Grill’d Yarraville, 18 Anderson St, Yarraville. Phone: 9687 1107
The corner of Anderson and Ballarat streets, the heart of Yarravile … it’s where we live; well, almost.
It’s certainly where we shop for all sorts of things, get haircuts and the occasional beer, browse, partake of coffees and gelati and ice-cream, run into friends, see the odd movie, buys books … yes, well, it IS where we live.
Have done so for years and presumably many years to come.
So seeing a flash new franchise hamburger outlet operating on the site of the former post office is shocking to the point of confrontational.
Will it come to be thought of as an eyesore?
Or will the passing of time see it become just another part of the local furniture?
I have noted, though, that in the few days it’s been open it has been doing very good business, although I’ve yet to see any locals – locals I know, that is – taking the place for a test spin.
On the other hand, I doubt very much that I’m the first to give it a go.
Inside, looking out on to the so very familiar street life is quite a surreal experience.
The interior has polished concrete floors, lots of wood, a newspaper rack – always a plus.
The young or youngish staff are decked out in a variation of the very cool Grill’d T-shirts and obviously doing a diligent and enthusiastic job of taking care of their customers.
As this is my first visit – and future ones are likely to be on the rare side – I lash out for something a little bit saucier than my usual burger with bacon.
The Hot Mama ($13.50) has beef, roasted peppers, dill pickle, tasty cheese, tzatziki, salad and harissa paste.
When the not-so-young bloke who serves me asks me about chilli preferences, I say mild.
As it turns out, my burger is far hotter than any of the Indian, Thai or Sri Lankan food that it has been my pleasure to eat in the previous couple of weeks.
So hot it leaves my lips tingling.
My plain white bun seems not as fresh as I’m used to getting at Grill’d outlets, so I fear my burger will messily crumble. Happily it holds together quite well.
The cheese element is good in that it actually has flavour, unlike you know McWhere.
The meat component is as tasty as ever for a Grill’d product, although the harissa dominates all.
Cos lettuce leaves are terrifically crunchy, though I detect no flavour of texture of roasted peppers.
Which doesn’t mean they’re not in there – more likely they’re just swamped by the other robust flavours, including a good dose of dill pickle and yogurt sauce.
It’s a typically good Grill’d effort, though no better than their more basic and significantly cheaper burgers.
The snack-size chips ($3.50) are good but not up to the standard we’ve often enjoyed at other Grill’d outlets, such as Highpoint.
They’re only just hot enough and some of them are floppy. I suspect I’ve copped the end of one batch instead of the start of another.
Grill’d does good work, but I suspect I’ll continue to have NIMBY-type feelings about an outlet landing in the heart of Yarraville.
And be warned – a bells-and-whistles meal here pushes the upper boundaries of what constitutes a cheap eat.
My burger, chips and a small bottle of Pepsi nudges above the $20 mark – that’s twice what I paid for an incredible biryani a few days earlier.
consider the sauce 
As an aside, what’s with the bottles tops in the jars? Results in donations to local NFP orgs?
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Hi Shell! When you pay for your meal, they give you a “token” to put in charity bottle of your choice and then they give various amounts to the charities. They make quite a big deal of it, but it’s not big bucks. Low hundreds.
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Still, nice they’re going with such local outfits. Given how homogenising chains like Grill’d can be, it’s good they at least recognise where they are. I’d probably still rather have a burger with the lot at the fish and chip shop, but as there aren’t a lot of burger options ’round here, maybe it’s good they’re filling a niche…
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Hi Jane! Yes, fair comment. We “prefer others” and as I noted, it ain’t cheap-as. But it could be worse!
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Surprised you are confronted by a franchise burger chain joining Bakers Delight and Nandos in the village. Not forgetting the dismal “Blarney Stone” opposite.
My tip is the next franchise to open in Yarraville will be a Lord of the Fries. Or a Sushi franchise.
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Good point! But I don’t actually think of Bakers Delight as a franchise and Nando’s is a lot more discreetly positioned.
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Hey Justin, why don’t you like the Blarney Stone? Not too many pubs left around here …
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When I think of the Blarney Stone I think of the cheesy Irish theme name, the burly security guard standing out the front and the poor guy who got bashed to death there. Contrast with the Mona Castle. But I’ll concede it may have changed. I rarely go to Yarraville these days, no reason to, except occasionally on hot days to visit Hello Gelo.
As I may have said on another thread, Grill’d is a perfect fit for that location, catering to the crowds going to see the mainstream schlock the Sun plays these days. I suspect they will probably do very well. The only thing that surprises me is that anyone is surprised. And if Grill’d get this type of reaction, then I’d love to see the response a McDonalds would get!
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Justin, McDonalds would be worse simply because of the appearance. At least Grill’d is in a lovely old building and signage is restricted mostly to the windows. The shock of the new has less to do with a franchise moving in – as you point out, there are others – but more with the fact it could not be in a more prominent position. All very subjective, no doubt. Agree with you on the Sun – I wish they had a point of difference.
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Kenny, the speed with which you respond is impressive.
The biggest eyesore in Yarraville had been the toenail cutting place a few doors down Anderson St. Simply appalling, if Grill’d is worse I’d be amazed. I will now try and check it out later on.
And whilst cutting the lawn I pondered if you may have an unrealistic view of the direction Yarraville is heading. Having rapidly become a middle class area full of prams, it is never going to be “cool” like Fitzroy/Collingwood or parts of Brunswick, which are full of students. I suspect the ongoing gentrification will see it become something you will find increasingly derivative and boring. Plus the cinema makes it a destination, so the reality that it is starting to look like Williamstown is probably no surprise.
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Justin, we don’t necessarily see things the same way as you – the area we are talking about is as familiar as our living room. I suspect we either take things for granted, be they good or bad. Or don’t seem them at all. And believe me – I certainly DON’T want to see Yarraville become “cool” like Fitzroy, Collingwood or Brunswick! Bennie’s mileage may differ, but for me the “coolest” business in Yarraville is Heather Dell.
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Kenny, sadly the current pattern of development will see Heather Dell squeezed out for another cafe. Heaven help them if there is a market rent review clause in their lease. And clearly we see things differently, as I was totally unsurprised to see the emergence of the Grill’d. I don’t think you and I take things for granted though, but the vast bulk of the rest of the community does, in my experience.
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