Ribs and Burgers

1/862 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

As the name suggests, Ribs and Burgers is a nationwide restaurant specializing in Ribs and Burgers. They have four locations in Victoria alone and their website claims to be the best burger restaurant in Australia. 

 Old school cheese

Although I would not call myself a "purist" when it comes to burgers, I definitely enjoy something basic over one of those burgers that are so packed that eating them becomes a challenge. The old school cheese burger is a shining example of one of these more basic burgers, with an amazing char-grilled beef patty topped with cheese, onion, pickles and sauces.

Small rack of ribs

In contrast to the old school cheese burger, which had an lovely char-grilled flavour and aroma, the ribs were a slight letdown. Although the ribs were tender with a slight bite to them, the sauce they used, which they describe as their "signature bbq basting" was actually quite weak and not at all what I expected.

The food at Ribs and Burgers was definitely of a higher quality than I had expected. Even when I visit more established and well known burger restaurants I often find myself disappointed with the offerings, so I was happy with how the old school cheese burger at Ribs and Burgers turned out. If for nothing else, I would visit them again just for the burger.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

Rococo

797 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

First launched in 2005, Rococo brings both classic and contemporary Italian flavours to the table and with two locations, St Kilda and Hawthorn, they are a great place to visit for some modern Italian flavours. When travelling down Hawthorn's Glenferrie Road, it is difficult to miss Rococo. The large signage accompanied by the even larger restaurant will definitely catch your attention.

Since we were not very hungry, we chose to order one pasta dish and one pizza dish to share between the three of us. Although the pizza was enjoyable, with a good balance of flavours within the toppings and a slight char on the crust, I would have to say that we enjoyed the pasta at Rococo a lot more. The reason we enjoyed the pasta more than the pizza was not because of anything incredibly special, rather it was the lack of mistakes that a lot of other large Italian restaurants often make. This includes aspects such as how the pasta is cooked, to the ratio of ingredients and sauce to the pasta.

Although Rococo would not be my first choice if I were looking for an authentic Italian style meal, they would definitely be my choice for a solid meal with Italian flavours, in a relaxed and spacious environment.

Food Rating 8.5/10

Overall Rating 8/10

Fonda

651 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

Fonda is a Mexican restaurant with many branches all over Melbourne. It was started in 2011 by two friends, Tim McDonald and Dave Youl, with a vision to develop Mexican street food dishes designed to share using Australian produce, Fonda has grown into one of the biggest names of Mexican food in Melbourne, with 7 restaurants currently open.

Fonda

D.I.Y Tostada board

Charred corn

Various tacos

Since we had already eaten a small dinner before we visited Fonda we decided to share some of their smaller, but more well known dishes. 

The charred corn, which is a signature of Mexican street food was not everything that I had hoped it would be. Although the dish itself was not terrible, there was nothing special that made it stand out from the other Mexican restaurants that I have visited. 

Another slight disappointment was the tacos that we had ordered. While the filling in the tacos were flavourful and balanced, trying to eat them ended up being incredibly messy, as the tortillas were soggy and fell apart in our hands. 

Although the dishes each had some issues with their execution, the exciting flavours of  Mexican cuisine were all there. We enjoyed the mix and match sharing style of the food shown especially in the D.I.Y tostada board, which was a highlight of the meal. Overall I would say that although we were slightly disappointed by Fonda this time around, I would definitely consider visiting them again.

Food Rating 6.5/10

Overall Rating 6.5/10

Le Clec

727 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

Le Clec is a small cafe located in the middle of the bustling Glenferrie Road. They offer a variety of breakfast and lunch items on their menu, which are inspired by both modern French and Asian influences, as well as an extensive coffee and drinks list, with coffee by Five Senses.

 Beautiful courtyard

 Cold drip coffee

Cold drip is one of my favourite things in the world, it allows me to enjoy the flavour of the coffee I love, without having to feel unwell due to too much milk consumption. Although I love cold drip coffees in general, the cold drip at Le Clec is one of my favourite.

 LFC (Le Clec Fried Chicken)

My friend ordered the fried chicken which he enjoyed thoroughly. The chicken was cooked well with a nicely fried outer coating and tender chicken, which was complemented by the freshness of the apple slaw.

BBQ Ocean Trout Special

We were recommended the ocean trout special by a lovely staff member. Although the trout was just a tad overcooked, the dish was still very good. The fish on the dish had some amazing accompaniments, such as the crispy mozzarella-stuffed hash browns and possibly the best cooked poached eggs that I have ever seen.

