You can't look at social media or the foodie papers at the moment without some talk of the new Neil Perry Burger Project. There are whispers galore 'It's the best burgers in Sydney' or 'They sold over 5000 one day and had to shut the shop'. We were lucky enough to get invited to the opening, and the whole family dropped in for an early dinner.
The Spicy Chicken Burger with Salt & Vinegar Chips
His aim is to make burgers taste like they used to and I would argue he makes them better than they used to taste, but that's hardly a complaint. If you look at his philosophy, he wants to take the Rockpool Burgers to the people (I have to say it makes me want to take this person to Rockpool to try one of those burgers - but that's for another review).
Rockpool Brewing
What makes this place standout is the quality of the ingredients. The meat is ground in-house, the chips are hand-cut and they churn their own ice cream.
The biggest surprise for me is how reasonable priced they are. The classic burger starts at $7.90 and the top end is only $12.90. Note for the waist conscious, they even serve a burger in a bowl, with extra lettuce and no bun! Even better, while they are low cost, they also give a portion of the turnover to local charities, so it's eating for a good cause.
Great beers!
While there are milkshakes and sodas, there's also a good selection of wines and beers, including the locally brewed Lord Nelson's Three Sheets and the Rockpool Brewing New World Pilsner.
The kids picked a return visit as their dining choice on the weekend, so I've sampled both the spicy chicken burger and the classic. The Spicy chicken is real free range grilled chicken, with salted chilli, coriander, soy and mayonnaise to add a tangy spiciness to the pickled slaw, pickles and lettuce.
Happiness on a tray
The classic is just that, an old fashioned burger with grass fed beef, onions, pickles and salad, with a secret sauce, that for me gives it the edge. Simplicity at it's best.
There are alternatives - the chicken wings were very popular with the other diners on the weekend, and there is also a range of hot dogs, with pork or chicken sausage.
The blood orange ice cream is a standout, but so far, we've not had room to try the larger desserts, as tempting as they sound.
We've already discussed a return visit, as one of the kids is keen to try the chipotle chips, and I'm determined to get my hands on one of the Negroni slushies I keep hearing about!
