You’d probably associate Takapuna with beachside mansions rather than the humble charm of a bach. Well, that obviously didn’t resonate with two blokes from the depths of Gore, who decided to set up a quintessential getaway, moonlighting as a burger joint, dead centre in the upper market suburb.
Taking its lead from the classic Kiwi holiday home, Burger Bach has a distinctly modest and DIY approach to its interior, utilising raw materials like recycled pallets and corrugated iron as cladding, an old door as a menu frame, a dingy as a lighting feature, and vintage board games as wallpaper.
Despite the kitschy menu titles - The Bachelor, Captain Chook, Shore Thing, Much-Room, Easy Pea-Zie - the burgers are fairly straightforward; mirroring something you’d expect from a small town fish n’ chip shop, only with less grease. The Bachelor ($9.50) is a classic cheeseburger, given extra life with tomato, lettuce, red onion, aioli and a zingy tomato relish. While it probably won’t start a burger revolution anytime soon, its additional ingredients pull through with outstanding freshness. The beef to bun ratio is also on point, managing to avoid an end result of feeling both gorged and sorry for yourself.
Chips are available in both potato and kumara ($4 - 5), and come with complimentary carnival tomato sauce and aioli. While they do their job well as a crispy accompaniment, they’re nothing to shout from the rooftops as a solo order. The house seasoning in this instance was purely salt, though we can vouch from another experience where we had smoked paprika. To wash everything down, the fridge is stocked with a range of juices, soft drinks, and a selection of beer and cider from Auckland brewery Boundary Road.
Come summer, The Burger Bach will bode well as a down-to-earth meal option for those looking to escape the high flyers of Takapuna. If you plan on taking away down to the beach, just beware of the oversized seagulls.