Barton bringing in the burger business

Posted on 28 February, 2020

Barton is synonymous with many B words. Brash, busy, bureaucratic. But this week Barton also became home to burgers. Really beautiful burgers. Meet Burger Craft.

Burger Craft is hard to miss.

Taking up the sunny stretch on National Circuit next to Hideout—the ridiculously popular coffee joint—Burger Craft has plenty of casual bench seating outside with an open, airy, casual feel inside.

A bar above breeze blocks welcomes you as you enter.

To your left is a menu of the 20 craft beers they sell and in front is the burger menu—featuring six signature burgers which cross from sizzling beef, to chicken, to fish and vegan. But we will get to that in a minute.

Run by two experienced chefs, Craig Wade and Alex Wurfel (both of whom have 15 years of experience working in kitchens including the nearby Vincent and Maple and Clove), Burger Craft is taking the pressure down a notch in the rather uptight precinct.

Indeed, it is all about large tables, loud conversation and laughter, juicy burgers, cold beer, music and shaking off the demands of the working day.

Only having opened this week, there were several busy tables at lunch when we visited, and with opening hours geared to long lunches and after-work drinks, Burger Craft it is pitching itself as a casual place to catch up with colleagues or friends. Or to let one’s hair down after filing a last-minute Ministerial briefing perhaps.

Consider it the Cheers of the Parliamentary Triangle, but with better food and cooler décor.

So, about the food.

We will admit to having sampled quite a few burgers in Canberra of late. But these really do stand up to the competition.

Unlike franchise burgers, Burger Craft burgers have been designed by the two head chefs, and it shows.

The Craft Burger

The Craft Burger is grass-fed Australian beef, with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup and Craft sauce.

A slight variation is the Classic Cheese, which features chargrilled grass-fed Australian beef, cheese, pickles, onion, mayo, mustard and ketchup.

Southern Chicken is southern-fried free-range organic chicken breast with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo and Craft sauce.

The Grilled Chicken is chargrilled free-range, organic chicken breast with chargrilled bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sriracha mayo and Craft sauce.

The Craft Catch is house-crumbed sustainably-caught Blue Grenadier with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and Craft tartare sauce.

Finally, the Craft Vegan contains a plant-based vegan pattie with vegan cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, vegan mayo with mustard and ketchup. While all the burgers are wedged between two milk buns, the vegan version is on wholemeal.

All of the burgers arrive piled high with ingredients and looking ready for a photoshoot.

The Craft Catch

The fish is an inch thick—beautifully succulent and encased in golden crumb.

The beef is Angus, hormone-free and devoid of fillers, while the chicken is crispy without feeling greasy—the benefit of being cooked on a grill rather than a hot plate.

Of course, no burger is complete without chippies on the side. Choose between small or large servings of slim potato fries or chunky sweet potato fries. Like the burgers, the chips are fresh, house-made, and superior.

But the big surprise of our visit is taking a bite of the vegan burger. My first thoughts upon chomping into that juicy red-tinged pattie (thanks beetroot) was: “this tastes like meat and it’s bloody delicious”.

The Craft Vegan

I am not going to lie, despite being a vegetarian for more than 20 years, I kinda liked it. In fact, I ate the whole thing. It was truly delicious, yet allowed me to feel utterly virtuous and healthy at the same time. Winning.

Burger Craft doesn’t serve coffee on account of being located in a suburb which surely has more cafes per head of population than anywhere else in Canberra.

But it does have a wine list.

You can pull up, make an order and stay for hours, or request takeaway and be back at your desk in a jiffy.

With all burgers priced between $12.50 (for the Classic Cheese) and $15.90 for the Craft Vegan and Grilled Chicken, it also presents value for money for those who find a sandwich or sushi just doesn’t cut it in terms of filling you up at lunch.

The place is huge—with seating for 90 inside and 50 outside. A giant awning is going up next week to ensure that getting out of the office means having access to fresh air without too much sun or rain.

We have no doubt the place is going to be packed.

the essentials

What: Burger Craft
Where: 6 National Circuit Barton
Hours: Monday 11am-3pm, Tues-Wed 11am-7pm, Thurs-Fri 11am-9pm
Instagram: @burgercraftcanberra