When we first got wind of Ribs & Burgers we of course did a little Google search to see what they’re all about. What we uncovered is the location of their 3 venues: Neutral Bay and Star City Casino in Sydney and, one closer to home in Northcote Plaza. Surrounded by your shopping centre regulars like a post office, supermarket and takeaways, this smart, well-established restaurant seems oddly out of place. With a crazy passion for all things meat this new eatery is dressed head to toe in its Butcher’s Best. All staff wear blue and white aprons, pickles and sauces sit upon the shelves and an open kitchen all give patrons the idea that Burgers & Ribs are all about serving up some quality chow. So when they say 100% pure beef patties they mean it: no binding agents, no salt, no flavours, just beef. Obviously specialising in burgers and ribs they also offer other selections like chicken breast and salads (but why would you bother with those?). After a few minutes trying to work out which burger to order, the chef recommended the Wagyu burger that came on a kaiser-like bun with a 225g Wagyu beef pattie topped with sliced tomato, Spanish onion, pickles, onion rings, 1000 Island and BBQ sauce.

“This burger for me went over the top and unnecessarily doubled up on nearly everything: 2 types of sauces that clashed, 2 types of onion and double the amount of bread. The beef was cooked to an ideal medium with a healthy crust of char providing plenty of flavour when tasted on its own. However, it was completely lost amongst the sweetness of the BBQ and 1,000 Island-ish sauces, the crispyness of the lettuce, onion rings and spanish onions. The bun was huge and left me feeling completely stuffed by the end of it and left me desperately needing a nap. Should I visit again I would like to try one of their more simple and traditional burgers on offer.”

“The fondest memory I have of this burger is of that awesome thick, char grilled pattie. It really set a great tone for what the rest of the burger was going to taste like. In fact, the pattie tasted like it had been grilled on the same part of the grill that the ribs were cooked on. Although you got alot of the smokey grill flavour, the 1000 Island sauce added a great freshness to it all. I do believe there was a little too much Kaiser bun here and not enough off that awesome meat. The onion rings and chips were good, and had a great amount of crunch in each bite.”

“I really thought I would love this animal. I watched as I saw other burgers and ribs coming out and they looked irresistible. But, with my first bite all I could taste was disappointment. That traditional charcoal grill flavour crust was the best part of the pattie. But, there was just so much going on. I almost think if there were a softer bun and a lot less ingredients (take out the tomato, lettuce, onion and even the onion rings) it would’ve been a great burger. Seriously, just simplify this bad boy and you’d be on a winner. I’d be back, but purely to dabble in other meaty goodness.”

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