As the gentrification of the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne rapidly expands, it was only a matter of time before people saw value and opportunity in Preston. Located only 9kms north of Melbourne with a large Macedonian and Asian population, 3 locals noticed a lack of a decent burger so decided to roll up their sleeves and fill a niche. With a sleek interior, consisting of plenty of concrete, bricks and dark green tiles, we grabbed a stool at one of the tables and considered our burger options. With everything sourced locally and all sauces and pickles made in house, it all sounded appealing but we settled on the burger named after their owner. ‘The Chew” came with a 190g Wagyu patty, cos lettuce, tomato, pickle, mustard, aioli and cheddar cheese between a brioche bun.

“What a pleasant surprise to be served a burger on a white plate, as opposed to a plank of wood that’s so prevalent at the moment. The slightly larger than standard patty was absolutely ideal; cooked to a perfect medium, pink and juicy in the middle, but not dripping wet, managing to trap in all the flavour. The crisp bite from the lettuce, tomato and pickle complimented it well without distracting me and the creaminess of the cheese and aioli rounded out the great flavours. Surprisingly my favourite part was the bun, that appeared to just be a standard sesame seed bun, turned out to be a perfectly toasted brioche bun with plenty of substance to remain intact right until the end. On a side note, be prepared to yell, as this place filled up it got really loud with all the voices and noises bouncing off all the hard surfaces.”

“With limited seating available, but great customer service and very catchy tunes to shake your head to while you wait for your burger, this little Northern suburbs shop has shot to notoriety in less than three months since opening. The menu basically consists of just burgers and making a decision is hard (I recommend flipping a coin to decide). The patty was beautifully pink in the middle covered with melted cheddar cheese and complemented by my favourite combo of crunchy pickle and mustard. The bun was your typical sweet brioche bun with no surprises and chips were good too.”

“This was a very decent burger. It basically sets the standard of how burgers should be made. It was hard to fault really. Everything was balanced and there was plenty of sweetness and saltiness. The only thing I’d say is that there wasn’t any particular ownable factor to the burger. But maybe it didn’t need one. It is was a classic, done well. I really liked it. Shame it’s not closer to home.”

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