★★★★
€€
Nestled tidily on Aungier Street, Chimac rustled a few feathers when it opened a while back, claiming to bring what they promised to be the best chicken burger Dublin had ever seen. A bold claim which, much to my pleasure, I wanted to put to the test.
When you walk in, you’re exposed to the familiar scent of fried chicken; not a bad welcome if you ask me. The setting is clean, bright and very much Korean-inspired. As per their website, ‘’Chimac comes from ‘chi’, short for ‘chikin’ plus ‘mac’ from ‘maekju’, Korean for beer’’. The menu, perhaps unsurprisingly then, consists mainly of twice-fried chicken and beer. Some will dislike the lack of choice, but for me, it’s usually an indicator of a great meal. If a restaurant focuses only on a handful of dishes, chances are they’ll accrue an expertise that will render these tastier than a similar dish in a restaurant which doesn’t specialise in it.
I’ve had the Kimcheese and the Classic burgers, with the former being fantastic, oozing with cheese, cheddar sauce(?!), spring onion kimchi and gochujang mayo. The latter is almost equally as good, served with Korean hot sauce, pickled daikon slaw, fresh coriander and zesty lime mayo. Personally, the coriander ruins the flavours of the meat and accompaniments, but that’s a personal choice. In both choices, the twice-fried Korean chicken is slotted between a potato bun, with the ratio of chicken to bun being amusingly disproportionate; something often lacking from most chicken burgers. A nod of praise is merited for the bun, which is much tastier and less dry than the norm. This, combined with the juiciness and crispiness of the chicken and the sauces, makes for a fantastic meal, and certainly distances itself from the average, dry, plain chicken burger. Accompanied with a cold brew from their selection, it really is a truly great meal.
For those of you of the vegetarian persuasion, the team at Chimac can substitute chicken for a panko tofu burger. Not that I’d recommend this, but it’s good to at least have the option. I’ll also add that, as I was wolfing down my own food, people around me were ordering wings and nugs. From what I saw, I can safely say I will be obliged to return and sample those too.
Alex Lohier – Deputy Editor
