Burgerack, Atlas Junction

Updated: 07-08-2019

Think 60’s style pop-art inspired diner with a modern twist. You almost expect your waiter to come rolling out to serve you on roller skates. Burgerack is not a new franchise in Johannesburg and Durban and several of their stores are fully halaal.

We tried the newest one to open which is at a small centre in Benoni called Atlas Junction. This centre being in close proximity of Lakefield, which has a large Muslim community, houses several establishments like Calistos, Amans Butchery, Alkhals Spice centre and Upcycled Café which are all fully halaal. It’s a convenient stop in a part of Johannesburg where halaal is not found around every corner. One even has to double check with staff at the Mcdonalds’ and KFC’s if they are halaal.

Burgerack is known for their signature burgers, particularly, the Rockafeller, a 150g beef patty, mozzarella cheese, caramelized grilled onions, mushrooms, jalapeños, tomato & dill pickles, topped with mustard mayo. I tried the Gringo – Patty, tortilla chips, matured cheddar, salsa,red onions, dill pickles, guacamole & sour cream, topped with jalapeño mayo. I like the patty itself as it’s flavourful and meaty. The burgers are large and messy and you eat without protection at your own peril. That means, don’t go in a white shirt.

The Regular craft burger comes in at a reasonable R42 with most others avaraging R55 to R65. The Boss Burger is a triple patty at R105. It should be noted that fries are not included. You can order them extra for regular at R23 to loaded at R35. There’s also a mutton burger if you don’t eat beef, chicken if you don’t eat red meat, or falafel if you don’t eat any meat.

We had tried the Tuesday rib special previously as we happened to be there on said day. It’s R89 for 500g of ribs with chips and onion rings. The ribs flavour was peri peri bbq which was good as the sweetness is balanced by some heat. I felt that it could have been more tender but the husband had no complaints and ate every morsel with gusto and a silly satisfied smile after.

There are also some mexican style dishes. The hard shell tacos are good but get soggy pretty quickly. They have jalapeno poppers and fajitas. I tried the nachos which were nice but a bit on the dry side. It could have used a saucier salsa.

We found the staff at this branch very friendly and interactive. They know their menu and were great with my little one. Taufeeq enjoyed the freak shakes which are over the top with flavours like Candy floss and Bubblegum, Caramel Popcorn and Choc Crunchie. They come thick, dressed up and served in skull face mason jars.

The kids are suitably catered for with a selection of kids meals. I particularly like the kids strips and chips which are technically only meant for under 12’s but they were fine with me ordering it for myself once. The strips are coated in a spicy but not hot spice and deep fried and the portion is larger than most other kids meals I’ve seen. There is also a bank of old school arcade games like Pacman and the like and these keep the little ones thoroughly entertained.

I have yet to try their waffles but that’s an incentive for my next trip there.