Main Road Eltham, being a prime position for those driving into the township. The owners are from the local Charcoal on Chicken, selling whole roast chickens, gourmet salads (like the delicious cold green basil pesto, rocket, sundried tomato and kalamata olive penne), falafel balls, Turkish delight squares and roast veggies so I knew I was in for a treat.
What I love about their food philosophy is that it's fresh and homemade. Their roasted vegetables don't come from a glass jar, the buns are fresh daily, the fish is fresh and the chicken crumbed. The ingredients range from fancy to simple, for example, you can choose from Swiss, King Island Brie, Blue, Tasty, Bocconcini or Havarti cheese. A beef, chicken or fish burger not your idea? Then try a Portobello mushroom, falafel, pumpkin and potato or grilled tofu pattie.
You can take away but why would you when you can step into an oasis? The interior is classy and makes you feel you're somewhere special. There's dimmed lighting, cream leather sofas and modern poufs. But the food is what really takes your breath away.
I savoured the Greek burger, a lamb mint pattie, pinenuts, olive tapenade, eggplant, feta cheese, rocket, mint relish, cucumber raita, tomato, red onion and herb aioli. All these greek flavours worked magically together that I didn't want to finish it and then have no more. It was hard to eat however with all those toppings. My partner went for the steak classic, a scotch fillet steak, bbq sauce, lettuce, tomato, caramelised onion, sweet chilli jam, herb aioli and tasty cheese. This was served on a long Turkish bread roll opposed to a hamburger bun and I actually thought they should all come like this. Turkish bread is deliciously oily and crunchy when you bite into it but fluffy inside.
Try And Get Your Mouth Around This! See the website for more mouth-watering pics.
Chips on the side cost an extra $3.50. Given the size of the burgers, you don't really need them but with dipping sauces like herb aioli, sweet chilli mayo, avocado garlic or beetroot relish mayo, who could resist?
