Burgers and healthy don’t often appear in the same sentence. Unless you’re eating at Grill’d, of course, which ‘specialises in healthy burgers’. I’m not convinced that their burgers – which are huge – are healthier than those at McDonalds or Hungry Jacks, but no one eats a burger to be healthy, right?
The wooden, exposed brick interior with hanging filament lights certainly gave the impression of being a more gourmet establishment that’s more likely to use quality ingredients, and hence, healthier, though.
The window sill opening into their kitchen is lined with paper figurines.
D goes for the Almighty ($13.50) with grilled grass fed lean beef, tasty cheese, crispy trim bacon, free range egg, a couple of slices of beetroot with salad, relish & herbed mayo.
D likes to orders eggs on his burgers, so for the longest time I had confused Grill’d with with our adventures at Schnitz. He enjoyed the burger, with no complaints other than the juicy beetroot causing the burger to bleed.
I get the Summer Sunset ($12.50) with grilled grass fed lean beef, avocado, crispy trim bacon, golden pineapple, salad, relish & herbed mayo.
With my unrelenting sweet tooth, I love pineapple in my burgers. And here, the pineapple gave a tantalising juicy sweetness to the melt-in-your mouth beef patty and crisp lettuce. Juicy means messy, but it was worth it!
On a second visit, D tries a different meat with the ‘Baa Baa’ Burger ($13.50) with grilled grass fed lean lamb, avocado, tasty cheese, salad, relish & herbed mayo.
I’m not a big fan of intensely gamey of lamb, but to D’s disappointment, the lamb was not identifiable and he could’ve been fooled into thinking he was eating a (decent) beef burger again.
I’d chosen the most tasty sounding burger with the Summer Sunset, so I had an awful time choosing a burger on our second visit. I ended up with three sliders (3 for $15.00).
First up is the Grilled Chicken Breast & Asian Slaw with Fresh Mint, Coriander & Roasted Peanuts. This felt like an attempt at something bánh mì thit inspired, but it wasn’t too successful. The chicken lacked flavour, while the salad was overly dehydrated and the bread to filling ratio was too high, leaving each bite far more doughy than pleasant. With the burgers, the bun was the vehicle for carrying the filling, but not here.
Next up is the Grilled Chicken Breast with Pomegranate & Mild Wasabi Slaw. The doughy bread was an issue with all three sliders, so that aside, I enjoyed the wasabi mayo – it added a pleasant kick and moisture to the rather dry salad and bland chicken breast.
Finally, the Grass Fed Lean Beef with Pomegranate & Mild Wasabi Slaw was easily the best of the three sliders. The beef had a delicious smoky, meaty flavour that paired well with the wasabi slaw.
To go with our burgers, we had the Chips Share Plate ($13.00) with potato, sweet potato & zucchini chips and sweet chilli mayo, herbed mayo & hot chilli mayo.
The fluffy potato innards were crispy on the outside and seasoned with rosemary. I’m still not sure I like rosemary, even after repeated exposure, so I’m settling with ‘like in super moderation’. The sweet potato fries were a bit limp as expected, while the zucchini fries were surprisingly like the tempura’d vegetables you get in Japanese restaurants. We didn’t care much for the dips, though.
Every customer receives a Local Matters token. Through the Local Matters program each Grill’d restaurant donates $500.00 monthly to three local community groups split $300.00 / $100.00 / $100.00.
Customers vote for their favourite by placing a token into a Local Matters jar.
While not necessarily ‘healthy’ burgers, it’s tastiness that matters and Grill’d sure do some pretty tasty burgers!
Grill’d is at Wollongong Central Shopping Centre, GD W125/200 Crown St, Wollongong NSW 2500.