Leonards House of Love — Restaurant in Melbourne

A place that has been on my to-try list for so long and this evening we finally had a chance to give it a go. Leonard’s House of Love eager to please.

Tonight we ordered the Double Cheeseburger, Blue Cheeseburger, Hot Glazed Tenders and Poutine Fries which came out to a total of $70~ with Approx. 25min wait time from ordering to receiving our food.

The order came out nice and fresh which we were pleased to see. The hot glazed tenders was great, lightly coated with a spicy glaze it gave a nice kick. The only problem would be the chewy texture, the batter felt too layered giving it less of a crispy crunch and more of a soft chew. It was still as juicy and tender so can’t complain.

The poutine fries on the other hand was cooked well. The fries were nice and crisp and the gravy was well seasoned. It only lacked in consistency but was great overall.

Now to the main part. The Double Cheeseburger was the most anticipated dish to come out and it did not disappoint. Structured well the first bite was quite the symphony.From the soft bun to gooey melted cheese meeting the seared meat patties my eyes lit up. Literally. A well seasoned taste, it was a well balanced burger not giving too much of the meaty taste but was also not too over seasoned. It does lose some points though, the burger misses on acidity, definitely needs something to accentuate the taste of the meat.

Although the burger itself was great the addition of the Blue Cheese for myself was bit to overpowering. I’ve tried many Blue Cheese items before but this time it was a little bit too overwhelming, the strong pungent taste quickly took over the flavours of the burger and steered it onto a different course. Maybe an addition of tartness could help. (If you’re a blue cheese fan it still is worth the try!)

Overall this restaurant was a good first impression. The immediate greeting of cheer and great service even whilst being so busy was already enough to start with and to end it with good food I think it’s deserves a rating. Hope to...

Leonard's is a '70s-inspired log cabin and bar, complete with lounge room and pool table. A retro house-turned-bar specialising in burgers, fried chicken & sides.

Our second time here and being with friends we got to taste quite a few dishes.

📸 Dishes presented: 🍴 Fried Popcorn Chicken 🍴 Jalapeño Poppers 🍴 Hot Chicken Burgers 🍴 Southside Fried Chicken Burger 🍴 Cheeseburger 🍴 Double Cheeseburger 🍴 Rodeo Burger 🍴 Mac & Cheese 🍴 Iceberg Salad 🍴 Fries

🐥 Popcorn chicken had moist chicken bites coated in a crunchy batter. Jalapeño poppers were crunchy also and the cream cheese filling was a nice touch.

🐔 Fried Chicken burger patties were crispy and succulent and the bun was soft. We preferred the Southside Fried Chicken Burger over the Hot Chicken Burger as the XXX habanero on the hot chicken was just too overpowering.

🍔 The Cheeseburger we had was on our first visit was one of tastiest cheeseburger we’ve had. We could hardly fault it. The second time around we ordered Double Cheeseburger & Rodeo Burger, the beef patties were tender and as good as the first time we ate here. But the Double Cheeseburger was too saucy, unfortunately all that extra sauce was masking the flavour of the delicious beef patty. The Rodeo Burger was decadent and a bit too sweet, perhaps omitting the onion jam might have helped balance out the sweetness.

🍟 Fries were crispy and it paired very well with the amazing gravy sauce. The XXX Glaze sauce tasted a little sweet and smokey but it had a bitter taste also which we didn’t enjoy.

We also tried: Mac & Cheese 🧀 🫕 Iceberg Salad 🥗

Definitely not the best mac & cheese we had. It had a floury taste and slightly under seasoned and the dressing on the iceberg salad was well balanced, but a little pricey for what it was.

Great venue and atmosphere, attentive and friendly staff.

Finn bites dining...

Very expensive for what it is and also had bad experience with one of the wait staff.

Burgers are not bad but $20+ each that’s to be expected. Pint of coke (470ml) for $9 is crazy. Chilli cheese fries were very lacking in flavour! Canned tomatoes and beans, no spices and for $19 this needs work. 4 chicken tenders for $17.50 lol I dunno. So for 2 people: you’re looking at $45 for burgers plus 1-2 sides and a drink = over $90 (for upscale fast food).

The service is VERY MIXED. Had 1 male and 1 female staff who were very kind and friendly, telling us sit anywhere and if we are cold let the staff know and they will bring heaters. Then the male staff that served us… terrible… Firstly we sat outside on the picnic bench tables, they have big umbrellas in the middle of the table which when folded down get in the way of conversation, we asked the staff member to open it up for us so it wasn’t in the way as much. His initial response was “for what?” We then had to provide an explanation to him for our request, he told us he would have to step on our table to open it (which is fine) however after he stepped on our table (1 boot on our seat and 1 boot on the table), he didn’t even wipe the table after, then 15 mins later brought out our food and placed it down, very unhygienic.

We also saw another (big) group on another table who asked if they could pull up a chair/bench so everyone could fit at the table, the staff said no. The people then pulled up a bench themselves and then the staff member went over and told them all to get up and moved the bench back, not really a place that’s fitting for a name like...