Relish, armed with the impeccable pedigree of Chef Willin's Wild Rocket group, along with the patronage and endorsement of gastronomic luminaries like Chubbyhubby, was destined to be a commercial success right from the start.

I have a deep and abiding love for good burgers, as well as eating in general. Coupled with Relish's close proximity to my school, it was inevitable that I'd eventually drop by for a meal.

The waiters were earnest and helpful, which I found fairly typical of an establishment of this stature. I was fine with this. However, I find that waiters here lack the ability to engage in witty banter with customers. It is hardly gratifying when you attempt to crack a joke that is met with a feeble giggle, or silence even, leaving one to wonder whether the joke was bad or some form of language barrier exists.

My friends and I were seated in a dark corner of the restaurant. It wasn't dim or romantic. It was so dark that I couldn't read the menu clearly. However, it did provide an excellent vantage point to survey the rest of the restaurant. I found it interesting that the demographic of customers Relish attracts varies widely. Diners that night ranged from girls in their early twenties (who I enjoyed looking at) to families with elderly grandparents in tow (who I did not enjoy looking at quite as much).

Food:

We got some parmesan wings ($10) to start just because of the enticing name. Everyone loves parmesan, and everyone also loves chicken wings, so if you put two perennial favourites together, success is assured! I thought the portion of 6 wings was quite skimpy. Only the middle portion of the wing is served, you don't get the drumstick part, nor the other disgusting meatless part. Served piping hot, it went well with the mayonnaise provided. Less so with the chicken rice chilli sauce, however. How can parmesan, chicken wings and mayonnaise go wrong! I don't think this was really worth the money though.

We also ordered the spaghetti aglio olio. I think this cost around $14 or so. The aglio olio was tweaked quite well to cater to a local palate, there wasn't too much garlic and the accompanying prawns were relatively fresh. For a burger joint, this Italian staple was really done quite well, although I still think my friend is an idiot for ordering this here.

We had the Wild Rocket burger ($14.5), as well as the Blue Cheese burger with Poached pears ($16.5). The wild rocket burger consisted of a nice thick patty topped with rocket, and the latter was a modification which entailed the addition of blue cheese sauce as well as poached pears (obviously).

I believe we are in the midst of a global epidemic, with regard to the consumption of rocket, also popularly known as arugula or rucola. I find that rocket has an unpleasantly bitter taste, and I strongly believe that this obsession with rocket is largely due to the cool-sounding name. Originally native to the Mediterranean region, this insidious plant would not have penetrated our society to this extent if it were known by its proper name of Eruca Sativa. That's right. I don't think anyone would order an Eruca Sativa salad. It would be way too uncool.

I felt that the 180g patties for both burgers (there's a 230g option I think) were just right. A problem with gourmet burger joints is that the burgers sometimes get a little too thick to eat comfortably with your hands. I believe using a fork and knife to eat your burger is sacrilegious and defeats the entire purpose of consuming a burger.

Fortunately the rocket they use at Relish is fairly limp and insipid, and does little to interfere with your enjoyment of their burgers, while providing you with an illusion of enjoying the mythical health benefits which result from the consumption of vegetables. This is a good thing.

The beef patties in the both burgers were quite good for reconstituted beef. It's no wagyu, but the patties were juicy and quite tasty. I prefer to have my reconstituted beef done medium well, though. I don't really like burger buns soaked through!

I was slightly wary of the blue cheese burger. Whilst I do enjoy roquefort on occasion, I didn't think it would go down too well as part of a burger. Fortunately they toned it down quite well, and the sweetness of the poached pears provided an interesting counterpoint. I am also certain that a small amount of satay sauce was used in the burger. Or something that tasted similar.

Both burgers were quite enjoyable, but the accompanying fries were sadly disappointing. They weren't served piping hot, and were unevenly cooked.

A (silly) friend also ordered the portobello tofu burger because he wasn't hungry. I like portobello as part of a dish. As the centerpiece of a burger, the taste got cloying after a while although I could not fault the size of the portion. The tofu slices sandwiching the portobello also had a sour tang. At almost $20, this definitely wasn't worth the money, although I can't say it was disappointing because the description is already far from appetising.

I think that the burgers at Relish pass muster, and it is a good place to see and be seen. However, the "hip-diner" concept doesn't really work for me. It was a bit too pricey, but is definitely worth a try. Perhaps I'll return when I'm feeling a bit more price-inelastic.