Parlour Burger, Sydney (25th November 2013)

Sydney has what I call food fads, short term phases of what the new 'in' food is in town that gets everyone talking and eating – first there were the dumplings, then the ramen joints, and let's not forget the yoghurt stores that were mushrooming EVERYWHERE (how is it even possible to have 3 of such stores on the same block on George St???) and these days, the new craze is burgers. Yep, you heard me right - BURGERS. Once a feature of fast food restaurants, the burger is taking Sydney by storm with several well-known chefs opening up burger businesses of late (think CHUR Burger and The Burger Shed) and now followed by The Morrison Bar & Oyster Room opening their very own burger bar, Parlour Burger.

To celebrate the launch, Parlour Burger was giving away a total of 1,000 burgers on its opening day (that's today!) from 12pm to 2pm, and again from 5pm to 7pm. Fellow food blogger Jugernauts very kindly shared the free burger offer link on the Sydney Food Bloggers Facebook group (which many Sydney food bloggers and foodies are a part of) last week - all you needed to do was to sign up for the offer on The Morrison Facebook page and shortly receive an email confirmation that entitles you to one free burger on launch day. I managed to snag an offer (score!) and there were still about 250 left after I signed up. You gotta be in quick before it’s all gone! Thanks Jugernauts for sharing :)

I headed over to Parlour Burger located a block away from my office about 11.45am for the launch event and there were at least 20 people ahead of me in the line leading into the venue, most like myself with a printed paper in hand (we needed to show the email confirmation in exchange for the burger). On the dot at noon, the staff at the bar sounded the hand bell signalling the start of the event. Eager patrons were let into the smallish venue in waves to collect their free burger – I managed to get in with the second wave just a little after 12pm. I headed straight for the bar where the staff were busy handing out burgers. “What is that??” asked one of the female bar staff, pointing to my printout which I attempted to hand over to her. When I told her what it was, she gave me a nonchalant wave of the hand saying it wasn’t necessary. Huh? No confirmation required?? It seemed to me the staff were giving out free burgers to anyone who rocked up to the bar without actually checking if he/she has an offer confirmation. This is going to get pretty ugly when the burgers run out and folks who DO have a confirmation get nothing. Seriously, what is the point of signing up for the offer when the organisers themselves do not adhere to the rules?

In line outside Parlour Burger for a free burger as part of their launch

Free burgers handed out at the bar - choice of either chicken or beef burger

I was really hoping Parlour Burger would be giving out their quirky The Black Widow burger (made with charcoal brioche bun, ground beef and extra hot sauce) but no such luck - diners were given a choice of either the chicken or beef burger that came ready prepared and wrapped in tin foil. I decided to go for the beef and with burger in hand went to find myself a seat; most folk collected their burgers and headed off. The decor of Parlour Burger was similar to that of an American diner with its high bar stools and tables except it had a more upmarket feel and looked sleek with the black and wood tones. The place was quite packed so I ended up sharing a high table with another solo diner. 

Inside Parlour Burger

The small burger bar filled with happy hungry customers :)

I was pleasantly surprised to find that we were given full-sized burgers; I was expecting the free burgers to be just a small sampler. My beef burger turned out to be The Original Morrison burger - fresh lettuce, tomato, gherkin, chipotle mayo and a fist size chunky beef patty cooked medium rare sandwiched between two soft buns. Tasted pretty good though I'm not sure if the pink middle would be a huge hit with diners - it was more towards the rare side and even though I normally have my steak medium rare, I would have preferred the beef patty a bit more cooked. The burger was a substantial serving and reasonably priced for the normal cost of $10.

Fun Times & Good Burgers

The Original Morrison Burger (with chipotle mayo) ($10)

Medium rare beef patty - brown on the outside, pink in the middle

The menu at Parlour Burger has been kept simple - $10 burgers (5 options to choose from) and a couple of sides including The Morrison famous Duck Fat Chips, Cabbage & Parmesan Slaw, Beer Battered Onion Rings and Deep Fried Pickles. Definitely coming back to try The Black Widow and Deep Fried Pickles, both of which sounds very interesting to me!

Parlour Burger menu

$10 burgers - choose from the five options available

I left the burger bar around 12.15pm and my god, the queue has now grown all the way around the block: 

Those of you who are coming for the 5pm session, make sure you come early to secure your free burger!