Rating the new Esk Eats food trio

Three new food offerings are up and running in Invercargill as part of the Invercargill Central development. How do they rate?

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Esk Eats, which is part of Invercargill’s new Invercargill Central development, is open to all.

There’s a trio of food options available including ReBurger, Wing Wing, and Sal’s Authentic New York Pizza.

The Tribune checked them all out and below have offered up our ratings. It should be pointed out we visited on different days of the week, although at a similar time of the day during the lunchtime period.

Editor’s Note: These thoughts are subjective and are simply based on the experience of a few people. Check out Esk Eats yourself and make up your own mind.

ReBurger….

The lowdown: ReBurger began in a tiny food truck in Dunedin. Inspired by the London scene. They say their vibe is still like those days and plenty of love goes into every burger, and the secret sauce that ends up all over your face took years to refine. Their roots are in Dunners and say they will always keep it real wherever they go.

How we rated the service: Slick operation with a very friendly and smiling face on the till serving. She indicated the standard wait time was 10 minutes and that was correct, in fact, it was probably under 10min. Rating: 8/10.

How we rated the food/value: We got what we expected. A burger priced at the mid-range point - above your fish ‘n chip type shop burger, but not a gourmet type offering. $17 for a decent cheeseburger with a bit of a kick, chips, and a drink we say is not too bad. Rating: 7/10.

Overall rating: 15/20. Well worth a try if you’re a burger fan.

Opening hours: 10am to 9pm everyday.

Wing Wing….

The lowdown: Korean fried chicken, Korean style corn dog and kimchi are becoming huge favourites around the world, Wing Wing say. Its goal is to bring Korean street food to New Zealand using the freshest ingredients. Wing Wing says it brings diverse flavours of Korean cuisine for everyone.

How we rate the service: Wing Wing was probably the quickest of the trio in terms of ordering and then getting the food. An efficient operation it seemed. Rating: 8.

How we rated the food/value: The food offering lived up to the mark. Nice crispy chicken accompanied by some flavourful sauce. You pay for what you get though, in terms of good food. In our opinion, Wing Wing was probably the more expensive of the trio around value for money. A chicken-mixed combo will set you back $18. Rating: 6.5/10.

Overall rating: 14.5/20. If you are a fried chicken fan set aside some money and give it a go.

Opening hours: 10am to 9pm everyday.

Sal’s Authentic New York Pizza….

The lowdown: Sal’s is the brainchild of Salvatore Leo who immigrated from Italy to New York as a 10-year-old in 1951. In 1975 he opened Sal’s Pizza of Little Neck’ and Sal’s legend started to spread in New York. By 2009 Sal’s Authentic New York Pizza opened its first store in Auckland and has since spread to other parts of the country.

How we rated the service: Firstly, let’s just say the three staff on duty were trying their best to make it work during a busy lunch period. But it’s hard to sugar-coat this one. We were told our order would take 10 minutes. It took close to 40min. Not ideal when you are squeezing in lunch during a work break. The staff was apologetic for that wait. Rating: 1.5/10.

How we rated the food/value: Now to the good news. When the pizza arrived it certainly got a pass mark. A filling New York-style pizza with plenty of flavour. And at $6.50 per slice, there are no complaints there. Rating: 8.

Overall rating: 9.5/20. Let’s conclude that we got them on a bad day soon after they opened the store. Worth a second chance.

Opening Hours: 11am to 9pm every day.