burger it.

The first of our multiple couple date nights.

We had driven/walked past Burger It on our previous O'Connell Street date nights and I really do love a good burger, so we decided to make a (date) night of it. A few friends we hadn't seen for awhile came with us and after a solid 10 very confusing minutes we eventually all ended up at the right burger place on O'Connell.

Compared to Fergburger in New Zealand, this was nothing. Those were the most amazing burgers ever and worth more than their price tag. Burger It, however, did not blow my mind. I got a fairly plain burger because nothing on their menu at the time really took my attention. Looking at it now however, it seems a lot better and it's fairly possible that I just wasn't that hungry.

It's a pretty small place with a bench with stools along one wall for those singles just stopping in and some tables against the other wall. It's like a takeaway trying to be a dine in.

However - ignore what I'm saying because Paul really enjoyed it and thought their burgers were delish. So to give you absolutely no direction whether to try it out or not.... that was Burger It.

house of chow

I came here on my 16th birthday with a group of girl friends (no parents! it was so exciting and grown up of us) and all I can remember was it being freaking delicious and having leftovers for breakfast. 

I also remember it was a bit pricey. House of Chow was a special date night. So we treated ourselves to a 3 course meal (no dessert - but a couple of entrees and our mains laff)

For an entree we shared either dim sims or spring rolls ($11 each, you get 3 per serve), and chicken and corn soup I believe ($7.50), being one of Paul's favourites :)

I think the meat mains range from $20-$30, i can't remember exactly what we got that night but it was a good and proper date night. we got to sit near one of the giant fish tanks which I quite enjoyed.

To be honest - the waiters/waitresses wear nice uniforms, they have good service, the place is decked out nicely, but at the end of the day it was chinese. their fried rice was pretty bloody good, but besides that it was just a pricey chinese restaurant to me.

that's just me though - they're doing something right because the place is always filled with people :)

Zapata's!

Mexican at its finest! I have been here time and time again and love it. They have amazing food and it’s all so cheesy and fantastic. It’s terrible but I always overeat when I go to Zapata’s because I want a deep fried pancake thing for dessert which I do not know the technical name of. Mains I have gotten both the Enchilada Grande and Chimichanga and both are equally amazing.

The place has a great vibe (and great cocktails that will knock your socks off).  There’s generally a bit of parking along Melbourne Street or down an alley.

At about $20 for a main I’d say for taste it’s priced spot on, but if you’re looking at entrées too, it can be a pricey meal (not for those earning top dollar – but for us “low income earners” still making our way up it is), so Zapata’s for me is more of a special occasion kind of restaurant.

Another plus – they do takeaway. Can’t stuff your stomach like I can or didn’t wear pants that you can secretly undo? Get it to take home!

British India (the restaurant, not the band)

Definitely the “funkiest” place we have been to so far. It was kind of old school in a medieval type way (dark woods, big chairs and heavy tables). There was very dim lighting over our little candlelit table which made it feel nice and cosy, plus as it was harder to see the people around us (especially with my generally terrible eyesight) I guess it felt like we were more alone, which was nice.

British food with a twist. We had options like lamb shanks or shepherds pie – but they were spiced with Indian… spices. Then the other side of the menu was curries like butter chicken, tikka masala, vindaloo, and other things I cannot remember or spell (for the website to check out the menu here).

I went with the lamb shanks. I freaking love the lamb shanks my mum makes, they’re amazing, so why not compare them to restaurant quality? Plus their butter chicken has nuts in it so that was out.

So for those playing at home, I have really fun gastric reflux, so generally spicy things just do NOT agree with me at all. Also I’m allergic to nuts. Indian food isn’t really something that leaves me with a lot of choices dish wise. The lamb shanks seemed safe enough for me.

British India’s mild is not my mild, the lamb shanks were spicy and more Indian that British. Delicious. But too spicy for my poor belly. I ate them, I enjoyed them, I suffered the consequence of a very poor car ride home feeling very sick and sorry for myself. It happens. My reflux was quite bad when we went here, probably wasn’t the best choice for me BUT it was still all delicious! They were amazing and tender and fell off the bone.

I went back here recently and I will go back again.