Double Dragon. Golden Axe. Zelda. Your favourite video game-inspired burgers have landed in Sydney. Melbourne burger barons, 8bit, opened their fourth outlet in Steam Mill Lane, the new food precinct at Darling Square (that's the new development where the Entertainment Centre once stood).
.Order counter
8bit sits on the corner of Steam Mill Lane and Tumbalong Boulevard. Gleaming white tiles and splashes of primary colours create a cheerful vibe. The only thing that seems to be missing are the 8bit cartoon characters made from plastic beads.
Dining area with multigame arcade machines
But they haven't forgotten the arcade games. On the back wall of the dining area you'll find two multicade machines so you can reenact all your favourite video game moves.
Golden Axe $12
Crispy fried chicken burger
The menu follows the Melbourne set-up: burgers, hot dogs, onion rings and variations on fries and potato gems. Milkshakes will set you back $8. Free self-serve water is a welcome gesture at this end of town.
Golden Axe cross-section
Crispy fried chicken, cheese, sriracha mayo and slaw
The Golden Axe crispy fried chicken burger is a tad paltry (heh) in the protein arena, with the chicken fillet far from covering the diameter of the bun. It feels like there's more slaw than chicken here which is a shame.
1 Up Mushroom Burger $11
The 1 Up mushroom burger is much more satisfying, a portobello mushroom crumbed and deep-fried.
1 Up Mushroom Burger cross-section
Crumbed mushroom, cheese, tomato, red onion, green tomato relish, lettuce, mustard and 8bit sauce
There's quite a dense layer of bread-crumb batter around the mushroom. It might feel like an artificial inflation of filling, but the batter does yield a noticeable crunch. The mushroom isn't soggy with oil either which is always a win.
8bit with cheese $10.50
And of course we had to hit up the classic 8bit with cheese.
8bit with cheese cross-section
Beef, tomato, lettuce, red onion, pickles, mustard, cheese, ketchup, 8bit sauce
The menu does indicate that all patties are cooked medium but ours is pretty much well done, negating some of the patty juiciness we were expecting. The zingy pickle and mustard saves the day.
Potato gems $5
8bit with cheese $10.50
We stick with plain potato gems on the side but you can go full hog by loading them (or fries) with chilli beef, cheese, bacon and pickle relish. You can also get your fries with cheese and bacon or chilli cheese.
The potato gems are great on their own though, fried to a crunch that holds for an hour (we struggled to eat all of the above between two ambitious females).
Burgers up on the pass
Multicade machines
8bit entrance
8bit
Darling Square
51 Tumbalong Boulevard, Haymarket, Sydney
Opening hours
Daily 11am-11pm
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Would have preferred if they used proper milk buns. Nevertheless, the burgers are solid. I was lucky my patties were actually cooked medium. Still, nice to have 8bit in the hood!
ReplyDeleteNo shock here that Josh is keen to pay 8bit a visit. Shame about the chicken in the chicken burger not being as generous as it should be, but the burgers do look pretty good. Being a well done burger girl (don't judge), they look really good to me.
ReplyDeleteI love 8-Bit! It's awesome that they've opened a Sydney branch, but a shame the burgers had a few disappointments on your visit!
ReplyDeleteMan, I shouldn't have read this while hungry!
Ooh that mushroom burg looks solid but man can't wait to play on those arcades
ReplyDeleteHappy to have 8Bit in Syd! They're a solid reliable 'dirty burg'. I remember them being quite salty when we did the burger crawl. But loved the texture of the smash patty.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to checking them out again.