Fritzenberger

FRITZENBERGER AT PETRIE TERRACE HAS PERMANENTLY CLOSED.

Fritzenberger is Petrie Terrace’s landmark frites and burger brew pub in a history-laden 130 year old building that was once a butcher’s shop.*

A lively place to pop in any time of day or night for a dose of swingin’ interwar music, premise-brewed beer, divine frites and burgers, Fritzenberger is a perfect addition to the hip and happening Caxton Street bar scene.

Upstairs behind the bar is the shiny onsite craft brewing apparatus where six (and up to twelve) beers are brewed and on the original brick walls are a line-up of historic world characters – think Queen Elizabeth II, Lauren Bacall, Mona Lisa and JFK, all with the signature Fritzenberger moustache that also appears on the glasses.

There’s plenty of room to pull up a stool here, but there’s more – downstairs is a fantastic ambient cellar bar where a hundred years ago the butcher’s meats were kept cool, and still featuring the cavities where it was passed up to the shop upstairs. This is the spot where the spillover from upstairs will continue and DJ’s will be spinning tunes with some late night dancing.

What’s on offer food-wise at Fritzenberger are burgers and frites – keeping it simple but done to an absolute tee, with ingredients including hydroponic lettuce, premise-made aioli and ketchup, organic tomato, fresh herbs, house pickles and aged cheddar cheese.

On the menu are the signature Fritzenburger (with grass-fed NSW beef and house-made Fritzen sauce), Cheese Burger (with ketchup, cheddar and pickles), Pork Burger (smoked slow-cooked pork belly and shoulder, rough cut slaw, mint and coriander), Vegetarian (Panko-crumbed Swiss Cheese-filled mushrooms with Fritzensauce) and Chicken Burger (Southern Fried free range chicken), with add-ons including Bacon Jam and Maple Syrup Candied Jam.

Sides include the must-try Frites or Loaded Frites, which come with a choice of another in-house specialty - flavoured salt. A giant salt shaker light is suspended to one side of the open kitchen, indicating the salt station, where there’s a choice of salts such as vegemite, roast chicken or salt and vinegar salt. (tip – try the Twisty Salt). There’s also Lettuce Wedges, Crumbed Pork Bites, Fritzen Wings with blue cheese sauce and Fritzen Pickles.

Fritzenberger is, unsurprisingly, something of a beer-lover’s nirvana, with schooners of Fritzenberger Lager, Pale Ale, IPA, Coffee IPA on tap, as well as Fritzenberger Apple Cider. In addition there's the likes of Pirate Life Stout, Black Hops Eggnog Stout and Newstead Liquid Amber.

Lager and Pilsener Bottles include Bridge Road Enigma and classic German beer Warsteiner, Pale Ale Bottles  Sierra Nevada, Balter XPA and Stone & Wood Pacific Ale, IPA Bottles including Bridge Road Bling while Golden Ale and Wheat Bottles include Wiehensatphener Hefe, a classic German beer from the world’s oldest brewery.

There are also Stout Bottles, Belgian and Saison Bottles (including Saison Dupont, a classic Belgian Farmhouse ale), Odd Bod Bottles such as Fortitude Pacer from Mt Tamborine and a smattering of Cider and Ginger Beer.

Other than beer there’s a decent wine list with a range of Oz and a handful of Euro wines available by the glass (150 or 250ml) or by the bottle (the latter ranging up to Dom Perignon champagne)

*For about thirty years the building was home to well-known nightclub and cellar bar Casablanca.