Chuck Wagon

Food is amazing but they are terribly understaffed. We had the stuffed potatoes and sweet fries to start –so delicious. I then had the Texan burger. Trying to get anything was ridiculous. Food came out at least 20 mins before the drinks. I wouldn’t recommend going here on any busy nights. The staff were doing there best but it was unorganized chaos. As a customer I felt like we were in there way– even though they were friendly with each interaction you had to flag them down. They need at least another 3 staff on busy nights.

I’ve been here about 3 times now and it never fails to brighten my night. If your a major geek/​nerd you will love this place.
Upon entering, greeting by efficient and lovely, friendly staff, we were seated and handed menus. It’s very American as the place is covered in Marvel and DC comics to big hit movies like the terminator, star wars, predator, ninja turtles or old nintendo or cd’s on the walls and ceilings. There’s a big statue of Captain America and batman, and plenty of figurines such as fantastic 4 or star war troopers. The list goes on and when you hit the the bathrooms, there are colourful brollies hanging from the ceilings.
The cuisine is American style from burgers, milkshakes, fries, sweet potatoe fries, ribs, pork burgers, mac and cheese, hot dogs, pizza and nachos, cheese dogs, fries with cheese and chicken wings. So don’t fret, they do have vegetarian and gluten free options.
There is a wall of fame here too, so if you love food challenges, game on. Try the giant burger challenge, one burger with 6 beef patties of meat, 6 slices of cheese, 6 layers of housemade pulled pork, 6 layers of cheddar cheese, 6 layers of bacon, topped off with lettuce, onions and tomatoes with a side of chips and a milk shake. Good luck if you can finish this off in the designated time frame.
We ordered the:
Wagon wheel milk shake: A Sweet & Simple chocolate Shake, Topped with more chocolate on the sides, whipped cream and a giant wagon wheel. Sugar fixed solved. Thumbs up!
Sides: Crispy Shoestring Fries, Seasoned with Tex/​Mex Spices, Served with Tangy Fry Sauce. Absolutely fantastic!
Special milkshake of the month: Princess Leia! A Sweet & Simple Vanilla Shake, Topped With Sprinkles, Edible Flowers, a Triple Stack Of Pancakes, Whipped Cream, Strawberries and pink Lindt Lindor Chocolates. Thumbs up!
Small Ribs with sweet potatoe fries: 12 hour braised and hickory smoked american pork ribs that was on a bed of sweet potato dries. The meat fell of the ribs and were flavoursome with all that tex/​mex spices and well seasoned.
Piglet Burger: 15hr Slow Braised Pulled Pork Shoulder in Chucks Signature Sauce, Served with Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Signature Chuck Coleslaw and Crispy Pork Crackling on a Soft Toasted Sweet Bun
I’ll definitely be returning back here as a regular. 5 star Thumbs Up!

One of the first burger joints to hit Radelaide, this American-​inspired cuisine establishment has all your typical offerings. From burgers, ribs and nachos to jalopeno poppers and wings. Mac and cheese being the staple side here. No doubt about it; it is greasy and it is gooood for the soul (in moderation!).
When you enter, the first impression is usually woah! The entire place is decorated from floor to ceiling in grafitti and mostly Marvel and DC comic related giant figurines. You cannot miss the giant Predator greeting you at the entrance. Even the toilets are not spared from the pop-​culture décor. It really is a feast for the eyes.
We came here for the ‘freak shakes’. It appears that these shakes on steroids are sweeping the nation and every eatery that can do them, will do them. Chuck Wagon included. I first stumbled across these heart-​attack in liquid form via instagram from a bakery call Patissez in Canberra almost a year ago.
If you are keen to try one of these, make sure you have a plan to off set this heart-​attack inducing treat.
Chuck Wagon are also well known for their crazy burger challenges.
Everything you eat in this place will raise your sugar level, so fair warning.
Having said that, of all the burger bars I have been to, I rate this the most for its wow factor, its reasonable pricing and the consistent friendly service.

