Boom Burger - CLOSED

Overview

The burger business is a competitive one, and thankfully there's a steady stream of new burger joints popping up around Wellington. Boom Burger's maiden shop may be small, but they're on a mission to offer something new and they're not afraid to flaunt it.

Occupying a tight nook toward the end of Courtenay Place, there's only space for a handful of tables inside, but the the fit-out ensures Boom Burger makes its presence felt. The pink neon lighting bounces off the shiny black tiled walls, and with the open kitchen pretty much within arm's reach of diners, it's quite an intimate space.

There can be a bit of a wait for the food but there's plenty to keep you occupied, from the hidden joys of their extensive menu (bacon, banana and maple frappe, anyone?) to the mini photo booth.

Opting for safe, classic options, we opted for the American cheeseburger ($9.90) and the eponymous Boom burger ($11.90). There isn't actually a lot to differentiate the two, with both burgers packing the staples such as a beef patty, cheese, pickles and vege, and tomato sauce for the cheeseburger and house 'Boom sauce' for the Boom burger.

The burgers come in either a regular or 'Atomic' size, with the regular burgers being quite compact. The buns are soft and spongy with a brilliant texture, but overall we felt they could have been a bit more generous with the fillings. The patties are slightly on the slimmer side but they do the job and the burgers are solid enough, if slightly prosaic.

This is countered to a large degree by the sheer amazingness of Boom Burger's loaded fries ($12.90). We opted for the chicken loaded fries (also available with either beef or veges), which features a sizeable serving of Makikihi potato fries topped with chunks of smokey chicken and plenty of lemon braised onions, cheese sauce, pickled chilli, spring onion and pickled red onion. While the lemon braised onions deserve a special mention for the unreal edge they add to the fries, all the ingredients combine superbly together for a powerful medley of flavours.

For a place where burgers are the purported main attraction, the loaded fries certainly do a fine job of standing out, and overall Boom Burger is a decent place to stop by for a quick and guilty meal.