Burger Challenge at Burger Haus – Hobart, Tasmania

“Don’t believe the hype!” – Flavor Flav

I can hear the gasps of horror already! Surely not Hobart’s most recent and already much loved addition to the burger scene?! Sacrilege!!

Just like my woefully inadequate guttering has been in a perpetual state of flood over the last two weeks, my Facebook news feed has been subjected to a deluge of rapturous Burger Haus burger love!

“Awesome”, “Yummy”, “Fantastic”, “Delicious”, “Best in Hobart”… Just check out the reviews on their Facebook page and you’ll see what I mean. Of the first 20 reviews I scrolled through, only two people had the audacity to suggest that their meals were anything but the epitome of burger nirvana. Heretics!

On walking up the front steps of Burger Haus the tone of the cafe was immediately apparent. A mix of 80s hits and charcoal beef wafted out the front door to warmly greet our ears and nose. The interior is light and airy, with some fantastic 80s kitsch collectibles strategically scattered throughout, including the first working record player I’ve seen in years! Not 100% sure if it was actually connected to the speakers, but very cool nonetheless!

Duran Duran please Mr. DJ!!

Simple, yet warm

Retro light bulbs, faux grapes and some highly desirable ‘brown ware’ speakers

While the aesthetics were welcoming, the staff were not. We quickly worked out that you picked your own table (either indoors, including a window bar, or outdoors), but took a little longer to realise that no one was going to take our order and that we had to place it ourselves. Not an issue, but it’s always nice to have a friendly face let you know what the deal is in advance. Unfortunately the service didn’t improve as the meal went on. Lackadaisical, more concerned with their own conversations than the needs of their diners, generally very average.

We then settled in to peruse the menu. Wow…!! The double sided Burger Haus menu reads like Penthouse for gastronomes!! (Part 1Part 2)

Beef burgers, lamb burgers, chicken burgers, schnitzel burgers, scotch fillet burgers, salmon burgers, pork burgers, vegetarian burgers <take a breath!> wings, ribs, crepes, cakes, gourmet milkshakes…the list is endless and hits every single food button this little clown could possibly have!! How could we go wrong?

While I would normally go for something a little more exotic, in the interests of a fair comparison I decided to try The Vintage, including cheese, pickles and bacon as extras. Karen, on the other hand, decided to go a little bit more left field and ordered the Electric Blue, consisting of a beef patty, fig chutney, tomato relish, aioli, blue cheese(!), caramelised pear, rocket and red onion.

The Vintage, with a side serve of thick cut chips and aioli

While it looked quite pleasing to the eye, in the end The Vintage was such a let down. Perhaps after all the social hype there was a hint of ‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall’ in the mix, but I definitely expected better.

The patty should be the star of the show, yet in this case it got a whopping case of stage fright! Overcooked, dry, lacking seasoning. About the only thing in its favour was the acrid and smoky charcoal from the grill. The patty certainly wasn’t bad, and I guess some may like their beef done to death, but it was well short of the fantastic flavours and textures we recently experienced at The Winston and Tasman Quartermasters.

The best aspect of this burger had to be the bacon! I haven’t had better anywhere in Hobart. Crunchy, but not overly dry. Salty, and so very moreish! Forget Cleopatra’s milk bath, my vote is for the Burger Haus Bacon Bath!!

The salad was fresh, yet after paying extra for pickles I was pretty peeved to find that they were either infinitesimally small, or missing. I suspect the latter and the burger suffered for the lack.

The Electric Blue on pide

Overall Karen was pretty happy with her choice. When the ratio of blue cheese to pear to beef patty was just right the flavour combination was awesome, yet unfortunately the cheese seemed to have been applied inconsistently resulting in some mouthfuls that were overly funky, and yet others that were all beef. Her only other comment was that the choice of the long pide, instead of a round bun, meant that the ends of the pide contained only salad (as you can see in the photo above). All minor issues, but enough to take it from ‘great’ down to ‘good’.

