The London

Name: The London: Burgers & Beer
Type: Restaurant. Burgers. Bar.
Location: Civic - 121 London Circuit
Meal: Dinner
Food et: Scotch fillet steak burger with bocconcini, tomato and basil salsa, garlic aioli, lettuce and onion


Like BrodBurger, The London has fast become one of Canberra's favourite mythical burger joints. Why we didn't have gourmet bruger-centric places before these two sprung up, I'll never know...seems like there is a market for it. As evident by the crowd gathered on a "quiet" Tuesday night, this place is filling a niche for inner city dining.

After driving around for half and hour to find a park (damn you, Civic!) my friends, M, E and I sat down at our reserved table to devour the extensive menu that The London offers. You really must book a table, by the way - I saw many people turned away.

The menu is really quite large, literally something for everyone. I was craving steak, so I went for the Scotch fillet steak burger with bocconcini, tomato and basil salsa, garlic aioli, lettuce and onion - without the onion. E and M both decided to give The London Lot a go - a beef patty with bacon, cheese, caramelised onion, egg, smokey bbq sauce, lettuce, tomato and onion.

We ordered from a scary looking, but extremely nice guy from behind the bar, he gave us our drinks on the spot and then we sat down to wait...

Thankfully, the burgers came out of the kitchen nice and fast, and when they put them down the London Lots in front of E and M, I started to giggle. Have fun with that guys:

The London Lot

The London Lot seems to have become a legend in burger eating circles, similar to the BrodBurger, and is the primary menu item in The London's burger challenge - two London Lots, two serves of chips and a litre of beer. At the time we went, there was only one successful contestant with his (slightly sickly looking) photo up on the wall of honour.

It truely is an ultimate burger.

Inside The London Lot.

My burger was just lovely. Fresh bread, well cooked steak, crunchy lettuce. The bocconcini, tomato, basil salsa and garlic aoili all melded together to make a drippy mess - but what a beautiful mess it was. I rolled my chips around in the drippings. So. Good. The chips are thickly cut beer battered, and just divine. A perfect accompaniment to the burger. Nom. Nom.

The Steak Burger I devoured.


Verdit: All of us had trouble finishing our meals, in fact E and M didn't even get close, and the value for money is fantastic. Lots of yummy, satisfying, food for a reasonable price = yes, please!! Not much to say in the way of service, but it's not needed in this kind of dining situation. You order at the bar and get your food brought to you. They were happy to accomidate my fear of onions and were pleasant the whole time. Definitely worth a return visit.

Brodburger

Name: Brodburger - http://www.brodburger.com.au/
Type: Burgers. Take-away
Location: Barton (Bowen Park)
Meal: Lunch
Food: BrodChicken Burger, Hot chips

Ah Brodburger. It's become a Canberran food icon in just over a year! Those famous, mythical, burgers that everyone raaaaves about.

I had always meant to go. Kept saying I will, I will...and then never did. I'd heard stories about the size of the line, which is a great indicator about the food, but a major turn off for someone as impatient as me.

Never the less, after some encouragement from friends and the threat of Brodburger's closure (you suck, Government), I decided it was finally time.

Myself, a friend, her husband and their two kids headed down to the car park by Lake Burley Griffin which houses Canberra's most famous van. We arrived about 11:45, and there was already a line - even though the place doesn't open til 12. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long before the window was up and orders where being taken.

I ordered a BrodChicken burger: grilled chicken breast in a marinade, topped with bacon, avocado, homemade chilli aioli, lettuce, tomatoes and Spanish onions. I also ordered a side of chips and a can of sprite. Grand total of $15. The burgers themselves are $9 each, with the Bodburger Deluxe being $14. Now, usually I would think this is expensive for a burger...but the size and amount of filling in each burger makes them quite a fair price.

We took the burgers home to another friends home, having ordered them each a vegitarian burger too. Sitting around a giant table, the 7 of us tucked in to our burgers...

I don't think I've ever heard the words "Oh my god..." uttered so much. Everyone at the table agreed that these were the best burgers in Canberra. The vegetarian's even concluded that they were the best burgers they had EVER eaten. High praise indeed.

My friend's husband tried the Brodburger Deluxe and somehow managed to fit it all in. I nearly vomited watching him shove all that meat in to his mouth. He enjoyed it though, and said that it was the only time in his life that a burger nearly beat him.

In the drive on the way home, my aioli had gathered at the bottom of the bag and had made the bread soggy and delicious. However, that also made eating the burger somewhat messy! Thankfully they give you serviettes at the van.

The burger was so big that bits of my chicken breasts would fall out and I had to eat them separately afterwards. I'm not sure what the marinade was, but it was goooood.

I really have nothing bad to say about this burger. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

The chips, however...soggy, greasy, salty and kind of tasted like plastic. Would be perfect if you were drunk.

Let's face it though; we really didn't need the chips because the burgers were so amazing and filling.

Get in and give this one a go, incase you never get the chance. :(