A Debt To Pleasure: ReBurger arrives in Greerton!

ReBurger Tauranga

Cuisine: burgers and fries

Address: 138 Chadwick Rd, Tauranga

Phone: 0210 519 220 / 027 328 7422

Drinks: Soft and straight

Reservations: Pre-order available via app

After discovering the very modern pleasures of Mount Maunganui's funky burger bar Palace a friend suggested keeping up with the burger scene by taking a trip to Greerton for a comparison, since Southland burger chain ReBurger - which previously had branches in Dunedin, Mosgiel and Timaru - has established its first foothold in the North Island there.

Of course, I'm way behind with discovering this since it turns out they moved here in December! Oh well, better late than never. I was excited to check them out as they come with a pretty mighty reputation...

First impression? It's fairly plain with a faux street art look and not much else. Drinks are of the mainstream fizzy variety. This is clearly a far more middle-of-the-road commercial operation than Palace.

The menu boasts beef burgers (8) and chicken burgers (8), each available with single or double patties. There is also one fish and one vegetarian burger. Unique to ReBurger (I think) are their half dozen choices of "Loaded Fries", a cool poutine/nacho variation that sees fries topped with everything from crispy bacon to tofu or cheeseburger bits. The same flavours can be ordered in soft tacos.

Beef Burger Royal Big Smoke - 100% Beef, Cheese, Streaky Bacon, Crunchy Onion Rings, Pickles, Smokey BBQ, Aioli $13.50
Chicken Burger The King Ed - SFChicken, Cheese, Streaky Bacon, Pineapple, Lettuce, Smokey BBQ, Aioli $13.90
Loaded Fries BBQ Bacon - Crispy Bacon Bits, Crunchy Shallots, RE:Sauce, Smoky BBQ M $13.90

And all I can say is that I came away really impressed. I did my best to order the burger that was closest to the one I had at the Mount a fortnight or so back and this easily lived up to it.

These were bigger burgers, in big buns that had just the right consistency (FYI, I'm a real hater of soft brioche buns - they just absorb too much and fall apart...). The beef and chicken patties were both great and the fillings were all rich, delicious and delightfully unhealthy. Points for including not one but three onion rings in the beef burger and extra marks from my partner for cooking the pineapple on the chicken. They were big beautiful burgers, I can't really think of a single criticism.

The fries were strangely wonderful too, not exactly cheap for some chips with scattered toppings, but a real taste sensation. They should probably come with a health warning for being a Heart-Attack-Waiting-To-Happen but my taste buds thanked me even as my arteries clogged. What the hell...

Yum. That was damn fine. It's not a small quirky personal operation like Palace, but from a sheer flavour perspective burger-lovers in Greerton must be very happy! And they're open seven days a week from 11.30am til 9.30pm so they're really putting it out there. Nice one.