There is a new burger place in town – Congratulations Omer Siddiq (Class of 2017)
There is a new burger place in town – Congratulations Omer Siddiq (Class of 2017)
Pattysmiths is a premium burger brand out of Melbourne. Omer was visiting friends there and had a meal and decided it was the best burger he had ever eaten and that Canberrans deserved a chance to sample them as well.
When Omer Siddiq was a little kid his parents Khawar and Sammi, who owned Taj Agra Indian restaurant on Woolley St, would give him a five-dollar note and tell him to get out and go and find some chocolate to get him out of their hair.
“I’d head over to the servo and see what treasures I could find,” says Omer. “I’ve grown up in Dickson, I remember having my sixth birthday party at mum and dad’s restaurant.”
Khawar and Sammi still run Taj Agra, one of Canberra’s longest-running, family-owned restaurants, and Omer, is running his own, Pattysmiths, a hundred metres or so down the road.
“I’m definitely out of their hair now,” he says.
Pattysmiths is a premium burger brand out of Melbourne. Siddiq was visiting friends there and had a meal and decided it was the best burger he had ever eaten and that Canberrans deserved a chance to sample them as well.
So he postponed university studies and opened a restaurant on Cape Street, and has plans to open more in Canberra in the future.
He says the point of difference with a Pattysmiths burger is “real food”.
“I get vegetables in from a local guy who supplies the fresh food markets as well, it’s grown on a farm, harvested and brought here. Our beef and chicken, there are no preservatives, it’s fresh and local. It’s real food just served between two buns.”
Each patty, which is made from wagyu and angus beef, is handcrafted, using a heavy burger press to squash the meat. The method results in a deep caramelisation to the outside to the patty with soft, tender meat inside.
The restaurant has also been certified Halal as he is using a faux “chicken bacon” on the menu.
His favourite burger is the fried chicken burger with cheddar, slaw, chipotle aioli and trademark smoky barbecue sauce.
“And even though I’m not a great fan of vegetables, I do like our plant patty burger, that’s been really popular as well.”
As well as the burgers, there’s also a range of Alabama chicken and wings with a selection of rubs and sauces and fries that can be loaded with all sorts of condiments from jalapenos to spring onions.
Omer says he’s proud to be part of the new Dickson, with eateries opening along Cape Street, and developments happening in the DKSN precinct.
Content credit: Canberra Times, online news article dated 1 December 2020
Photo credit: Dion Georgopoulos
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Omer Siddiq
CLASS OF 2017