Happy Ending Burgers

55 Majors Bay Road
Concord, NSW 2317
https://www.happyendingburgers.com.au/

I had been resisting the lure of Happy Ending Burgers for the best part of a year by now, but after a long day at work and a solid session at the gym, I decided it was finally time to treat myself.

Located on the quaint main shopping strip in Concord, happy ending is more or less the eminent burger place in the surrounding swathe of suburbs. Backed by those of Mr Gee’s fame, happy endings is purported to do a mean burger, plus some top-notch fried chicken. But funnily enough, no desserts, despite its name.

 

I normally tend to prefer beef over poultry in my burgers, but at Happy Endings it’s chicken that takes the centre stage. Plus, I have had great recs for the Nashville Hot N Heavy ($13). The presentation was certainly promising, the bread barely containing the fillet of nubbly, golden fried chicken. The taste however was good but not spectacular. The chicken was perfectly respectable, but was neither as juicy nor as crunchy as I had hoped, and also fell short on the promise of heat and spice. The accompaniments of slaw, pickles, and chilli sauce added some pep, but in the end the burger, whilst perfectly tasty, fell short of the sort of punchy flavours the name and ingredients promised.

The Bonus Round ($14) on the other hand was a classic done right. The dry-aged patty had a slightly pink centre and crispy charred edges, and the ample use of their sauce no. 6 (basically your standard special sauce) meant that there was no chance of either dryness or blandness – the two cardinal sins of a good cheeseburger. I wouldn’t go out of my to have this burger specifically, as there’s nothing about it that sets it apart from the crowd, but if I’m after a good quality, American-styled cheeseburger, this one is more than up for the task.

To supplement the meal was a truly enormous serve of Truffle Parmesan Fries ($4.5, small). If you can look past the fake truffle taste of the spicy Mayo, this is a pretty addictive flavour combination, and there’s more than enough to share between three. My only suggestion to the kitchen? Cook the fries just another half minute longer for a better crunch.

With all the amazing burger places that now exist on whet feels like every street corner, it’s hard for a burger place to stand out. And admittedly, Happy Endings does not have enough going on to set it apart from all the other options, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. With solid sandwiches and good prices, it’s a place that anyone would be happy to have in their neighbourhood.

Rating: 12.5/20 – no happy endings, only good burgers.
This rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.