This week we take on the famed Bar Luca, pitting its beef burger against our (somewhat) seasoned taste buds. Originally operating out of Phillip Street in Sydney, Bar Luca has opened up a branch in Parramatta called BL Burgers. This place is more of a takeaway joint, but ample seating can be found in Parramatta Square complete with fountains and pigeons.

Location: 3/188 Church St Parramatta 2150

Burger: BL Beef Burger – $15

Eamon – Burger: 4.5/5

There is really not much to talk about when it comes to this burger. It is the definition of a fundamentalist. From top to bottom; a toasty bun with black and white sesame seeds, generous slices of tomato, fair whack of butter lettuce, juicy bacon, cheese melted over a medium patty and pickles with their sauce woven into it. There’s nothing coming at you out of left field and there’s an exceptional balance between salt and sweet, juicy and dry, fatty and carby. No single ingredient boasts their flavour above another one and it makes for a mouthful worthy of a solid rating. It is quite simply a classic burger and I am most definitely a fan of the classics.

James – Burger: 3.5/5

‘In my opinion, Bar Luca is the most overrated burger joint in Sydney’ – this was a sentiment I stood by firmly going into this review and is directed at the hype and revered love for the Blame Canada – a menu staple of Bar Luca. However in saying this, I did my best to go in open minded as we explored other options of the menu.

Anyways, moving on – the BL Beef Burger deserves praise of its own, serving up a well balanced and tasty combination. The ratio of ingredients was ideal and most surprisingly the bacon provided a welcome addition. The pattie was a bit too well done for my liking, making it a bit of an uphill journey to finish off with every mouthful working the jaw muscles. The sauce while pronounced, was far from mindblowing and overall it felt like this burger was missing an additional element that would have taken this burger to another level. Nevertheless a solid feed with fresh ingredients, the BL Beef Burger sets a good standard for the burger market.

Melissa – Burger: 4/5

Confession: I have not been to Bar Luca before this, although I have heard many a rave review. So I went into this review fresh, not having tried the Blame Canada I’ve been hearing so much about.

The Bar Luca burger was by far the most well balanced burger of all the ones I’ve reviewed for this blog thus far. The perfect amount of pickle, bacon, lettuce, tomato and beef meant a solid burger on all fronts. Throughout every bite there was a good balance of salty and creamy flavours. The lettuce, tomato and pickles were refreshing palette cleansers that cut through the meat and cream effectively. Small touches that were nice – a mix of black and white sesame seeds on top of the bun and napkins to wipe your hands with afterwards (it was a messy burger). The meat could have been a bit more tender for my liking, but overall this burger had the right amount of flavours and didn’t mess about with ‘special sauce’ or truffle. Solid burger on all fronts, 10/10 would go back and I would recommend it to anyone in Western Sydney area with a burger craving.

Sides: Loaded fries – $7, Regular fries – $5

Eamon – Loaded fries: 4.5/5, Regular fries: 4.5/5

The modern fry is often heavily processed between coming out of the oil and entering the mouth. The regulars feature a fair dose of herbed seasoning which adds well to the crispness of the fries. The quest for the best loaded fries continues with this weekly special. Salt, sauces, a myriad of toppings in combinations unheard of before; all to create the ultimate fry experience. When the search will end, no one knows but to add to the literature of experimental fries, BL Burgers have done exceptionally well. With their addition of cooked kale, crunchy bacon chunks, fresh tomato and red onion and a light aioli atop of their already phenomenal fries, these definitely earn the title of LOADED. If a potato salad was deep-fried, it would turn out something like. They do well to lighten the taste buds and the help-yourself sauce selection is always a welcome addition.

James – Loaded fries: 3.5/5, Regular fries: 4.5/5

Kale and tomatoes on fries. Sounds silly right? Well I’ll be damned because the additional toppings provided a unique combo that had me wanting more. This rating would have been higher with less of the tough pieces of bacon and more tomatoes and kale. The fries also spent an extra couple seconds too long in the fryer – coming out a tad too hard and crunchy for my liking. The regular fries are tough to contest, they were well seasoned and cooked more consistently than the loaded fries. Definitely sets the bar high for future fries.

Melissa – Loaded fries: 4/5, Regular fries: 3.5/5

I’m not usually a huge fan of kale in any shape or form, but the crunchy fried kale on top of these loaded fries was the extra touch and kick it needed to really stand out. Mixed with tomato, bacon, spices and double fried fries, the flavour combination was delicious. This was definitely my favourite combination of loaded fries yet. I’m usually all for bacon but in these fries the tomatoes were the hero – if only there was more tomato and less bacon, then this would’ve been near perfection. Regular fries…what more can I say really? The other 2/3 of nerd club might say different…

Overall

With differing scores, it’s hard to come to an agreed conclusion on our experience with BLBurgers in Parra. One thing we all would agree on is that the opportunity to come back again and again is huge because BL boasts a rotating menu of burgers and weekly loaded fries specials.

Overall a solid feed and a solid beef burger. The personal preferences are really coming into play with this review, with James praising the regular fries and Mel just saying “standard isn’t it?” The burger was a well balanced winner for Eamon and Mel, while James thought it was missing an additional ingredient. Who would’ve thought a beef burger could yield such dividing results? We recommend coming here and trying it out for yourself and let us know what you think by leaving a comment here or on our Instagram (@nerdclubreviews_).