Phat Brats


Disclosure: I dined courtesy of Phat Brats.

First it was gourmet burgers, and now it’s time for the humble hot dog to take the leap into Gourmet Town. Step aside glammed up burgers – it’s time for posh dogs to shine.

Phat Brats is one of the latest to get in on posh dogs. Located on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, they describe themselves as having “honest sausages” and “top notch dogs”. The menu has a large selection of sausages: from lamb sausages to beef sausages to pork sausages to vege sausages, all with a wide variety of toppings. They also offer several types of fries: beer batter fries, cheesy fries, or chilli fries.


I visited last week with Thanh, Haz, April and Shellie, and we managed to sample a fair range of their menu: seven hot dogs and two fries. When the food arrived, we quickly photographed and then fell into a hot dog frenzy.

Ten minutes later, there were only crumbs. I don’t know what happened. We even scared ourselves.

But on to the dogs. We tried:

Beer smoked bratwurst: local beer smoked brat sausage with sauteed onions, sauerkrat, Bavarian mustard and green pickle relish ($8.90)

Chilli dog: wagyu beef sausage with spicy ground beef, house chili sauce, pb cheese sauce and spring onion ($8.90).

Wagyu beef: wagyu beef sausage with house tomato sauce and mild mustard ($8.50).

Lamb and rosemary: lamb and rosemary sausage with smashed minted peas, house gravy, raw slaw and crumbled feta ($8.90).

Pork and sage: pork and sage sausage with braised apple and red cabbage, crisp shallots and horseradish cream ($8.90).

Spicy chorizo: spicy Spanish pork sausage with pinto beans, shredded lettuce, sour cream, jalapenos and house tomato sauce ($8.90).

Po’ boy: crispy battered fish, spicy shrimp, shredded lettuce and aioli ($8.90).

As you can see, we had a wide range. And on the whole, all the dogs were pretty good, though I wasn’t that into the lamb and rosemary one because – well: peas.

I was expecting the chilli dog to be my favourite, because chilli dogs are my kind of hot dogs. I love spicy food, and I love the meat on meat and cheese. Phat Brat’s version is a beef sausage, topped with chilli mince and cheese. I liked the chilli mince topping, but found the sausage casing a bit too tough to get a good mouthful of everything together.

Since the chilli dog was knocked out of top place, my favourite went to the beer soaked bratwurst, for the flavoursome sausage and the sauerkraut.

And the fries. Oh the fries! The fries are so insanely good. We had two – the cheesy fries ($6) and the chilli fries ($7). The cheesy fries in particular were fantastic – crunchy and topped with a very moreish cheese sauce. I would’ve liked to have tried the chilli fries with beef, but we decided on the bean version as Haz doesn’t eat beef.

How does Phat Brats fare compared to other gourmet hot dog places? (Regular readers will know of my love for one place in particular!) Well, Phat Brats is a dollar or two cheaper, and their fries are really seriously awesome. Plus Phat Brats have an actual store with tables and chairs you can sit down at and hopefully soon you’ll be able to wash down a dog with a beer when their liquor licence comes through. Phat ass brats and cold beer? Sounds good to me.

For more on Phat Brats, check out these blogs:

  • The indolent cook
  • Where’s the beef
  • Mel: hot or not
  • Two munch
  • Elli Bambi


  • View Off the spork in a larger map


    Phat Brats
    320 Brunswick Street
    Fitzroy VIC 3065
    Phone: 03 9419 5526
    Web: phatbrats.com.au

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