rockpool bar & grill

the winner of sydney's recentburgerwar's is a reminder of how good the rockpool bar & grillburgerreally is. topping fierce competition from lotus, becasse & four in hand to name a few, it reaffirmed it's deserving position at the top of theburgerchain (check out the next sydney timeout for a full run down of the results). the david blackmore's full blood wagyu hamburger is the standout, it's damn tasty and juicy. it's topped with scheulz bacon and perfectly melted gruyere cheese. one of my favourite ingredients are the zuni pickle's, which have just the right amount of zing to balance out the other ingredients. the brioche bun is warm, soft, sweet and the non-soggy base prevents the contents from spilling all over the place. the simple sides of crispy lettuce & tomato allow for customisation. it's only available at the bar - which is the ideal lunch option if your around the cbd. smaller, but not to be outdone are it's little brother, which are just as satisfying, particularly as

bottom line: i've never been to the restaurant, but i'm not sure i ever will knowing you can get the bestburgerin sydney straight from the bar. last night mckay and i went down to the opera house to check out vivid sydney - a pretty awesome light show taking place for a short while. i recommend it to anyone if you are in the area for the next week or so - it's beautiful. after the show we decided, with no reservations made, to try to check out rockpool bar & grill. typically in san francisco, even getting a seat at the bar for dinner at a popular restaurant can be tough, so we came prepared to wait, but were happily surprised that we were immediately seated at a table in the bar area. we'd heard that rockpool's claim to fame was the wagyu burger, and sure enough - the tables on either side of us had ordered two wagyu burgers and chips. we followed suit and were not disappointed. i couldn't put my finger on what exactly made thisburgerso amazing. the meat was perfectly cooked and fl

i order the greenham grass fed hamburger with bacon, gruyere cheese and zuni pickle! now there is a wagyuburgeron the menu which is lovely, but i reckon the grass fedburgerhas a better flavour to it. the juicy patty combines with the flavour of the bacon, the creamy richness of the cheese and the tang of the pickle and sauce to give you a lovely tasting experience. the soft brioche-style bun which houses theburgeris plush and oh so beautiful and offers a lovely texture offset to the rest of the burger.

the wagyu is beautiful, very tasty it just melts in your mouth. vegies are fresh and add another layer of flavour, top it off with some cheese andburgerbun and there you have it.

once it arrived and i had taken my first bite i was easily proven wrong because the patty was top quality with great flavours and a soft texture, overall one of the best burgers i have had. the only downside of theburgeris that it falls apart quite easily and it was a little difficult to e

entering into one of the most beautiful art deco buildings in australia, rockpool bar & grill sure does transform a typical lunch hour into something from another world or era. today i met up with a friend who worked in the building, and we decided to visit the bar section to try the david blackmore's wagyu burger. we got there just after 1pm so the bar was full already, but they promptly seated us down within a few minutes.   the bar section   we decided to split theburgerso we can try the pumpkin and bean empanadas ($10 for 4) - they were surprisingly really good! crispy on the outside with a slight chewy texture in the pastry, and filled generously with plenty of pumpkin and whole beans.  david blackmore's full blood wagyu hamburger with bacon, gruyere cheese and zuni pickle ($24) - the waitress kindly offered to cut theburgerin half for us when we said we were sharing, and it was a good thing she did as otherwise i may have "accidentally" eaten the whole thing! although we spec

i use to love the food here but the portion sizes have dropped significantly. what was once a glorious normal sized wagyuburgeris now a baby entree sized burger. i also noticed the wagyuburgerwas rather dry and lacklustre..now the goats cheese tortellini while incredible tasty was similar an entree sized dish for $39. probably wouldn’t go back.

will may eat 👍
will may eat 👍

food - at the restaurant can't go wrong with the steaks. quality is amazing but is reflected in the price, also comes with no sides. large wine selection. at the bar area, the signiture wagyuburgeris a go to.
venue - fine dining restaurant and bar area
price - >$70 for restaurant, around $40 at bar

today i was looking forward to a great lunch and dessert at rockpool bar and grill.
to my disappointment i ordered the wagyuburgermedium well and it was served the same as my friend who requested medium rare. the burgers were cold too! the shoestring fries came out cold and i asked for another bowl of fries! the fries are hard to eat as they are not thin, straight-cut fries that used to be served, they are curly and dry! be aware the rueben sandwich is not your typical american style, it is equivalent to the aussies cheese toastie!
unfortunately, the customer service was absent today, whereby i did not bother rectifying the issue with the burger. the staff did not seem to care or love what they were doing. 
after we ate our meals they removed our plates and left us sitting there for 30min without asking if we wanted dessert, so we then got someone's attention and finally we asked for the bill. i have been to the bar and restaurant many times, however after today's experience i will not be going back anytime soon and will ensure others know what to expect.

