Macgregors Original Adds a Pickle-Dust Chicken Smash Burger to the Menu

Macgregor’s Original opened in Abbotsford in early 2026 and quickly gained a following for its smash burgers and beef tallow fries. So much so that founders Macgregor McNair, Aaron Savrone and chef Laura Boulton are expanding to Yarraville in October, less than a year after the initial corner store launched. But not before expanding the menu.

The current menu is intentionally short, with only four burgers: the signature cheese smash burger; an Oklahoma fried onion burger (plus a spicy version); the Macgregor junior cheeseburger; and beef tallow chips. Just added are a mortadella sandwich, beef tallow hash browns and an absolute rarity in Melbourne: a chicken smash burger. 

“I always point to George Motz’s Hamburger America in New York as a source of our inspiration,” McNair says. “They do monthly specials, pay homage to classic US burgers and rotate through some international variations, which influenced our approach to our chicken burger.”

The team experimented with thigh and breast options, which “didn’t quite work”, before deciding to try a chicken smash patty. Chicken typically has less fat than beef, so there’s less margin for error ensuring a smash patty has crispy edges without sticking during the grilling process. McNair says the extra effort is worth it, mostly because the spice mix chef Boulton created for the chicken is too good not to serve.

The team’s pickles arrive in a 10-litre tub from Acide, which is full of dill, peppercorns, garlic and other aromatics that help flavour the brine. Rather than throw out these additional ingredients, the crew dehydrates them, grinds them into a powder and dusts it over the chicken mince as the flavour base.

“We knew that stuff was way too good to get rid of, it was just a matter of figuring out how to use it. I love when a venue can cut back on their waste by doing that sort of thing,” McNair says. “Laura absolutely smashed the pickle dust out of the park.”

The whole situation, which Macgregor’s is calling the Pickle Chick, is a chicken patty with cabbage slaw, herb mayo, American and Swiss cheese, and Acide pickles on a Martin’s potato roll.

The other new addition, a breakfast-only mortadella roll (Morty sandwich) inspired by a breakfast roll Boulton ate on holiday, is built on a Martin’s potato roll lathered with mayo, sliced mortadella, pepper, scrambled egg, melted cheese and more pickles.

“We throw the mortadella on the grill really quickly, just enough to render some of the fat and extract some of the flavour. Along with the cheese and egg, it all melts together and becomes this beautiful gooey mess that melts when you eat it.”

In addition to the French fries, you’ll find hash browns fried in beef tallow and $5 batch brew coffee (with $2.50 refills). Macgregor’s is open for breakfast from 10am on Thursdays and Fridays. All the new menu items are available now.

Macgregor’s Original
212 Nicholson Street, Abbotsford
0485 002 000

Hours:
Thu 10am–9pm
Fri & Sat 10am–10pm
Sun 4pm–9pm

macgregorsoriginal.com
@macgregorsoriginal