I’ve been exploring all the burger options that Adelaide’s new boutique burger joints have to offer and so it was with some excitement that I stumbled upon Chuck Wagon.
The décor is amazing, if concerning. The sheer expense of all those collectables must be adding a couple of bucks to every item on the menu!
I’ve now been three times and have had such uniformly disappointing experiences, I’ll not be returning.
The problem is that the food just isn’t very good.
The first time I had a Polo Loco Chicken Burger. It was amazing to look at, but constructed in such a way that it couldn’t be eaten without taking the entire thing apart. That’s a fundamental burger fail right there. Add to that the fact the burger was disappointing and over-​salted, I should have given up then.
The second time, I tried the Dirty Reuben (spelled Reuban in the menu for some reason). This was so salty, I couldn’t even finish it.
My third and final visit had me trying the Royale with Cheese. This was another overly salty burger and the «cheese» is actually a cheese sauce that drips out of the burger so quickly you realise the «with cheese» part means that there is cheese NEAR the burger, but not really IN the burger, once you pick it up.
Chips are okay, but salty. Onion rings were oversized and undercooked.
I tried a milkshake, but it seems it’s just a flavoured milk with the glass topped with whipped cream. No ice cream in it or anything like that. Just as underwhelming as everything else.
I guess this is just another example of that old rule that restaurants with amazing décor are usually making up for poor food. This place’s décor is pretty amazing. You do the math.
Not recommended, unless you need extra salt in your diet.

From the pop-​culture décor to the food. The Chuck Wagon is truly a fun and interesting experience. The décor is awesome; my boyfriend and I ordered a serve of the portobello chips which are very unique tasting. (Portobello mushrooms which have been battered and friend served with a delicious creamy mayonnaise). First you have the crunch from the batter and then the soft flavoursome mushroom, dip it in the mayonnaise and it’s this creamy delight full of wonderful textures; it’s a chip adventure. We both had a royale with cheese, the standard classic tasting burger. The burger was amazing, from the cheese to the authentic American mustard, it was a roller coaster of flavour. Amazing! I would also recommend trying a Nutella milkshake. While they are short-​lived (predominately comprising of cream), they taste marvellous, and Nutella lovers’ delight.

Couldn’t wait to try this place. But food was disappointing for us.
Décor is great, quite small so not much space to move but has a good atmosphere, funky and young feel but also family friendly.
Food … Ok. Nachos is chips and sauce. No meet. Very average to poor
Kids cheeseburger … My son hated it, usually it wouldn’t matter to much ya just eat your fries right? Only when you order a burger it’s just a burger no sides at all.
My hubby ordered the giant burger (sorry forgot the name) came out not so big. And not so tasty. And again no sides. You order a $ 19 burger and that’s how it comes. Just a burger on a plate.
The place was busy and there was a wait to get in. People seemed to enjoy their good. So maybe it’s just us. I expected more.

Fried pickles, fried mac and cheese with fries, fried chicken, pulled pork with cheese and fries even the coleslaw seemed fried! Hamburgers are the highlight with tasty beef patties. The big daddy burger has 2 plus massive onion rings, bacon, tomatoe, lettuce and sauce plus more (pictured). After all these carbs you need something to cut through the fat and the sandman was just that with a combination of ginger, whiskey and lime. If some of the food is a little too American (deep fried pickles certainly were for me) then take a break and try and guess which movies are represented by all the paraphanalia they have crammed in! Service is friendly and attentive if a little amateur. (the waiter didn’t know what stout was) some local beers available and 2 taps. A good place to stock up on carbs for winter! Price medium with some entrees cheaper. American kitch but it is one place livening up occonnel st again!

Had a three generation family lunch at the Chuck Wagon. My son’s choice, he was so keen to eat here that he organised the rest of us. Due to the size of our party we sat at the bigger high table, luckily the baby in the low high chair didn’t care and behaved beautifully. The staff were great, friendly and coped with us and the baby. The food was delicious, the serving size great, we all enjoyed food which was different to the normal burgers around. The home made wagon wheels were a hit as was the memorabilia on show. Hubby and I had a laugh when we needed to explain what «chuck wagon» meant. The younger generation thought it referred to something else entirely

Terrific American-​themed food. The ambience was cool, but a little OTT. I will definitely be recommending this one to friends!

