Grand Trailer Park Taverna — Restaurant in Melbourne

Ok so I met up with a friend before a show last night. I Thought great! A new burger joint in the city! I like my burgers simple but satisfying …as Anthony Bourdain said “ I good burger is one that you can hold with one hand” so I chose the CB1 as appeared to be a the most traditional American Burger ( looked at the KSA but it appeared to be practically the same with the addition of a slice of tomato and “special burger sauce for $5.50 more) Anyway….It was awful! It was not dissimilar to a Maccas Cheese Burger, just slightly larger. And It appears a slightly sweet bun with an egg washed–top these days can be passed of as a “Brioche Bun”? ( by the way in my opinion Brioche Buns…even good ones don’t make good burger buns). It cost $10. Yes, $10 just for the for a (Maccas style) Burger. I was left unsatisfied and hungry. If I had had time, I would have ordered one of the more fancier burgers like the $ 18 THANOS to compare. I also had the tap beer (Boags)………….it was flat...really flat. After the show, I went into McDonald’s just to compare and satisfy to myself I wasn’t exaggerating……and yep!.....Cheeseburger. Only this time I didn’t pay 10 bucks. Now...

I would eat there again. It's a great fitout with all the caravans and the burger I had was quite tasty. I can't remember the chips or - if I had a shake - whether it was any good.

I'm only giving it 4 stars because I feel like I should reserve 5 stars for places where at least one things blows my mind, somehow. While the burger was tasty enough, that's about all I remember. Whereas other burgers I can still recall the flavour. Like this one place in Whistler 8 years ago where the sauce - while gross sounding - kinda had a very unique anchovy flavour, or even a burger at the deli in Santa Monica where Robert DeNiro dines at the beginning of "Heat" ... I remember the flavour of the 4 cheeses like it was yesterday, but it was back in '96! Or even just the signature burger's kewpie mayo or Smokey Joe's BBQ sauce & onion rings down at Sideshow Burgers in Rosanna ... all those flavours left (or continue to leave) a lasting impression.

Anyway ... if I was in town hunting for a burger I'd definitely give this place another go. But I wouldn't actually travel into town to...

This is a really great burger joint that's super easy to get to (just catch the 96 or 86 tram to the top of Bourke Street and hop off just before Parliament), has a really funky/fun vibe to it with the 'trailer park' decor and offers reasonably priced food (the cheapest burger being $10).

I've been here a number of times taking a large group (12+ people) and have never had any issues! The staff are EXTREMELY lovely, super patient and always willing to help out which makes my life a whole lot easier. Not all places are super kind about having lots of people, but I've always felt the staff here aren't phased by it.

The only minor critique I would make is that if you're a vegan, you won't get anything other than hot chips from here unfortunately. I get it, it's hard to cater to absolutely every type of dietary requirement (they're NEVER ENDING) but I think offering even just one vegan burger would be great and enable more people to enjoy the novel experience of visiting Grand...