Hell’s Kitchen Bar & Grill
202 Lygon Street Brunswick East, Brunswick
03 8592 4944
American, Italian, Mediterranean, Modern European, Salad
$$
Food
- Hell’S Heart Stopper Burger
- Reuben Burger
- Lamb, Pork & Chicken Skewers
The Good
The Hell’s Heart Stopper Burger was an astonishing sight. A monstrous tower of beef, bacon, and cheese sandwiched between the lightly toasted brioche bun. Grilled on charcoal to a medium, the two perfectly cooked beef patties were juicy and exceptionally flavourful. The slight charring on the outer provided extra flavour and a nice crunch to the still-pink protein. Sandwiching each patty were two smokey, meaty pieces of bacon. Being the bacon eye, each piece was a meaty experience with little fat.
All this was held together by two slices of American and two Cheddar cheeses. The flavourful combination of the cheeses, along with a generous amount of Hell’s sauce – a house made, smokey barbecue sauce, provided great depth in flavour and loads of sweetness. A perfect addition to the already flavourful ingredients.
However, the sheer size of the burger made it super difficult to chomp down all in one bite. Being the uncivilised penguin that I am, I attempted to chomp down on it anyway…
The Reuben Burger was equally enjoyable despite being less outrageously huge. The same beautifully prepared and spices beef patty was found within, only this time with more American inspired flavours like sauerkraut and mustard. The zing of the mustard and tangyness of the sauerkraut was well complemented by the slice of melted cheese. Delicious.
Breaking up the burgers, we opted to try their Trio of Skewers which came highly recommended by restaurant manager Evan. We weren’t let down one bit to say the least. The meats were once again cooked on their charcoal grill, which provided an added depth in flavour to the already tasty meats. Our skewers were succulent and tender, with the protein well marinated and bursting with flavour and the most notable being the lamb, which inherited a hint mint within.
Wrapping the meat in the toasted pita, piling on the salad and dousing it in the house made onion dip, made for an exceptionally enticing kebab of sorts. The onion dip, which closely resembles a traditional tzatziki, deserves a special mention as the flavour and the texture was simply phenomenal and was one of the best yoghurt based dips I’ve had.
The Mediocre
The chips here were rather unspectacular when compared to their burgers. While I certainly have no complaints as such as there was nothing inherently wrong with them, I certainly don’t have many praises for them either.
The Hell’s sauce is certainly geared towards a sweeter palate, and personally, given its liberal application, I found it a tad too sweet for my taste. The Hell’s Heart Stopper Burger would’ve benefitted from a tad less sauce, which would allow the ingredients within to shine even more.
The Bad
Nothing.
The Verdict
A messy burger is always a good burger, and the Hell’s Heart Stopper Burger was undoubtedly the messiest, biggest burger I’ve ever got my flippers on.
The burgers here definitely stole the show, and it’s no surprise that they are the most popular menu items at Hell’s Kitchen.
Along with a beautiful and elegant fit-out, and a plethora of grilled meats and steaks, Hell’s Kitchen not only serves up quality burgers, but also other delicious meaty eats as well.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
Sure. It was definitely a delicious and humongous feed and their charcoal grill is undoubtedly a winner in my books.
I’d like to thank Hell’s Kitchen for inviting us to sample their menu.