Brother Burger Takes on Chapel Street
In the heart of Melbourne’s beloved, bustling Chapel Street, Marcelo Tummino is proud to open another Brother Burger and the Marvellous Brew: South Yarra location. This will be the restaurant’s second venue, making it more accessible to loyal customers who have been willing to travel all the way from Fitzroy for their famous burgers and independent craft beer.
The new location (560 Chapel Street) has a distinctive industrial-retro style, with rows of antique meat grinders lining the entire left wall of the restaurant sourced from a collector favoured by the guys from TV hit American Pickers. The atmosphere is chic, yet cosy, thanks to the comfortable red booths lining the front section of the restaurant, each with their own pendant lights. The friendly, inviting space is the perfect spot to relax with friends.
The staff were smiley, professional and extremely helpful. Matt, Georgia and AJ took superb care of us, answering all our questions and surprising us with a delectable array of food and drink to sample.
The menu of course has gluten free and vegetarian options, and a separate menu just for the craft beers and ciders!
First up were some BBQ wings that aren’t on the menu, but certainly should be! Marinated in herbs and spices from the kitchen, the chicken has that crunch you want on the outside, with succulent juiciness within (not a hint of dryness in sight!) oozing flavour right down to the bone. What set these wings apart is the fact that the BBQ sauce is balanced out by a fruity chutney that adds a lightness to the overall flavour.
Brother Burger’s menu features an assortment of unique burgers with fun, quirky names. We sampled the delicious Hot Stuff as well as the Fair Dinkum.
The Hot Stuff, as the name would suggest, has plenty of flavour with a bit of kick (courtesy of the jalapeños). Sporting a medium 100% wagyu beef patty, double bacon that gives a feel of decadence, and a mustard-mayo and chilli jam, flavours combine to make a burger that goes down so easily. While the jalapenos give some pop to the dish, the heat recedes quickly, sending you back for another exciting mouthful.
We asked our host, Matt, to bring us some craft brews he wanted to showcase. We first tried a fresh 6.0% chardonnay barrel aged apple cider from the Adelaide Hills called Bring Back the Funk by The Hills Cider Co, with that slight bitterness to offset the sweeter BBQ sauce and chilli jams throughout the meal. For those preferring a sweeter taste, with the zest and pop of every true sparkling drink, the softer 4.9% pear cider by Napoleone and Co calls to you all the way from Coldstream, Victoria.
The Fair Dinkum was a real highlight for us. The bun, scattered with wholesome seeds, tastes too good to be gluten free, but it is! Major tick in the box for Brother Burger. Bacon and free-range eggs, combined with the cosy booths, provide us with the comfort of home, as well as giving us an excuse to come back and eat burgers for breakfast (like we need one). Biting into the egg produces a sauce of its own, not to mention the combination of BBQ sauce and mustard-mayo that balances all the flavours out beautifully. Sparsely scattered pickles add a variety of flavour that gives this burger many layers, making it quite the experience.
The gluten free dishes keep coming! The beautiful crunch of the onion rings juxtaposed with the softness of the flavoursome onion creates the perfect balance of flavours—not too much onion, not too much batter. These are even better than onion rings I’ve tasted in America.
The French fries at Brother Burger are lightly salted with that trusty golden crunch. We enjoyed a range of house sauces, starting with the authentic taste of the blue cheese for serious cheese lovers (or people who are feeling seriously adventurous!), the mustard-mayo AKA the crowd-pleaser, and ending on a spicy note with chilli jam.
The rear of the restaurant sports mirrors to open up the space where there is no natural light. Above the clean, open kitchen is a neon ‘hamburgers’ sign imported all the way from Boston which adds to the retro diner feel of the place. Brother Burger and the Marvellous Brew is a great combination of new and old, feeling fresh while connecting you to a vibrant culinary past.