This place truly makes amazing food with everything on the menu I’ve tried so far having its own unique flavour, leaving you to wanting more and more! Whilst everything tastes great, my favourite is going to have to be the apple pie — don’t leave without trying this!
The environment is very cool with the superhero theme, making it accommodating for families and big kids (like me) who are still young at heart. It’s unfortunate that the place is too small to fit everyone that wants to be there, but waiting around does not take too long and is definitely worth the food once served.
It did not take long at all for the food to come out, however I must say the service can be quite appalling at times. For example, I sat and waited for 45 minutes to be served further for dessert, and despite being looked at over 2 dozen times by floor staff, no one even bothered to come around. At this point, I was pretty annoyed and just ended up going to pay for the meal in frustration.
Now, I can’t stay mad because due to this, the meal was on the house even though I still offered to pay for it — but I must admit that I’m still a little disappointed I didn’t get that apple pie! I’ll definitely go back for more, but please, please do improve your table service, even just check-​in now and then to see how things are going and you’ll work that extra star back!

Well I’m well and truly loving this burger craze that’s sweeping Adelaide at the moment.
This place is brilliant. From the fantastic décor to the delicious food, I was in American heaven.
First up were the shoestring fries. I wasn’t quite game enough to try the pizza fries this time, but the seasoned shoestring fries were amazing, and I don’t know what’s in that sauce, but I want to put it on everything!
I went traditional for my main meal, and got the American Street Dog. It didn’t disappoint. I scoffed it too quickly to even take a photo.
Next up was dessert. What more can I say but YUM. That deep fried Jack Daniels Apple pie is possibly the most delectable dessert I’ve ever eaten. Especially at a burger joint.
Only fault I could give was the service. Bit slow and it did feel like we had been forgotten at one point, but understandable given how many customers there were at dinner time.
Save me a seat folks, I’ll definitely be back!

Great American street food served in a fun atmosphere. Or as I like to call it, Hipster.
I can’t really fault the place

Went to lunch after a movie with 3 other people hungry for a feed. We were keen to try Chuck Wagon as I’m really enjoying the American food craze sweeping through Adelaide.
The place looks INCREDIBLE. This is how my bedroom would look in a dream world, the walls covered in movie and band posters, life size statues of various characters out of pop culture. THERE IS GUITAR HERO ON THE WALL READY FOR YOU TOO PLAY! Right down to the little chalk drawing of Christopher Walken asking me to order in his accent for a 10% discount. These guys have set this place up so well just thinking about it I wanna go back.
Let’s be clear, unless you’ve accepted the fact that you’re going to be heavier when you leave chuck wagon than when you walked in — this isn’t the place for you.
3 of us ordered ridiculously named hotdogs with fries while my girlfriend ordered «The Chuck». Now we all know — not to order the first burger on the menu, it’s the boring one. My girlfriend got the boring one and as such didn’t enjoy her burger. I on the other hand was adventurous and ordered the Nacho Hotdog. Douglas Adams had this to say about space «Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind– bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.»
This is how I would describe my hotdog. On top of that — it was tasty and spicy and hot; it was salsa and guac and sour cream and EVERYTHING, that the mind produces when you hear the words «Nacho Hotdog». The shoestring fries were tasty, chuck wagons seasoning is delicious and Their dipping sauce is unfathomably delicious — they were a little over cooked which was really disappointing as they went cold quicker than normal and they were a tad on the chewy side.
The only really bad thing I have to say about this place is the service — sucks. We waited a good 15 minutes before being approached, to order, we weren’t consulted once on how our food was and after paying we weren’t even bade farewell — minimal communication considering there were at least 3 staff standing around chatting. That’s great that your cool and sexy but you’re also rude — not a great combo.
These guys are so close to a five star review — just a couple of tweaks. Oh and throw out your floor staff and get a new set.

