Get your smash burger fix at this new west end spot
The owners of Bank Street Social have opened a takeaway, grab-and-go joint next door, serving quality smash burgers until the early hours of the morning.
Simon Orders, the owner and manager of Bank Street Social, has been interested in the burger phenomenon for quite some time.
“I did a pop-up burger shop back in 2021 called Bergs that was on the street down the road…it was around Covid and there were more shutdowns and stuff and I just didn’t continue with it,” Simon tells CityMag.
“So that piqued my interest as something I wanted to give another shot one day.”
The opportunity for a corner spot directly next to Bank Street Social came up “a year or two later”, and Simon saw it as an opportunity to open a permanent burger concept store.
“I thought it was a good idea to try the concept here, and being on a main street, main corner, it’ll be easy to get people’s attention,” he says as we sit on the minimal outdoor seating available at the new Bank Street Burger.
Being a co-owner of a late-night cocktail bar for over 10 years has made Simon realise there is a lack of quality food offerings on the nightlife strip past 10pm.
“I’ve always enjoyed burgers myself and I’ve always been amazed at how good of a burger you can make yourself using quality beef when it’s freshly minced, just with a touch of salt – that can be amazing,” Simons says.
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“We wanted to execute that and make that as good as we can and keep it simple.
“I’ve always been looking for something to eat late at night, because our pizza kitchen [at Bank Street Social] closes at 10 and you’ll come out the bar late at night, looking for something to eat and just something quality.”
Knowing they’re competing with other fast-food retailers in the vicinity like McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s, Simon says they’re trying to keep the cook time “under five minutes”. They will also focus on takeaway as there is only limited outdoor seating available.
But unlike those fast-food retailers, Simon says the Bank Street Burger menu is “tight” and “stripped back”.
“It’s essentially a very basic, straightforward offering – there’s not a huge amount of space to work with either and, [it’s] just a quality smash burger done right,” he says.
“American style, trying to make it under five minutes, and make it accessible.”
Simon says Bank Street Burger is also using “quality ingredients”.
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“Everything’s fresh,” says Bank Street Burger operations manager Jason Ryan.
“We mince the beef ourselves daily. It’s Black Angus beef from the Riverina region in New South Wales, from Marino Fine Foods in the Central Markets,” Simon says.
“That’s our own blend that we had made up, and we make our own signature sauce.
“We’re making our own pickles now as well, because we couldn’t find any that we were really happy with, and making them in house as well means we can adjust the flavour of the pickle to balance with the sauce which we’re also making, as opposed to just slapping two store bought ingredients together and hoping for the best,” Jason adds.
“You need that texture as well. People talk about flavours and all that so often, but they forget about the textural element, that mouth feel. It just adds another element to the simple act of eating.”
To keep the menu consistent and to commit to quality control, Simon and Jason have only opted for three burger choices on the menu.
“Classic is your standard lettuce, tomato, onion, American cheese, double patty, signature sauce on a potato roll,” Simon says.
“The original was something more unique to the store: two patties, American cheese, a caramelised Sherry-glazed onion.”
“It’s like a Sherry vinaigrette, so you get a bit of acidity to balance out the sweetness you get from the caramelisation,” Jason says.
“And the signature sauce and the pickles. It’s like a real fancy double cheeseburger.”
“And the cheeseburger, very typical ingredients there: again, just single patty, American cheese, ketchup, mustard, fresh onion and on a potato roll.”
Bank Street Burger is located at 48 Hindley Street, Adelaide.
It’s open on Wednesday from 5pm until 12pm, Thursday from 11am until 3pm, then 5pm until 12am, Friday from 11am until 3pm, then 5pm until 3am, and Saturday from 5pm until 3am.
Connect with the business on Instagram for more.