i had the full blood wagyuburgerwith handcut chips, the pineapple and lemon mocktail and an espresso. it was the bestburgeri've ever had. absolutely enormous, perfectly cooked, and everything on it in balance. yummy!

the chips were like the ones i used to eat at home as a kid, and the mocktail wasn't super sweet, but tangy and refreshing. the espresso was really good too, not bitter and harsh but smooth and strong in flavor.

then, for dessert, i had the rhubarb and strawberry pudding. they call it a pudding, but it's basically an enormous souflé with a whole bunch of compote in the middle. amazing. and i also had the peppermint chamomile tea with caramel popcorn.

so. much. food.

my waiter was lovely and friendly, very helpful and pleasant.

definitely coming back!

rockpool is a famous food institution which regularly appears in many food blogs and travel guides. the famous wagyuburgeris regularly ranked among the topburgerin sydney.

i ordered the famous wagyuburgerand onion rings. however, i fail to see and taste how theburgeris any better than those i can find in macca, not that macca's burgers are bad. the onion rings were alright but a little salty. for a hatted restaurant, you would expect to see a puddle of oil at the bottom of the bowl which makes the onion rings soggy.

i'm sure there are hundreds ofburgerbars which make better burgers at three to fours times cheaper.

not good - overrated burger. they refused to serve theburgerbefore the chips and it came out a soggy mess.

very expensive too - just stay away

i have been meaning to review my experience at the rockpool bar after coming here a few weeks ago with my parents. we arrived very close to 6pm (you can't make bookings for the bar), and you should do the same if you plan on going, as it fills up very quickly!

asburgerlovers, dad and i specifically planned on going to the bar to try the david blackmore's full blood wagyuburgerto see if it lives up to its hype. in short, it does. the patty and cheese truly just melt in your mouth like no other burger, and the brioche bun was soft, without being at all soggy. really, it's just outstanding, and is a must try for allburgerlovers. in addition to having aburgereach, we decided to split the house-made chorizo dog. in its own right, this was a very tasty hotdog, and we would have been very satisfied had we ordered it alone, but it was just completely outshone by the burger. 

now, what's a goodburgerwithout a side of chips? you can very clearly tell that they are house-made, and ours were very fresh, salty, and crispy. so what makes these chips stand out? well, the wagyu gravy dipping sauce that accompanied them truly took the chip-eating experience to a whole new level. this gravy (which had glorious slivers of wagyu roast floating within), in addition to being the nicest gravy i've ever had, was the best chip dipping sauce i've ever had. there was a little bit left over once we finished our meal, and it took all our self control not to just drink it straight from the gravy boat. for dessert (yes, i know we are fatties!), we all shared a creme caramel, which was sweet, creamy, and very very tasty.

the atmosphere was cozy, and despite being 'just the bar', the service was polite and attentive for the duration of our patronage. 

overall, our experience at rockpool bar was outstanding, and (i know this is a big call) provided me with both the bestburgerand best serving of chips i've ever had. the price is high, but it is well and truly worth it, and i know i'll be back soon.

a top notch two chef hatted award winning bar/restaurant by our famous chef neil perry. high quality dishes and full of flavour, absolutely loved their popular wagyu beef, shoestring fries w wagyu gravy and fish ceviche. a beautiful restaurant w high ceiling and romantic ambience - highly recommend you bring a date or impress your business partner. the bestburgerand shoe string fries ever tasted!

we went to bar to haveburgerand drink before vivid. it's always hard to find a quiet place to dine during this time.

the bar is nice and quiet, the staff are really friendly!
we ordered wagyu burger, chips & cocktail.
the cocktail is amazing! i had tobacco old fashion, the cigar infused whisky is completely bring this cocktail to next label.
theburgeris beautiful, chef recommended medium rare for beef, it's really tender and juicy then otherburgeri had before. the other ingredients matched well with the burger, the pickled onion balance out the greasy part of theburger(i guess it's pickled with sherry vinegar?) however the bread is a bit dry. maybe it supposed to absorb the juice coming out from beef.
the chips is crisp outside and soft inside, that's what the chips should be! yum!

the bill is a bit high ($50 ppl) but it's worth for a try