Chuck Wagon, a great place ‘Burger Joint’ at the north end of O’Connell St.
They do a range of burgers for all tastes, Beef, Pork, Chicken and Vego.
Assorted fillings abide.
And for something different, go for the HOT chicken wings.
If you are brave and VERY hungry go for the burger challenge as well…
Give this place a go!

Ordered take away, was told 10 – 20 minutes. Arrived after 20 minutes being a busy Saturday night, waited n line patiently. Drove the 5 minutes home to open up our bags of completely cold burgers, soggy cold fries and onion rings… Plus the modifications that we had asked for on a burger (due to my wife being pregnant– asked for no cheese and no rare meat) had not been taken into consideration by staff when requested… Rang to tell them of our issue, girl couldn’t have cared. $ 40 of food in the bin. Sorry, they used to be good … Not so much now

Named for the chuck steak used in their burgers, Chuck Wagon 175 exclusively use it for a perfect balance between marbling and meat.
Interiors at Chuck Wagon are an homage to the best of the 1990’s. Movie posters, comic books, Space Jam on the tv (boy animation has gotten better since the 90’s!).
We are greeted upon entry by the head maitre’d, who seats us at our choice of table, and then runs through the menu with us, including key recommendations that are very helpful.
A waitress soon takes our orders, and a waiter brings glasses for our craft brews.
The Sam Adams is a crisp and refreshing lager, with nice maltiness. Sierra Nevada are always delicious brews, and this Torpedo is a cracker. Bitter hoppiness also adds a citrus aroma for a perfect match to the rich cuisine.
Texan chef Jason Telfer knows his stuff.
More innovative than your average burger bar, the menu has many unique twists.
In the appetiser section the twice battered, fried pickle ($ 5) comes in an enormous size, plenty enough for two to share as our maitre’d suggested.
This was the best, crispiest batter I have ever had. There was not one hint of oiliness. The sharp salty pickle was hot and juicy and the ranch dressing made for a creamy dipping sauce.
Burgers arrived next.
The Mexican was impaled with a skewer and served like the pickle on a little enamel serving dish with handles. Made up of a 160gm chuck steak patty, cheddar sauce, and guacamole, it was a good size and looked fresh and tasty. Nicely medium-​rare pink tinged patty was juicy and flavoursome, with the guacamole cooling the jalapeño heat. Mr Wino really enjoyed his burger.
Both of us were impressed at the size of the vegetarian special — returned for a second week due to its’ popularity — the I Am Groot.
Smokey Jack Daniels Braised Portobello Mushroom Ragout, a Red Bean, Peanut, Cilantro and Jalapeño Patty. Fresh Baby Spinach, Fire Roasted Bell Peppers, Smashed Avocado, Caramelised Onion Jam, American Corn Chips and Pickles with House made Onion Rings on a Toasted Sweet Bun, will set you back $ 15.
A vegan bun adds $ 2.
Plus, you can «double down» the burger for an extra $ 6 to make Adelaide’s tallest vegetarian/​vegan burger — which is exactly what I ordered.
To tackle this big beastie I first squished it, then cut it into quarters. I could then just about grip a quarter at a time in my hands.
The first flavour was of the mushrooms. Hands down, the tastiest mushrooms I’ve had — sweet, smokey, earthy. The guacamole was smooth, the black bean patty had a bit of chilli spice, the bun was soft but held together suprisingly well. There was salty crunch from the corn chips and onion rings. WOW a real party in the mouth!
I just loved this burger and it didn’t last very long at all. I smashed it :-)
Value is offered in spades, with an appetizer, two burgers, and two American craft beers costing less than $ 50.
Dining early is a good idea, as we did at about 6.30pm on a Saturday night. It got increasingly busy.

