The B.East, Brunswick East – burgers and loud music

I love visiting restaurants I haven’t been to before. Since I turned ‘foodie’, this has been happening a lot more, both for content purposes and since I’ve learnt to appreciate various cuisines and love the excitement of finding hidden gems. As a result of this constant trying of new places though also comes the occasional disappointment and today’s post is unfortunately one of those rare occasions.

Most of the burger and hotdog joints I’ve been to in Melbourne have been quite nice, albeit being a little on the expensive side for some places. However, I was quite disappointed with my visit to The B.East in Brunswick. I had seen positive reviews about the place online and then found it on the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival website as offering a special deal for the Spring Graze – to celebrate the coming of Spring, their lamb burger came with a free beer. I thought it would be a great chance to visit and brought my friends along too.

For those of you who haven’t been, The B.East (named after its suburb) is a mix between a burger joint, bar and live music stage. The whole interior is decked out with weird and interesting drawings, it was all over the walls and roof. I didn’t mind that, in fact I thought it was all quite fascinating although the whole place glowed an eerily red which was bad for my photos.

It seemed people were there more for the music and beer than actual food.

Seeing as only the lamb burger was part of the Spring Graze, it was the obvious choice for me. It was $13.50 for slow cooked spring lamb shoulder (in patty form), pickled beetroot and mint, lettuce and tomato in a seeded brioche bun. I didn’t mind this burger all that much, although Yuye and I both found it to be under seasoned and not that spectacular, especially for that price. There wasn’t much mint and was quite one dimensional.

I couldn’t remember for the life of me what the beer was that came with the burger as Yuye got it for me at the counter, but it was just a small pot. It tasted a bit more like ale than beer since it wasn’t all that bitter, although beer and burgers do go well together.

Yuye was smarter and ordered the sexy B.East ($15) which had double beef, double cheddar, pickled red onion, lettuce, tomato and jalapeño mayo. Since it had double beef in it, the burger was quite juicy and beefy, making it more tasty than my lamb burger. The heat could have been cranked up a bit more since the chilliness from the jalapeño mayo was quite faint. Overall, it wasn’t a bad burger.

Kenneth’s burger wasn’t what he expected. The Kiev Burger ($14) with crumbed chicken breast stuffed with brie and tarragon fondue, lettuce, tomato and mustard mayo was small and dry. He also said it wasn’t that tasty which was such a shame since it sounded like a wonderful burger.

Racheese’s pulled pork burger ($13) looked like the best choice on the menu and I totally should have ordered this burger instead. It consisted of 12 hour slow-cooked pork shoulder, pork crackling, cos, green apple and cinnamon sauce. I didn’t try any of it but Racheese said it was tasty.

The Southern Fried Chicken ($10) which should be buttermilk fried chicken with house made ranch dressing was rather bland and unappetising. It’s chicken wings that anyone could have whipped up at home so this wasn’t to anyone’s liking.

We also ordered 2 sides of chips, one regular ($6.50) and one chilli cheese ($9). The regular fries were unseasoned so was bland again, and I’d rather prefer the chips at Grill’d for the seasoning.

The chilli cheese fries was covered in a whole layer of what should be cheese and made the chips all soggy. I couldn’t taste any chilliness in the topping at all though so wasn’t worth the extra $3. Even for $6.50, we thought it was too steep for what we got.

Although there was a few burgers that were not too bad, for the prices (all above $13) they were definitely not value for money not to mention the terrible chicken wings and mediocre chips. I wouldn’t return to The B.East as there’s way better burger joints in Melbourne for cheaper or tastier burgers. However, if you like rock or heavy metal live music and beer, perhaps you might want to come here for that but don’t expect too much from the food. If you don’t like loud music while you eat, then this is definitely not the place for you.

EDIT:I acknowledge that what I had written above might be slightly outdated. The chicken I mentioned is no longer on the menu and The B.East had been apologetic regarding the bad experience we had. By all means don’t let this post deter your visit to The B.East as it was a personal experience only that was specific to when we visited.

