Demazzi Stone Grill - Essendon

I was shouted a feed by Chloe's sister, Madi, at Demazzi Stone Grill in Essendon for my 23rd birthday. This restaurant has been on our list of places to go for burgers for a while now, so our visit was a little overdue. I came in with big expectations, having followed Demazzi Stone Grill on Instagram for a while and being told that this place offers the best burgers in Melbourne. Some of these expectations were met, others were exceeded, and some were left a little lacking.

I had the Mack Burger. It packs double beef, double cheese, lettuce, pickles and mack sauce. I've written a lot about soft buns and soft patties, but this burger takes out the title for the softest I've ever eaten. It's like the proverbial hot knife through butter. The incredible softness means there's a complete lack of crispiness and crunch. It's an interesting trade-off, especially when crispiness and crunch evoke feelings of eating something fresh. This could be due to a lack of ingredients, such as tomato and onion, however, lettuce is an ingredient that can be crunchy and crisp but unfortunately, it isn't. The mack sauce is also a little bland, which is unusual for a house sauce. This could be a great burger, but it needs some improvement.

Chloe had the Kentucky Burger. This burger includes two fried buttermilk chicken breasts coated in secret spices, double cheese, maple bacon, jalapeños and pink sauce. The lack of sauce on every level of the burger created inconsistency. While the top bun and breast have plenty of sauce and jalapeños between them, the space between the breasts and the space between the bottom breast and bun is quite dry. This leads to some juicy, crispy mouthfuls simmering with flavour, while others are quite dry and difficult to chew through. Chloe also found the bacon tough to chew, however, I didn't have any problems with it. Another potentially great burger that needs tweaking.

Finally, Madi had the Lucky Mack Burger. Double beef, double cheese, jalapeños, pickles, lettuce, maple bacon, mack sauce, ketchup and mustard make up the ingredients of this one. Sweet and smoky flavours combine to dance across your tongue, while the mustard provides a bit of tang. There's no dryness to speak of with the Lucky Mack Burger, either. I think the additional sauces and pickles elevate this burger above the other two.

We had Popcorn Spiced Chicken with garlic aioli as a side. The popcorn chicken here is succulent and crispy. It bursts with flavour, so much so that the garlic aioli isn't necessary. It's much better than what KFC has to offer, but also a lot dearer.

Head-to-Head
The Lucky Mack Burger wins this clash.

Pricing
Demazzi Stone Grill is expensive compared to other burger restaurants. The Mack, Lucky Mack and Kentucky Burgers will all set you back $21.90. The popcorn chicken comes in at $15.90.

Ambience
A little bit more upmarket and refined compared to where we usually go for a burger, and quite busy as well. 

Dietary Requirements
Have no fear, there's a vegetarian burger on the menu here.

Address
1142 Mt Alexander Road, Essendon

The Last Bite
Come here for the Lucky Mack and the popcorn chicken.


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