The burger craze has well and truly taken Melbourne by storm. All over the internet there are lists being published with the best burgers in town, and almost always Tuckshop Takeaway features on these lists. It was one Saturday, when we were super hungry after a parkrun, that we decided it was about time that we went to find out what all the hype was about.
Located on the corner of Hawthorn and Glen Eira Rds in Caulfield, Tuck Shop Takeaway is a tiny little corner shop, reminiscent of an old school canteen. It is decked out with all the typical features of a primary school, including a drinking fountain and a door apparently leading to the Principal’s office which I didn’t venture through, because that’s for the naughty kids.
The premises is tiny, and as the name suggests is much more suited for takeaways, but we decided to buck the trend and eat in. We were there at about 3pm, and yet it was still packed and there was a line for the take away orders. This place was clearly popular. Our orders took about 15 minutes to arrive, and we had to push our way onto a table. Like the stereotypical school canteen, the apparent cool kids had hogged about seven seats between four of them, which was clearly rude given how busy the place was. I don’t think they were too impressed at having two of their unused seats taken away from them, but tough.
The menu at the Tuckshop is... concise. It consists of two burgers, a handful of jaffles, chips and a few milkshakes. This didn’t phase me too much though, I’m all about quality over quantity. We ordered one of the burgers each and some chips to share. The other half also jumped on the Nutella craze and got a Nutella milkshake.
Obviously I got the veggie burger, very maturely named the Veggie Wedgie. This was a very unique veggie patty with beetroot, lentils and brown rice. I was quite impressed with this component of the burger. These were flavours I hadn’t experienced together before and they worked together well. The rice and lentils provided the right texture, and the beetroot added an element of sweetness without being too overpowering. Unfortunately none of the other ingredients offered anything spectacular. There was lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, American cheese and special Tuckshop sauce (which as far as I could tell was just mayo and tomato sauce mixed together). The inclusion of the pickles was nice as these are rarely on veggie burgers, but nothing else really shone. The bun was pretty good, but again, nothing outstanding.
The other half got the other burger on the menu, the Minor burger. The patty here was a beef patty that was cooked pink in the middle. As a vegetarian this freaks me out a bit, but I’ve been told that this is how it tastes best. All the other ingredients of the Minor was the same as the Veggie Wedgie. Unfortunately the other half wasn’t very impressed with his burger either. He went as far as to say it was just above a McDonalds burger in taste. Disappointing really.
The chips on the other hand were quite good. Boasting of being hand cut and triple cooked, they really were a step up on regular chips. They were cooked to a crisp but still soft inside.
Overall, our experience at Tuckshop Takeaway was a little underwhelming. Having read so many good things on the interwebs, perhaps I had set my expectations too high, but given the great burgers that are available these days, I don’t think I was out of my rights to do this. Would I go back? Probably not. After all, Grill’d does amazing burgers and chips, and you don’t usually have to fight for a spot at a table.
Located on the corner of Hawthorn and Glen Eira Rds in Caulfield, Tuck Shop Takeaway is a tiny little corner shop, reminiscent of an old school canteen. It is decked out with all the typical features of a primary school, including a drinking fountain and a door apparently leading to the Principal’s office which I didn’t venture through, because that’s for the naughty kids.
The premises is tiny, and as the name suggests is much more suited for takeaways, but we decided to buck the trend and eat in. We were there at about 3pm, and yet it was still packed and there was a line for the take away orders. This place was clearly popular. Our orders took about 15 minutes to arrive, and we had to push our way onto a table. Like the stereotypical school canteen, the apparent cool kids had hogged about seven seats between four of them, which was clearly rude given how busy the place was. I don’t think they were too impressed at having two of their unused seats taken away from them, but tough.
The menu at the Tuckshop is... concise. It consists of two burgers, a handful of jaffles, chips and a few milkshakes. This didn’t phase me too much though, I’m all about quality over quantity. We ordered one of the burgers each and some chips to share. The other half also jumped on the Nutella craze and got a Nutella milkshake.
Obviously I got the veggie burger, very maturely named the Veggie Wedgie. This was a very unique veggie patty with beetroot, lentils and brown rice. I was quite impressed with this component of the burger. These were flavours I hadn’t experienced together before and they worked together well. The rice and lentils provided the right texture, and the beetroot added an element of sweetness without being too overpowering. Unfortunately none of the other ingredients offered anything spectacular. There was lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, American cheese and special Tuckshop sauce (which as far as I could tell was just mayo and tomato sauce mixed together). The inclusion of the pickles was nice as these are rarely on veggie burgers, but nothing else really shone. The bun was pretty good, but again, nothing outstanding.
The other half got the other burger on the menu, the Minor burger. The patty here was a beef patty that was cooked pink in the middle. As a vegetarian this freaks me out a bit, but I’ve been told that this is how it tastes best. All the other ingredients of the Minor was the same as the Veggie Wedgie. Unfortunately the other half wasn’t very impressed with his burger either. He went as far as to say it was just above a McDonalds burger in taste. Disappointing really.
The chips on the other hand were quite good. Boasting of being hand cut and triple cooked, they really were a step up on regular chips. They were cooked to a crisp but still soft inside.
Overall, our experience at Tuckshop Takeaway was a little underwhelming. Having read so many good things on the interwebs, perhaps I had set my expectations too high, but given the great burgers that are available these days, I don’t think I was out of my rights to do this. Would I go back? Probably not. After all, Grill’d does amazing burgers and chips, and you don’t usually have to fight for a spot at a table.
I have been wanting to go to this place for ages! It's great to see a review of the veggie burger - looks like I should moderate my expectations.
ReplyDeleteDon't moderate your expectations Cindy, just try it for yourself and not let others opinions get in the way.
DeletePerhaps stick to Grill'd then if that's your level of class.... frozen food mass produced by kids. At least you can get a table... Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteGrill'd do great burgers, I have never had a bad experience there. Do you run this place? clearly can't deal with any criticism!!!
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