Adelaide’s in the midst of a delicious burger revival not seen since the 2010s golden age (RIP Pearl’s Diner and Burger Theory), long before the city’s sandwich surge. Most of these newcomers are defined by their American-style smashed patties and dedication to simple, local ingredients – in contrast to towering burgers piled high with “the lot”. And all of them blur the line between burger joint and wine bar, with minimalist, but stylish, fitouts and top-notch drink lists. Here are four new ones to try.
New arrival Jumbo (by the Pastel and Pinco Deli crews) specialises in Oklahoma smash burgers – a beef patty flattened onto the grill with wafer-thin onions on top, making for an extra juicy, crisp and caramelised burger. They’re the star of ex-Mary’s chef Jimmy Garside’s menu, led by the Jumbo burger and a cheeseburger on milk buns. You can also get your hands around a fried fish sandwich, a Nashville-style hot chicken burger with chilli honey, and a vego version with panko-crumbed mushroom. Plus, dessert like cherry sundaes, and breakfast like hotcakes and sausage and egg muffins. The space is more bar than burger joint, with an exposed ceiling, pink communal tables, and coloured tube lights that’ll switch from a warm glow during the day to fiery red when the venue opens at night. There’s also an impressive line-up of drinks, including local wines, American spirits, and cocktails like a mezcal Negroni and a rhubarb Gimlet.
The Good Gilbert crew is merging the American diner with the Australian wine bar at Good Burger. The signature Good Burger is a take on a classic cheeseburger featuring two smashed beef patties, cheese, pickles, onion and “good sauce”. The slightly fancier Daw Park Cheeseburger replaces pickles with cornichons, onion with shallots and regular cheese with raclette. A vegan number comes with a faux-meat patty from Buds Burger, peppers and fried potato. Ingredients are largely local (the beef is from Marino; chicken is from My Butcher) and come in a Martin’s potato bun. The venue nods to its vinous sibling through an inverted colour scheme, a jumble of wine-bar-aesthetic prints on the wall, a strong focus on service, and equal attention to drinks. Think spiked sodas, large-format wild-fermented ales, Pickleback Sours, and premium wines by the half-bottle.
Before he took on the role of head chef at Hentley Farm, Kyle Johns was the executive chef at the Louise and its casual bar 375, which quickly became a favourite for locals and visitors, not least for its beloved burgers. Mikes, which he opened in Tanunda late last year with his wife, chef Kayley Johns, builds on that rep with a line-up of locally focused burgers like smashed patty cheeseburgers (with grass-fed Aldos beef), a fish burger with fried King George whiting, a fried Ablesway chicken number, a slow-cooked beef brisket roll, and more. There’s also a peri-peri chicken burger and bar-style snacks like biltong, inspired by Kyle’s South African and Portuguese heritage. Plus, loaded fries, mash and gravy, and Barossa beers on tap.
We’d been hearing whispers about Belles Hot Chicken Adelaide ever since Leigh Street Wine Room hosted a pop-up for the Melbourne-born diner back in 2019. Five years on, it’s finally arrived, at this cosy corner spot in the city’s west end. The menu offers Belles’s signature fried chicken: tenders or wings prepped to your choice of heat and a side (fries, slaw, iceberg edge, potatoes and gravy or mac’n’cheese). Plus, chicken and waffles available for lunch on weekends. There are also sandwiches, including a Quinby’s hot honey number with tenders and slaw, which you can temper with a boozy slushie, spiked cooler (lemonade, peach iced tea and Arnold palmers) or Pirate Life beer.
