Food and drink blog

The joint has been given a bit of a spruce up, a large bench occupying the front of the room for communal dining and a decent sized bar from which Brad is able to single-handedly run ship. “I’ve been cooking Asian for four years,” he told me when I nipped in last week. “I wanted to do something different. Something simple. And who doesn’t love burgers?”

I hear you Brad. Certainly I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t love this one. Big, juicy, prime beef patties in 250g sizes with a range of toppings: melted manchego with caramelised onions; Japonesa style with teriyaki sauce and kewpie brand Japanese mayo; Suiza topped with Gruyère topped with crunchy rosti potatoes, all with a choice of fries, salad or both on the side.

It’s all stellar stuff, for a burger made with passion is a work of art in itself—and trust me, this is one gorgeous bit of beef—but typical of Brad’s inherent Aussie love of ingredients, it’s the burger bun at Bacoa that makes this performance complete. People forget, especially in a country where a burger quite often comes without a bun, that the bread is all part of the experience.

At Brad’s, it’s homemade of course, big and light and fluffy, with toasted sesame seeds on the top and a deep, wheaty flavour that wraps itself around the burger turning it from something good to something great. What can I say: get out there quick as can be and taste it for yourselves.

Bacoa; Colomines 2 (next to Mercat de Santa Caterina). www.wushu-restaurant.com