It is not often that I find a cafe that I am itching to visit again, however my visit Le Clec left me wanting more. I will definitely be visiting Le Clec again and I would recommend the same for anybody else.

We were invited by and dined courtesy of Le Clec.

Food Rating 9/10

Overall Rating 9.5/10

Huxtaburger

681 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

Ever since Huxtaburger came to Melbourne, it has been the go to place for good quality burgers without having to spend a fortune. With five outlets in Melbourne, many of my friends and colleagues regularly recommend a visit to Huxtaburger when I talk about the different burger options in Melbourne.

Clean and bright interior

 Strawberry milkshake

 The Theo

The Theo is a burger containing double grass fed beef patties, double cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce, mustard, mayo, lettuce and pickles. The balance of the flavours is done quite well, especially considering the different sauces that are used and the beef patties are juicy and flavourful. However, since the sauces are placed on the bottom and the double patties are quite juicy, the bottom of the bun disintegrated while I was eating it. 

Chips

Although the structural integrity of my burger was questionable, the flavour and composition of the burger was excellent. With that in mind, I would definitely visit Huxtaburger again, but I would most likely choose a smaller burger, such as the classic "HuxtaBurger".

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 7/10

Bewon

652 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

Although Hawthorn, specifically Glenferrie Road, is known as an amazing and diverse area in regards to the culinary scene, it is definitely lacking in certain areas. In a quest to sate our cravings for Korean cuisine, we stumbled upon Bewon, one of only a few Korean restaurants in the area.

Dumplings

Potato korokke

For the entrees we ordered some fried dumplings and potato korokke. Unfortunately neither of the dishes we ordered were exceptional. The dumplings were somewhat bland and the skin was chewy, while the flavour of the potato korokke was completely overpowered by the huge amount of sauce added on top. The only redeeming quality was the texture of the potato korokke which had a crispy coating and smooth center.

Beef bulgogi stew

Ddeokbokki

Although the mains were significant better than the entrees, they still suffered from of the same same problems. Both of the dishes were cooked well, but were bland and lacked any real flavour behind it, which was quite strange, as Korean cuisine is generally known for its intense flavours.

The food served at Bewon was quite disappointing and although Korean cuisine has many different styles and flavours, bland is not a word I should ever think about when describing Korean cuisine. With so many amazing Korean restaurants around Melbourne, I will definitely travel the extra distance when looking for my next Korean fix.

Food Rating 5.5/10

Overall Rating 5.5/10

Hakata Gensuke Hawthorn

4/860 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

As a person that loves ramen, I have tried Hakata Gensuke on multiple occasions. However, the Hakata Gensuke branch in Hawthorn offers the special aka tonkotsu, which incorporates the flavour of spicy cod roe in the soup, which I was very interested in trying.

Chicken karaage

Gyoza

The side dishes on offer were of the same high quality that you would find at any other Hakata Gensuke restaurant in Melbourne.

Original tonkotsu

Aka tonkotsu

I ordered the aka tonkotsu, which was a lot lighter in colour than I expected after seeing the photos and menu. Although it was quite light, the distinct flavour of the spicy cod roe shone through and was a dimension of flavour that I appreciated. Other than the flavour of the broth, the noodles were cooked exactly as I requested it.

I would definitely recommend going to the Hawthorn branch of Hakata Gensuke to try the aka tonkotsu ramen if you are a lover of ramen. The flavour profile is quite a bit different from any others I have had in Melbourne.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

El Churro Cafe - Spanish Doughnuts

710 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

Churros have been a popular snack in Australia for quite some time, which has seen many restaurants serve churros and churro specialty pop up. Spanish Doughnuts is one example of these stores. With small take-away stores in both Flinders Street Station and Southern Cross Station, they are already a well known name to Melbournian commuters.

Hawthorn's Glenferrie Road

Non-alcoholic sangria $5.95

Iced chocolate $6.95

3 original churros $8.95

El Churro Cafe serves a variety of different churros, from the original churros, to filled churros as well as churros with toppings. We chose to order a few of the original churros, which could be described as lovely, crispy fried sticks of dough coated with a generous amount of cinnamon sugar.

Spanish chorizo $8.95

The Spanish chorizo hot dog was bursting with flavour from both the chorizo and the toppings. It was a lot more exciting than a normal hot dog but I wish I could have just ordered a big serving of the savoury churros that were served with the dish, as they were delightful.

