Mick Adams Burger Bar

38 Portman Street Oakleigh

In the middle of Oakleigh’s little Greece sitting proudly amongst the coffee frappes, baklava and galaktoboureko is Mick Adams Burger Bar.

Burgers have hit Melbourne with great force and I am seeing more and more pop up in suburban strips.  Mick Adams does things a bit differently and have made good use of their geographical location and Greek heritage.

Most of the burgers are in true tradition named after their ancestors, with the likes of ‘Cheesy Mike’ ‘Naughty Nick’ and ‘Kostaki Fried Chicken’ and pay some kind of homage to traditional Greek flavours.

Even though it’s predominantly a burger joint there are a few snack bites to start.  It only felt natural that we kicked off with the sticky lamb ribs.  Lamb is obviously a Greek favourite, but the flavours were more on the asian side, sticky ginger and soy.  I was pleasantly surprised both with presentation flavour and the way the ribs were cooked well.  A decent serve for $9 with around six ribs.

Mick Adams is located on Portman Street in Oakleigh’s little Greece. Photo: Instagram / @mickadamsburgers

Cheesy Mike, is your entry level basic grass fed beef burger with double cheddar, pickles, lettuce tomato and aioli at $10 probably the best value. The actual beef patty was really tasty, and cooked medium just how it should be to retain that naturally juicy flavour.

‘Anthony the Greek’ ($15) is all about the the Greeks love for lamb, with pulled lamb, iceberg, pickled cucumber olive pesto and mint yoghurt, flavours of souvlaki but in a brioche bun.

Lastly the ‘Kostaki Fried Chicken’ ($16) a funny play on words, kosta’s burger is deep fried and spicy.  I was so excited when this hit the table, the deep fried coating looked seriously so good and a double stack of fried chicken is always a big tick in my books.  Topped with chilli jam, iceberg, avocado and mint and chilli mayo, (on brioche) it was all the guilty pleasures in one big bun.  I would be lying if I said I was able to polish it all off, but I gave it a red hot go and finished most, not for lack of trying but I was just way too full.

The burgers were actually huge which set them apart from most of the trendy joints where the burgers seem to be shrinking.  The size of the bun reminded me of that old school fish and chip shop burger bit and soft.  I found the prices to be a little bit higher at Mike’s starting from around $14 in comparison to other burger places have eaten recently.

 

The extras are an add on, beer battered chips, loaded fries or onions rings take your pick. The onion rings were perfect everything you expect from a good one, crunchy, batter loaded with a slither of sweet onion.  The parmasean truffle fried ($13) was big enough to feed four.

Limited selection of grog is on offer, with a few on tap served in a handle pot.  I grabbed a peanut butter shake that cutely served in an old school milk bottle, which looked like it was a hit with the kids.

The service was really wonderful, we went in a particularly quiet period (4pm on a Sunday) and were quickly served and food was up quickly with a smile, we even had a good giggle about my bad Greek accent when I ordered my Kostaki fried chicken.

A great little spot that ticks the boxes for families, foodies, and anyone just wanting to grab a quick bite.  Big enough that you would have to wait in line, and a really nice local family feel.