Question time: Do you like or mind loud music during a meal?

The B.East
Phone: (03) 9036 1456
80 Lygon St, Brunswick East, VIC 3057
http://www.theb-east.com/

The B.East on Urbanspoon

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14 comments… add one
  • cquek October 29, 2012, 3:44 am

    Mmm… I just love how you kill time…., so much style! Love the photos

    Reply
  • Choc Chip Uru October 29, 2012, 7:17 am

    Its a shame about the burger joint my friend, the ambience seems so inviting!

    Cheers
    CCU

    Reply
  • Alex October 29, 2012, 8:43 am

    From what I can see in the photos, the burgers do look a bit on the dry side… It’s a pity you didn’t get what you were expecting.

    The space looks interesting and modern, much like our beer bars with the occasional burger. But I agree with you: although red light creates a intimist setting, it is annoying after a while. I wouldn’t go to that place very often.

    I never enjoy loud music when the purpose is to talk with friends. At a concert? Sure! Not when I’m enjoying food/drink/a talk with my friends.

    Reply
  • kitchenriffs October 29, 2012, 10:12 am

    I like the space, but if the burgers aren’t good, then I wouldn’t be back. Sounds like you had a dud this time – oh well, it happens. It’s always fun trying new places, though, and now you know that when you’re craving a burger that you needn’t go there! 😉

    Reply
  • yummychunklet October 29, 2012, 10:20 am

    That double burger is making me drool, and I love all the colors!

    Reply
  • ChopinandMysaucepan October 29, 2012, 8:46 pm

    Dear Jenny,

    The pulled pork burger look good. Shame on the chicken drumettes, I seldom order that kind of dish coz it’s quite easily done and home and I usually prefer my own recipe. I will not eat at a restaurant if there is blaring music.

    Reply
  • Kiran @ KiranTarun.com October 29, 2012, 9:22 pm

    LOVE your photos!! You do know you need to shoot for magazines, right? :)

    Reply
  • Christine @ Cooking Crusade October 30, 2012, 11:48 am

    Its always such a shame when something sounds spectacularly good on the menu but turns out to be quite disappointing taste-wise!! I don’t mind music but not when it’s too loud, it kind or wrecks the vibe of dining with friends or a partner!

    Reply
  • tastyfoodsnaps October 30, 2012, 7:29 pm

    pulled pork and chunky chips, yum!!!

    Reply
  • choux choux October 30, 2012, 9:41 pm

    It’s really sad when a place does bad burgers, chips and chicken wings. The double beef burger looks amazing.

    Reply
  • Daisy@Nevertoosweet November 2, 2012, 2:22 am

    Hmmm I’m not really fan of extremely loud music because I love talking too much LOL hard to scream at each other when it’s so noisy!

    A shame about the chicken burger :(

    Reply
  • Maz November 2, 2012, 7:15 pm

    Hi there folks, just to clarify a couple of things. I can tell from the pictures of the food and the blackboard that your visit was some time ago and right at the point where we changed menu’s. Chicken wings pictured have not been on our menu for months. Having said that we strive to ensure that we produce only the best possible and apologise for a bad experience you may have had. Please feel free to contact me directly and come in for a complementary burger session!

    maz
    owner the B.East

    Reply
  • Brendan November 3, 2012, 5:18 pm

    You went! I can’t remember if I told you about this place or not. It’s a shame that you didn’t enjoy it.

    I’ve been twice, and both times have been excellent. The burgers maybe aren’t as good as other places, but I rate the service, atmosphere and drinks over most other places. Granted one of the times they were giving us free jalapeño shots which were incredible.

    Still, if you’re after a more culinary experience around here then I would try 300 Gradi? The B.East is perfect for a meal/drink and see a band or relocate down the road to the Alehouse Project for some serious drinking!

    Reply
  • Brendan November 3, 2012, 5:20 pm

    RE Question: Yes, but usually when I’m eating a meal with loud music it’s because that is what I’m there to see.

    Reply

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