Kustom Burgers

For two whole years, Paul Hendrie spent long nights driving a forklift on the docks and happy days building Kustom Burgers, his diner in Thornbury.

His passion shows. The car-themed space is rich with detail, from the old flip-out ashtrays which adorn the counter (you can’t use them, of course) to the faux checker plate on the walls. There’s also an entire pick-up truck parked inside, with a working slot-car circuit set up on the tray.

The car love extends to the burgers, which are grass-fed beef with names such as F150 and FJ Holden, and come on your choice of plain or brioche. Chilli fiends can well and truly meet their match with the Hot Rod, which is fuelled by a habanero and chipotle sauce measuring 120,000 Scoville Heat Units.

There are also mushroom or chicken burgers with jalapenos and chipotle mayo, plus a huge range of extras including one-kilogram rib-eye steaks, wings, dogs, slaw and incredible beer-battered fries caked in a reddish spice powder. Drinks include milkshakes, spiders and American sodas.