Varsity Bar was opened in February 2013 with its first American college themed bar in Nedlands. Last Sunday evening, we visited Varsity Bar Waterford, Varsity’s second outlet. The restaurant and bar was buzzing with people enjoying a drink or two while watching the epic Australian Open Grand Finals between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. It was a chilled and relaxed atmosphere, with bursts of excitement in the crowd when someone scores.

The venue at Varsity Bar Waterford is supplied by HiscoNFE. HiscoNFe has been restaurants and cafes with commercial kitchen products and appliances since 1985. Looking around, the fit-out throughout the venue was done very well. It was cosy, inviting and definitely encompasses the American Sports Bar theme.

We had two burgers – the Double Cheeseburger with add on bacon and the Buffalo Chicken. All burgers at Varsity are served in a toasted brioche bun with a side of beer battered chips. We enjoyed both burgers that we ordered. The double cheeseburger was very tasty in flavour and the beef patty was delicious, complementing well with the cheesiness and the soft and sweet brioche bun. Adding on the bacon gave the double cheeseburger more flavour.

I usually go for beef when it comes to burgers but the Buffalo Chicken burger at Varsity is worth a try if you like to be different. The buttermilk chicken breast was crisp on the outside and was juicy. Together with the cheese, lettuce, tomato, celery and ranch, it added fresh flavours to the Buffalo Chicken burger. The buffalo sauce added a punch of flavour with a hint of spice to the burger. The beer battered chips on the side was addictive. Crunchy with every bite.

For our sides, we had the ribs and the very spicy devils wings. The ribs were slow cooked bbq with a backyard bbq sauce. We loved the smokey, sweetness and slightly spicy bbq sauce which made the ribs finger licking good.

If you are a big fan of chilli or love your spice, we highly recommend you to try the spicy devil wings.We must also warn you that the spicy devil wings is not for the faint hearted. The chicken wings are coated with Devils BBQ sauce and chilli flakes. Juicy, tender pieces of chicken wings with a slow burn. Luckily, we were also given a cup of milk to help cool it down.

It is hard to choose which one was our favourite dish because we loved it all. For me, the Double Cheeseburger was my favourite and Elwyn reckons his favourite was the Buffalo Chicken burger.

I thought that the menu was priced well for the portions you get. We were very happily full and very satisfied with our food. I just wished I had more room to try their popular milkshakes which I heard were amazing. This was our first visit at Varsity Bar Waterford and we enjoyed the food and the friendly, welcoming service. Overall, it was a great experience and we will definitely be back again.

As a part of this experience, we were also asked what kitchen product could we not live (or cook) without, we would probably say the microwave!

The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own. We would like to thank the Strategy Agency for inviting us and the Varsity Bar Waterford team for having us and letting us try your food. We had an enjoyable night.