There's an intriguing waft of wood-smoked meat that rushes past my nostrils as I walk into the sleek, slick den of Pony Dining in Brisbane's CBD Eagle Street Pier. It's certainly enough to excite my taste buds before I even gaze at the menu.
I'm here to put their five hoping-to-be-famous burgers to the test and I've brought reinforcements - three experienced travel writers who know what they like and aren't afraid to talk about it.
As Trent Farrell from Pony explains, the new burgers are a way to taste Pony's fare in a different way and you'll find the fillings on the menu in different ways. It's also a cheap price point that their other meals and beats a burger at Grilled (located just downstairs), hands down in my opinion.
The burgers all come on a soft white roll accompanied by a side of well cooked, thin cut fries.
My tasters, bloggers Lee Mylne (A Glass Half Full), Danielle Lancaster (Blue Dog Photography) and Christine Retschlag (The Global Goddess) were a tough crowd. They are not normally the type to order a burger and struggled with all the bread toward the end, however here's their verdicts. We rated all burgers out of five with our overall preferences at the end. Please share your opinions on the burgers in the comments at the end of this post.
Pony Double Cheese Burger
Designed for the ultimate gourmet burger fan, this includes a double serving of David Blackmore's Wagyu beef (320g), double cheddar, pickles and mustard $24.
Danielle - I'm not a cheese or pickles eater but was beautiful 4/5
Christine - I love smokey sauce but would like more cheese 3.5/5
Lee - Too much meat but I like that it pink. Not something I would normally order 3/5
Kerry - I love it. This is just what a MacDonald's cheeseburger should really taste like. Meat is pink and oozing juice and the pickles have a great sweet/sharp flavour. They taste made instead of canned. Best for a hungry person because it's a big meal. 4.5/5
Wagyu Cheeseburger
David Blackmore's Wagyu Cheeseburger with cheddar, pickles & American mustard $18.50
Lee - I don't like cheese burger I would prefer something more exotic in this setting 3.5 /5
Chris - not enough cheese 3.5/5
Danielle - just perfect amount of cheese with great flavoured cheese and great beef 3.5/5
Kerry - Love the authentic American burger flavour and moist, pink meat. It's a smaller, more manageable version. 4/5
Soft Shell Crab Burger
The Soft Shell Crab burger comes with wasabi aioli, picked radish and betel leaves. $19.00
Lee - I loved the wasabi aioli 4.5/5
Christine - I'm not a fan of soft shell crab but was very pleasantly surprised. This would now be the first thing I would order. I loved the betel leaf. 4/5
Danielle - The crab was delicious but too much bread too away from the flavour. 3.5/5
Kerry - I'm a fan of soft shell crab but I found the flavour was a little too delicate for the bread and aioli. However I still enjoyed it. 4/5
Braised Waygu Brisket Burger
Danielle - Beautiful Asian infusion. 4.5/5
Christine - Innovative, pleasant fllavour 4.5/5
Lee - What they said but also this burger would be good with red or white wine 5/5
Kerry - A real flavour burst with Asian flavours 4.5/5
Pork Belly Burger
Tender chunks of pork belly with jalapeno aioli, shredded apple and cos $16.50.
Danielle - Overpoweringly spicy, but the pork is beautiful and there is a nice mix of ingredients. Maybe too much sauce. 3.25/5
Christine - I bit into it expecting pork and all I could taste was sauce 3.5/5
Lee - I liked it but it is spicy. I would choose it ahead of the cheese burgers. 4/5
Kerry - Delicious, but sauce is overpowering and I couldn't get enough of the pork flavour. 3.5/5
So here's the results
- Braised Brisket
- Soft shell crab
- Pork Belly
- David Blackmore's Cheeseburger
- Pony Double Cheeseburger.
Anything we would change? Yes - next time I'm bringing a bloke with us to add the essential male point of view.
Pony Dining is located on the top level of Eagle Street Pier in Eagle Street, Brisbane CBD
Read more about Pony
Elsewhere at Eagle Street Pier you'll find Sake Restaurant & Bar, Bavarian Bier Cafe, and Riverbar & Kitchen.
Best tip: Pony has some of Brisbane's best river views from their wrap around balcony.
Bottom line: High quality dining with good value-for-money burgers.
Disclaimer: Ed+bK and friends were guests of Pony.
Kerry Heaney