I’ll start with the fact that this place has the best «eating experience» I have come across in regards to burger places. You are not cramped in or feel like your rushed!
Ok so I ordered the Chuck, it came out looking quite small which had me worried! However it was very filling and very delicious, I would highly recommend it. The fries were yum also, they came with a side of smoky tomato sauce. Yum.
My partner order the ultimate which came with two patties, he thought it was also fantastic. Their menu is a little more extensive then some also offering Jalepeno poppers. I did not order these and I’m a weakling but my partner did… And he enjoyed them.
We also had a baby with us, the restaurant is quite kid friendly :)
One negative was that they did forget one order on our table.

Edited/​updated: I have eaten here on a number of occasions and have enjoyed it. I give it 3.5 stars. I probably will return if I am visiting friends in the area. No … edit this: after travelling to the US and extensive burger sampling I’m raising the star count to 4.5. We keep coming back. Is there any better beef burger in Adl?
I have eaten the double patty chuck burger a few times. The meat is quality and I like the provolone cheese. It is very filling and a big meal for me without getting too carried away. I am not worried about the high fat in the burger and cheese and understand that the burger is not a healthy choice :) pair the burger with Boneless wings! Boom, flavour overload.

On an updated note — now that I have tried many more burgers, I gotta say, there is better out there. The service here though is second to none, but it’s the burger I’m judging, not the service.
I also tried the chilli cheese fries on my most recent visit — an appropriate burger accompaniment in theory but really, nothing to write home about.
Sad to say, but I think that there are better out there.

I’m writing this review after coming back from dinner at Chuckwagon with a uni friend of mine. She’s a bit of a burger aficionado. She’s not from Adelaide, so while she’s in town we’ve been trying some of the crème de la crème of Adelaide’s burger scene. I’d never been, but after hearing some good things we added Chuckwagon to our list of burger haunts.
We match pretty closely when it comes to burger likes, but when it comes to Chuckwagon she was not impressed. Not at all. While I wasn’t blown away by the burgers, I have a slightly more favourable view of this North Adelaide burger joint.
I had a Mexican Burger, the jalapeño poppers, fries and a banana, peanut butter and Nutella smoothie.
Before Burgastronomy came to town I’d never even heard of jalapeño poppers. Theirs were the first I tried, and I quickly had to get to the counter to get a drink. They had a sharp kick, but were also creamy and gooey, and generally pretty awesome. The ones at Chuckwagon were my second try, and I ordered a drink to make sure I was ready. Unfortunately they didn’t have any heat at all. I would have liked it if the filling was more than just cream cheese, but overall I liked them. Fries were standard shoestring fries, and they came with a very tangy dipping sauce. It’s not for everyone, but by the end of the meal I was a little bit hooked.
Then the burger. It was sloppy to the point that I was licking guacamole off of my fingers (something I’m not ashamed to enjoy while eating a burger). The patty was juicy, and the fillings were good. The jalapenos in the burger weren’t over powering, but they definitely had a lot more heat than the poppers. There was still something a little bit strange about the burger. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about the patty didn’t taste quite as I like it. I won’t go as far as saying it was bad, I think it was a perfectly good patty, the flavour just didn’t seem to suit the burger. There was almost something a little gamey about the taste. I don’t know enough about meat to know what might give it this flavour, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would a patty from Press, Burger Theory, or Burgastronomy (so far my three favourite burger patties around town).
Then there was the bun. I’ve heard a lot of people say the buns are from Breadtop (same as Burger Theory, and I suspect Press). I’d be surprised to find out this is true. Appearance-​wise they’re definitely pretty similar. Texture wise the bun reminded me of the dinner rolls you get with a KFC meal (do you still get those?). It was sweet, but it didn’t seem quite the same.
All in all I enjoyed the burger, and I’d go back for another one, but I don’t think it quite stacks up against some of the better ones.
Finally the smoothie. Banana, peanut butter, & Nutella. It’s hard to go wrong with those three flavours. Thankfully they didn’t. It was awesome.
My friend and I came away from the meal with completely different opinions about the place. Give them a go, I suspect most of the issues with the meal come down to personal taste rather than any real faults on their end.