Parlour Burger: The Black Widow strikes

With a rush of casual but gourmet burger joints opening last year, Sydney’s burger craze has possibly turned into a burger habit.

It's more than possible to have a different gourmet burger every night of the week, if one were so inclined, but few are as striking as Parlour Burger's Black Widow burger.

The Black Widow burger - charcoal bun with ground beef and extra hot sauce
from Parlour Burger, George Street, Sydney

The Black Widow is the creation of chef Sean Connolly, of the adjoining The Morrison and Auckland's The Grill by Sean Connolly and formerly of Astral.

The enchanting, inky black hue of the burger bun comes from vegetable-based charcoal incorporated into the bread dough and its novelty alone warrants an order. It sandwiches a thick, pink-centred ground beef patty with decent fat and flavour, and is accompanied by tomato and an iceberg lettuce leaf.

The menu lists the Black Widow with an "extra hot sauce" but I would barely call the dollop of creamy, orange-hued sauce hot (let alone extra hot), giving a small but good kick to the beef.

Sparkling wine

Parlour Burger is super casual: order and pay at the bar from a menu of five burgers and sides, and grab a number and a drink. The space is a little dark and dingy, with a pub sports bar feel remaining from its former life as the Brooklyn Hotel.

Chicken and quinoa burger with caesar dressing

The chicken burger featured a quinoa crumbed fillet that verged on a little dry, propped up with creamy Caesar dressing and lettuce on a well-sized, undramatically-coloured brioche bun (it's probably a bit on the smaller side, especially for guys with big appetites).

Deep fried pickles

It's almost a must to complement your burger order with a side or two. I eschewed chef Connolly's signature duck fat chips in favour of deep-fried pickles, and what a great decision that was.

An old-fashioned, thick and crunchy (beer?) batter encased sweet gherkin pickles and, surprisingly, it was a beautiful albeit oily side that needed no condiment.

Cabbage and parmesan slaw

The slaw side was somewhat underwhelming in comparison, but at least healthy with a light, vinegary dressing over shredded cabbage and Spanish onion, all topped with grated parmesan cheese.

Well located for CBD rat racers, Parlour Burger is a good, quick, cheap option for when that burger craving strikes – and the Black Widow is well worth hitting up.

Food, booze and shoes dined at Parlour Burger as a guest, with thanks to Savannah PR.