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It may have been a mistake to visit The Counter – Niall Fortune's custom-built burger joint in Dundrum Town Centre – before, rather than after, our shopping expedition. I can't help thinking that our progress around Dundrum, on a mission to source presents for a 10-year-old's upcoming birthday, might have been speedier if we had the prospect of one of The Counter's superior burgers awaiting us at the end of our foray, by way of reward for a good job done. As it was, we fell victim to the occupational hazard of a tendency to over-order and, not to put too fine a point on it, were rather stuffed by the time we hit the shops.
The Counter, located in the Pembroke District at the Harvey Nics/ Plaza end of DTC, underneath the strip of shops housing Cath Kidston and Hamley's, is the only Irish outpost to date of a California franchise. (Fortune is the man behind the successful Eddie Rocket's chain, so we can take it that he knows a thing or two about burgers.) On a Saturday lunchtime we got a table straightaway, but later on there was a short wait. The Counter is family-friendly – there are high chairs, children's meals and canny touches like smaller sized drinks for children that come with a lid and go a long way towards relieving the stress of the spills that are inevitable for parents involved in training their offspring to be civilised eaters out.
The basic concept at The Counter is that punters customise their burger order by filling in a form in which they select from the various options on offer. Step one is to choose a burger from beef, turkey, veggie and grilled chicken. Next, you choose a size: ¹/³lb, ²/³lb and 1lb. You can have your burger in a bun, an English muffin or a honey-wheat bun, or in a bowl on a bed of lettuce or greens. Then you choose a cheese, from one of 10 on offer, including Cashel blue, Gruyère and Irish aged cheddar, and then four toppings from a list of 27 (guacamole, honey, cured bacon, beetroot, roasted corn and black bean salsa, free-range fried egg, fried onion strings to name but a few). Finally, a sauce – there is a selection of 18.
We began with an order of chicken wings (€11.75) that came with a blue cheese dip and a spicy mayonnaise. The bowl was generous – plenty for all five of us to have a good few but not so many as to send us looking for a defibrillator. Evil but excellent.
A cross-section of the burger offering followed. We reckon that the ¹/³lb burger at €9.95 is ample for most people – the ²/³lb (€11.95) if you were very hungry. The 1lb burger might be a bridge too far. The beef burgers were moist and had good flavour, the turkey was a revelation for those who hadn't eaten a turkey burger before. On a previous visit, the veggie version got the thumbs up. Ellie's Kid's Mini Burgers (€5.25) was a well-judged portion of two small burgers and fries.
In the interests of research, we tried plain fries (€3.95), sweet potato fries (€4.30), cheese fries (€4.85) and chilli cheese fries (€5.05). All were very good, but the quantity defeated us. Moreish onion strings (€6.25) are a must.
With soft drinks (the girls were impressed by how much Diet Coke they got for €2.95) and a fabulous shared peanut butter shake (€5.25) by way of pudding, (if we'd had room we might have tried apple crumble, key lime pie, caramel and chocolate brownie or an oversize chocolate chip cookie) this no-holds-barred lunch for five resulted in a bill before service of €101.30. We added €15 for friendly, efficient service. The Counter is a high-class burger joint delivering a quality offering at prices that are more than reasonable. There's a decent selection of wine and beers on offer for those not concerned about the effect of alcohol on their shopping form. No wonder it's a hit with everyone from rugby boys to groups of teenagers to families to exhausted shoppers in need of some restorative sustenance. Just try on the party dresses before your visit rather than after.
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