THE BALLARAT TRADING CO. REVIEW

Despite having walked past The Ballarat Trading Co dozens of times I had never stopped in for a drink/feed.

That finally changed on a Sunday, when a friend wanted to visit having enjoyed The Ballarat on her last trip.

Note: In the evenings The Ballarat transforms into a club with one of, if not, the stickiest floor in town :p

The Ballarat Trading Co is one of several spots on Ballarat Street that has outdoor seating, and on a sunny day, you’ll be in hot competition for the seats (they’re best for small groups of 3-5 people). Fortunately for us, we snagged one.

Our 4.30 pm arrival worked a treat. We beat the dinner rush, and while they had live music, most people would have been on their more active Queenstown activities still.

If we had to sit inside, we would have passed. It’s very dark inside (darker than the Speights Ale House) and with the guy playing live music inside, it was very loud for a couple of mates wanting to yarn over a feed and a pint.

Sitting outside, we could still hear the music but didn’t need to shout at each other.

The Menu

After taking a seat, a staff member gave us a couple of menus. The menu is super easy to understand, and they let us know about the $10 burger Sunday deal right away.

There was only one burger option for vegetarians (there are non-burger options too):

Mushroom cloud
crumbed mushroom, Asian slaw & wasabi mayo

They were able to make the burger vegan by substituting the bun for a gluten-free bun and removing the wasabi mayo.

That makes for a super simple burger. I’m definitely glad we were there for the $10 deal as $18 feels like it’s overpriced. Even before eating it.

While we waited I was stoked with my jug of Tui.

I a little over 10 minutes our meals were ready.

My Mushroom Cloud Tasting Notes

There’s not much to say about the burger given the minimalism 🙂

• The burger bun, despite being gluten free, was genuinely good. It didn’t have any of the brick-like awkward traits many gluten-free breads are known for. Would eat again.
• Slaw. Pretty standard. I added some tomato sauce to it to prevent the burger being dry.
• The mushroom cloud. This was delicious! The mushroom was just juicy enough and it wasn’t heavy on the crumbs. The mushroom was a good size relative to the bun. This is a detail they could stuff up easily but didn’t. Loved it.

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So yea, the burger was super simple but the key parts, the mushroom and the bun were good. In the future it’d be awesome if they could have some kind of vegan aioli/mayo as a substitute. That said, it’s not exactly a place you’d expect to go and have infinite vegan options which is fine.

If you’re after some people-watching, the outdoor seating at Queenstown’s Ballarat Trading Co. fits the bill. But I can imagine when international travel returns, the foot traffic going past would almost be overwhelming.

If you’re after a delicious vegan burger in Queenstown, head to Smiths or elsewhere. If you’re here for the people watching and the burger is a bonus, go for it.

The Ballarat Trading Co is located at 7/9 The Mall, Queenstown, 9300.

Have you visited The Ballarat Trading Co? I and others would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, or you can email me, jub@churnewzealand.com

If you enjoyed this review, check out all these vegan burgers in New Zealand that I’ve reviewed.