Beck's Modern Life: hobart

Saturday, 7 March 2026

Mr Burger Hobart

I had a good burger today. Was it the biggest burger? No. Was it the most exciting burger? No. Was it just a good burger? Yes, yes it was.

Gudge had joined me for a drive into Hobart to visit my good friend in hospital and we had yet to visit the new Lego store, so with weekend free parking, we thought we'd make a day of it.

We were feeling peckish and thought we'd like a burger and chips. I knew there were a few burger places on Liverpool Street and when we saw Mr Burger we headed in.

Now generally, I like to check reviews, risk assess, double think and usually end up going somewhere I've been before for safety, but I'm trying to do things a little differently these days. I am trying to fall back in love with spontaneity, with new things, with Hobart.

We got a table and used the QR to access the menu and order.

I ordered a Single Double, Gudge a Spicy Chook and a share serve of French Fries.

The restaurant was nice, it was not too loud, had a buzz without feeling overwhelming. It reminded me of the places I used to like going to burgers in Brisbane like NKB, Betty's Burgers, and the one that was on George Street, up the top of the Mall (do these places still exist?).

It was a little wait, maybe 30 minutes til the food arrived but this was okay.

The food finally arrived and we were happy.

The chips looked great and the burgers looked lovely. We were slightly concerned with their underwhelming size, but they did look tasty.

The chips were exactly the chips I crave for when I have chip cravings: perfectly crunchy from start to end, dark gold in colour and that nice crispy crumbly texture on the outside. Ever so lightly under-seasoned for me, but absolutely forgivable. 9.5/10.

My Single Double looked great. As mentioned the size was a little underwhelming but the flavour totally made up for it. The bacon was excellent, so thick. We both mentioned that our meat (my beef patty and his chicken) seems a bit thin, but the overall ratios were all perfect, The meat was seasoned and cooked exactly how I'd do it if doing it myself, super fresh, soft, buttery buns and all salads were fresh. 8.5/10

Gudgies Spicy Chook made him very happy. He said I had to mention how wonderful it was to get a mouthful of jalapenos and spiciness in every bite and this made the burger for him.

Despite our concerns of the size of the burgers, we both left full, totally satisfied and with smiles on our faces and both in agreement that we'd happily return. For just over $20 a head for lunch that we were both stoked with, we couldn't be happier.

gfg

Photo courtesy of agfg.com.au

Mr Burger

120A Liverpool St, Hobart, AU 7000

Wednesday, 12 November 2025

New Sydney Hotel, Hobart

Tonight we had tickets to see a show from one of my all time favourites authors, Ben Elton. I have read every one of his books at least 3 times. My favourites are Two Brothers, The First Casualty and Blind Faith. Gudge is a huge fan of his scriptwriting including Blackadder and Upstart Crow.

The show was at 7.30 at the casino so we had time to grab some dinner.

There's not too much I love about Tasmania's State Government, but of the few good things they've done is they provided us residents with tourism vouchers to boost local businesses during the quiet winter off-season.

We were talking our voucher to the New Sydney Hotel, THE quintessential Irish pub in Hobart City.

Photo courtesy of New Sydney Hotel

We've had drinks there in their wonderful beer garden and have tried some small bites. But every time, service and ambience is excellent, from their open fire to their perfectly poured Guinness pints.

Arriving at 5.45 without a reservation, we were snuck in on the proviso that we would clear the table by 7. I actually LOVE when this happens as it's almost a guarantee that service will be quick!

We start with a Coke for Gudge and a Swinging Gate Pet Nat for myself.

We order the 300g Porterhouse, chips, salad and pepper sauce for myself.

Chicken Parmigiana, chips for Gudge as well as Buttermilk fried Chicken to share.

My steak was fantastic! Perfectly medium-rare, nice char, and THICK! Great crispy chips. Salad was a dressed lettuce mix as the salad (which I'm so-so about at a $2.50 extra charge) and a lovely and peppery gravy. I'm totally happy to give this 9 out of 10 for $42.50.

Gudge really enjoyed his Parmy, noting the delicious smokiness of the ham.

The Buffalo Chicken was cooked and seasoned very well, delicious dip but didn't think $16 was very good value for essentially 3 small tenders.

We left very full, satisfied and happy. Headed to the casino with time enough to throw $20 into the pokies and head to the auditorium for an excellent show, surpassing all of my expectations. If you have a chance check out ANYTHING from Ben Elton, you should. He also seems like a lovely man.