A couple of years ago, The Warradale underwent extensive renovations that added three new bars, a bistro and a bottle shop. It then went on to win three awards in 2013 through the Australian Hotels Association (AHA). A quick glance of the bistro menu shows plenty of variety.  There are tapas dishes, oysters, pizzas, steaks, burgers, salads, desserts and main dishes, so essentially there’s something for everyone.

The most recent renovation has created a funky stylish venue. The use of black and timber is quite prominent in the bistro area, and the floor to ceiling windows maximise the amount of natural light that flows through. There is plenty of seating wherever you look, whether it’s inside or in one of the many outdoor areas.

For lunch, I had the Prime Beef Burger. At the time of ordering, I was handed a buzzer and told to pick up my meal at the kitchen counter area when my meal was ready. It was a good 15 minutes later when my meal was ready. As I picked up my meal, I was told by one of the kitchen staff that this specific order had requested the beef patty to be cooked all the way through. It my buzzer and order, but not my request.

Presentation-wise, the burger looked fairly average. The picture you see below is the good side of the burger. The beef patty had a nice thickness and was the same diameter as the bun. As expected, the meat was over cooked and not surprisingly, was very dry.

The strips of bacon were fried to an inch of their lives and were really crunchy, just like the Americans like it. The tomato slices were fresh and the lettuce was crisp. I could taste what appeared to be a garlic aioli which wasn’t too bad but there wasn’t enough of it. The bun was nice and soft, and firm enough to hold all the ingredients.

The staff were friendly and the service was average. The atmosphere was very laid back and the pricing is higher than average. The cost of the burger was $21 which is more than I would normally pay. If I’m going to pay more than $20 for a burger, it had better be bigger than my appetite, which it wasn’t. Having said that, I though the burger was average in both presentation and taste.

WHERE: 234 Diagonal Rd, Warradale