Now it’s time for what can only be described as a genuine jaw dropping, smile inducing food moment. Well, drink moment might be more apt…because the chocolate milkshake I had together with my burger was the absolute BOMB!!

drool…

It is by far the best, the most chocolatey, the smoothest, the sweetest and the coolest milkshake I have EVER had!! And how sexy is that old skool paper straw?!

I’ll leave it John Travolta to sum it up (language warning):

Overall?

It was a good meal, but Flavor Flav would have a been a welcome third wheel at our table.

The menu is so extensive and diverse that I have to wonder whether its a case of ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’. While it would be a shame to cut the menu back, it may be in their best interest to consider doing so.

On the other hand, I can quite safely say that I’ll be back to try their crepes, their range of Serendipity ice creams (see photo below), perhaps another burger, and most definitely the Ferrero Rocher gourmet milkshake!!

Check out those ice cream flavours!!!

At $13 this burger is in white collar territory, but it doesn’t come anywhere near challenging top spot.

Taste – 3.5/5
Patty – 2/5
Bun – 4.5/5
Ingredients – 3/5
Condiments – 3/5
Presentation – 4/5
Stuffable* – Yes
Value – 3.5/5

Overall – 3/5

*Can you stuff it in your face without a knife and fork?

White Collar Burgers

1. The Winston – 5/5
2. Tasman Quartermasters – 4.5/5
3. Chrome – 4/5
4. Burger Haus – 3/5
5. Burger Got Soul – 2.5/5

Blue Collar Burgers

1. Red Jaffa – 4.5/5
2. Budgie Smugglers – 4.5/5
3. Argyle Take Away – 3.5/5
4. Atlantis Takeaway – 2.5/5

The Burger Haus Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

15 Comments

  1. Try it again Andrew. I had the “Haus” today and found it appealing. Especially with the Holm Oak Cab Sauv on offer for $8 a whopping glass. I can’t believe that only rank 7/10 in your White Collar list. Besides what other burger place do you know of that has a sign “Shizen Haus” directing clientele to the rest rooms?

    1. You’re joining the dots here for me Graham! ‘rockoyster’ is no longer a stranger 🙂

      I hadn’t noticed that sign during our visit, definitely extra points there!

  2. I had the pork burger at Burger Haus and it didn’t work at all. I have never disliked a burger so much. Sorry I can’t remember any details except I wouldn’t recommend it at all. Best things about BH are the deck on a sunny arvo, you can order a beer and the onion rings with aioli.

    1. Thanks for the feedback. I don’t like giving poor reviews, but you can only go by what you’re served on the day. Very keen to give them a second chance, just in case.

      You’re right about that deck. Sensational on a warm summer’s day! Wouldn’t mind trying the onion rings either.

  3. Interesting, I had suspected as much with this place. Haven’t tried here yet but the sheer size of the menu made me suspect that the quality and care for ingredients couldn’t be anywhere near what you see at TQ, as an example. I personally think Jack Greene suffers the same issue, at least with the relatively run of the mill cheeseburgers, and Burger Haus didn’t look like it has the amazing beer paddles and waterfront bar atmosphere to cover some of the weaknesses.

    1. While I obviously haven’t been to Jack Greene’s yet, I’m pretty sure you’re right about the atmosphere. Burger Haus is kind of cool, but there’s something about the ambience of a proper beer den that can’t be beaten!

      1. All I can say is that when you go to Jack Greene a tasting paddle is a nice option to have with a meal. Any 4 beers of your choice off the board, it’s probably a little less in volume than a pint so if you’re measuring quantity of alcohol it’s not as good as straight pints but given that they rotate all 16 beers on the board fortnightly I love them as a way to try all sorts of flavours alongside my burgers when I do go there.

        Ended up reading all the non-Burger Challenge posts last night and now I have a great desire to go try some of these places, fantastic blog and I’ll be a regular here I think.

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