IN FOCUS // Burger Park
Burger Park Bondi’s newest burger shop is fuelled by nostalgia and a new-wave pineapple ring. WORDS Annabelle Cloros CHEF JOEL BENNETTS teamed up with Fishbowl Co-Founders Nathan Dalah and Nic Pestalozzi in 2020 to launch the group’s
first restaurant: Fish Shop. The Bondi eatery would lead to spin-off venue Fsh Mkt, with Bennetts later deciding to move on and delve into the world of consulting. He released his first book (Food by
Joel Bennetts) and did a little travel, too, but it wasn’t long before the trio would come back together to develop a new concept centered around burgers.
Bennetts speaks to Hospitality about bringing Burger Park to life
and why there’s only four options on the menu.
Fish Shop is best known for its calamari with fermented chilli oil
and something else — a barramundi burger with slaw. The venue and sibling concept Fsh Mkt have slung their fair of burgers over the years. Whether it’s the OG, the tuna cheeseburger, or the swordfish sandwich — burgers have always been a hit.
Fish Shop recently celebrated its third anniversary, but the
group decided it was time to close Fsh Mkt back in August. It was a move that would lead to Joel Bennetts’ return to the Fishbowl world. “The boys said, ‘We really want you back in the business and we want to offer you a share’, so I am now a part-owner
and the culinary director of Fish Shop and Burger Park,” says the
chef. “The change in concept of Fsh Mkt to Burger Park was really interesting to me and I think the locals thought the two venues
[Fish Shop and Fsh Mkt] were too similar, so we decided to do a burger joint and give it a go ourselves.”
Burger Park is the group’s first foray out of seafood and focuses
on classic burger combinations — think chilli and chicken and beef with tomato, cheese, and onion — flavours that are both
familiar and nostalgic, which formed part of the creative brief for Bennetts. “I used to travel a lot down the South Coast and up the
North Coast of New South Wales as a kid and we would always go to petrol stations and get burgers with the lot,” he says. “It’s very 6 | Hospitality
“It’s easy to dominate a menu with so many options, and that’s why we thought it was a good idea to do add-ons.” – Joel Bennetts
