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Canberra Today 16°/18° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

London to a brick, these are mighty burgers

Aussie lamb burger and Blue Tongue lager
Aussie lamb burger and Blue Tongue lager. Photos by Silas Brown.
I DON’T often deconstruct a meal, but found myself doing just that at The London.

The place specialises in burgers and beer and is a favourite for those who love a massive meal for a few bucks. Indeed, sometimes the burgers and beer are free, but more on that in a moment.

There are at least 20 types of burgers at The London ($12 to $16) – beef, lamb, chicken, steak and vegetarian – and if burgers ain’t your thing there are salads and a fish dish.

Here’s the deal with the free meal. The London honours anyone who gobbles down two “London lot” burger meals, washing them down with a jug of beer — in just 30 minutes. The prize is your meal for free and a T-shirt, cap and a photo of your stuffed face on the wall. Well over 300 have taken the challenge, but only nine have won. The most amazing winner is a tiny young woman who wolfed her burgers and beer down in an impressive 16 minutes. Surely that’s a “Guinness World Book of Records” candidate? And, grab this – she was challenged to go back a second time and did it again, but this time in 23 minutes (must have been an off day).

But back to our meal (five of us dined).

The Aussie lamb burger with egg, bacon and beetroot relish was a winner, with my friend reporting the next day she was still full. The Mexican chilli beef burger with melted Swiss cheese, spicy tomato salsa and sour cream was only half eaten, but every mouthful enjoyed.

All burgers at The London have loads of “stuff” on them. If you don’t like an ingredient just ask to change your order. One friend did this with his Scotch fillet steak burger with caramelised onion and other “stuff”, swapping the smokey barbecue sauce for aioli. I thought he was a bit mad for not liking smokey barbecue sauce, but what can I say?

He didn’t speak much while eating, so I assume the burger hit the spot. Another friend isn’t keen on pineapple and so substituted that for aioli on his grilled chicken burger with bacon and Swiss cheese.

Lamb kofta salad
Lamb kofta salad.
My rosemary lamb burger with roast capsicum, onion and horseradish cream came – as all the burgers do – on a big, bun with beer-battered fries. After giving it a go, I decided to deconstruct (but ever so delicately). I put most of the bun aside and concentrated on the yummy meat.

At The London, you order at the bar and find a seat surrounded by crazy, psychedelic silver, purple and black wallpaper. Beers are domestic and imported. The wine list isn’t really a “list”, but then it is a beer and burger joint. And I couldn’t have too many wines and look at that wallpaper anyway!

The London, 121 London Circuit. Open every day lunch and dinner. 6257 1986.

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Wendy Johnson

Wendy Johnson

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