Although both the store and the service was a bit dull, we enjoyed the food served. Not only was the food inexpensive, but it was also the type of food that was great for sharing and catching up with friends, which was exactly what we were doing.

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 7/10

Pepper Lunch

644 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

Pepper Lunch is a DIY restaurant chain that has been spreading since its creation in 1994 by chef Kunio Ichinose. With over 200 stores spread throughout Asia, they attract customers with their philosophy of providing fast and affordable, yet quality steak. As well as the ability for customers to cook the dishes themselves with their "Sizzling it your way" motto.

Pepper Lunch graciously invited us to their blogger event for the launch of their winter menu. I had some preconceptions coming into the event as I have dined at the CBD branch of Pepper Lunch before with some mixed experiences, however I was pleasantly surprised by Hawthorn store.

Hawthorn's Glenferrie Road

Pepper Lunch

Agedashi tofu

We were offered a complimentary agedashi tofu to start off the night. Although the dish lacked a couple of elements from the traditional style of agedashi tofu, it was still quite nice. The lack of the tentsuyu broth and grated daikon from the traditional dish meant that the block of tofu managed to stay crispy on the outside while the sauce drizzled on top gave it a slightly sweet and salty finish.

Onion rings

Sweet potato chips

We ordered the onion rings and sweet potato chips as the sides. The onion rings were crispy and well seasoned with a good ring of onion in the middle. They were fantastic and both my friend and I wished that we could just get a big bag of them to go. Even though the sweet potato chips were seasoned and fried well, they varied in size by quite a large margin which made some of the larger chips too firm for my liking.

Chicken katsu curry rice

I ordered the chicken katsu curry rice as my main, which is a dish that can be found on the new winter menu. A mild curry sauce was given to us in a sauce boat for us to add to the dish, which was then mixed through the rice. I loved the way that some of the rice became crispy on the bottom of the hot plate which gave it some texture, however the chicken katsu was a little on the dryer side.

Giant rib-eye

As the Pepper Lunch chain specialises in their philosophy of providing fast yet quality food and more specifically steak, we decided to try the giant rib-eye steak, which is one of their newer offerings. The steak, which is served on the signature 260° iron plate stayed both tender and juicy even as it overcooked slightly as the hot iron plate cooked the meat far too quickly. They also offer two types of sauce, the garlic soy and a sweeter honey based sauce, both of which are bursting with flavour.

Pepper Lunch is a restaurant that does what they say they do and they do it well. They advertise themselves as a restaurant which offers fast and affordable teppan steak and pepper rice dishes with quality ingredients. There are many other restaurants which you could go to if you wanted to get the absolute best steak or the cheapest food, however Pepper Lunch offers you the best of both worlds as well of a little fun along the way by allowing you to cook the food yourself.

We were invited by and dined courtesy of Pepper Lunch.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

Pineapple Waffles

769C Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn


Although Hawthorn's Glenferrie Road is known as a vast and vibrant area with different restaurants and cuisines from a range of cultures, it has always been lacking in the dessert department. While we were searching for place to enjoy some dessert after a warm dinner, we noticed that most of Hawthorn's dessert offerings involved ice cream, gelato or frozen yogurt. Eager to have a warm dessert on the cold night, I was delighted to see a restaurant specialising in liege waffles.

Pineapples waffles

Clean and spacious interior

Fun decor

Nutella waffle with dark belgian chocolate, Nutella sauce, strawberries and mini marshmallows $8.50

I chose to build my own waffle with some favourites such as Nutella, dark chocolate sauce and mini marshmallows. I enjoyed the toppings quite a lot as I have quite a sweet tooth, unfortunately the waffle itself was a bit doughy in the center and therefore was quite heavy.

Waffle delicates $14.80 

Although the toppings and ice cream were pleasant and had a lot of variety, the overall dish suffered from the same problems as the Nutella waffle. Out of the different flavours offered on the dish, my favourite would have to be the cinnamon apple with maple syrup and roasted walnuts, as it had warm flavours from the cinnamon apple spice and textural elements from the roasted walnuts.

As one of Hawthorn's few choices of desserts I hope that the problem with the waffles was a once off issue, I enjoyed the experience with friendly staff and great toppings but I would definitely like to see an improvement on the waffles themselves.

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 7.5/10