The Pub, Wellington, Homemade Cheeseburger - 6.5/10

120g Homemade Cheeseburger with aged Swiss cheese, caramelized onion, iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, fresh beetroot and fries - $10


The burger looked fresh with crunchy iceberg lettuce
 and a sesame seed bun that could have been from MacDonalds.
101 The Terrace has another potential victim, with The Pub the latest to try its luck.  The location has had a string of failed ventures including The Eating House and La Bella Italia.  However, the guys behind The Pub have a solid reputation and, perhaps, they can deliver something the previous two tenants weren't able to.

With a $10 and a $15 lunch menu, they are definitely offering a sharper pricing strategy.

The menu is made up of good, hearty staples, including the 120g Homemade Cheeseburger.  Which is what me and Mat were there for.

The Pub was packed so we had to perch at the bar.  We both ordered the burger. An added bonus was the burger came with fries.  Not bad for a tenner.  I also splashed out and ordered the standard Bundaberg Ginger Beer.



The bun was only very slightly toasted.
Cheese was nicely melted.
Service was excellent.  A waiter came over and let us know a table had freed up if we were interested.  We took it.

Burger arrived and looked tasty.  Wasn't large, but for lunch it was plenty.  Well supported by fries if you were hungry.  Inside was mayo, melted cheese, beetroot, lettuce, tomato and cucumber.  NO CARAMELISED ONION!!!!!  Nothing disappoints more than being offered and then not giving!

Flavourwise, the pattie had a great char to it and was pretty much pure beef.  It could have done with a bit more seasoning (thanks for picking that up Mat!!).  It [the pattie] was however, disproportionate in size to the burger and sat off-centre.  There was also only one tomato slice and a couple of bits of cucumber.  One key to a good burger is to be able to get a bit of everything in each bite.  This one was a bit more of a pot-luck, which was a bit disappointing.


Everything was off-centre.  It was almost half a burger.
The bun had a striking similarity to a Big Mac bun.  It was very lightly toasted, and buttered.  It did tend to crumble a bit on eating, making the burger slightly messy.  The contents were all off-centre (as you can see in the cross section), which didn't help things.Luckily the burger was small and I had cut it in half.

Apart from the char on the pattie, the burger lacked flavour.  Perhaps it needed the CARAMELISED ONION for sweetness?  Although the beetroot did give some of that.  Perhaps it needed tomato sauce?  Perhaps it needed gherkin instead of cucumber?  Although Mat liked the cucumber.  Maybe some mustard? Or any onion?

Now these are the basics for a burger.  So if you are delivering a basic burger at this price point, then you should perhaps include some of the above.  It would make a huge difference to the flavour.

To be fair, the price point was good (apart from holding back on the CARAMELISED ONION!!!).   They delivered on the homemade pattie - even if it was only 120gms.  However, you do get what you pay for.  I noticed the fries were budget offering and different from the ones you got when ordering a bowl of fries.  And the single slice of tomato and two bits of cucumber was probably a bit stingy!!

Overall, it was a good burger - not memorable in anyway.  Probably the char on the pattie was the best thing about it.  Aside from that there wasn't much to rave about.  In my mind (not Mats) it was a step up from the Colonial Cafe offering.  It filled the spot for lunch.  We cleaned up our plates.  We gave it a 6.5 out of ten.  Well worth a go!!

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