Salute @ Bentleigh RSL

540 Centre Road
Bentleigh, 3204

When one thinks RSL, one thinks of Bruce Ruxton, pokies and the moment of silence. So how do I end up at the local RSL where conversation is punctuated by the chinks of the pokies? The answer is I live in Bentleigh. I like the suburb, but dammit, there are very few places to go to for a casual beer with mates.

Unfortunately Bentleigh did not evolve with a set of pubs to be reborn as gastropubs. Instead we have 3 pub's to choose from all fitted with pokies and out of these the RSL would have the least stickiest carpet so despite the quirks, it has become the local venue for a beer.

Salute Burger - Wagyu beef pattie with cheddar cheese, bacon, caramelised onion, cos lettuce, tomato & mayonnaise served with fries

After a favourable review from Burger Adventure, we decided to test the Salute Burger as part of our semi regular catch up for beer. I would say that the recommendation was about right too, between the perfect buns is a stack of what you expect in a good burger - well seasoned and slightly rare grilled beef, crispy bacon, melted cheese with lettuce & tomato. Also a hit were the caramelised onions, very sweet and delicious.

So these are the good things. Bad things? In this day and age I don't understand why pub bistro's charge the same, if not more than a some restaurants and don't offer table service for ordering food and drinks. The fries were also just a pass, crunchy enough to get by, but only just.

While I have no plans to enter in to the world of burger blogging, it is nice to have a spot on burger experience after the recent Grill'd debacle.

Likes - Clean, open, casual. Back bar almost passes as a sports bar.
Dislikes - Lack of table service.

Salute - 3/5