Suntan Snack Bar wins Whitsundays’ best burgers competition

Steve Wilson has been flipping burgers in his humble Bowen shop for nearly 40 years. Find out what keeps his many loyal customers coming back, and bringing their friends.

With help from his wife and daughter, Steve Wilson does all the cooking at has beloved Bowen burger joint, Suntan Snackbar. Picture: Supplied.

Not much has changed about Steve Wilson’s Bowen burger joint in the past 40 years – and that might just be the secret to its ongoing success.

Recently crowed the winner of our Whitsundays’ Best Burgers competition, by popular vote, Suntan Snack Bar is the definition of a good old-fashioned takeaway shop, where the focus is on doing a few things well, rather than relying on gimmicks, trends or flashy marketing.

The menu, like the shop itself, is small – featuring “pretty much just burgers, chips, and hot dogs”, in Mr Wilson’s words.

Ingredients are fresh and sourced locally as much as possible, such as the “pure” mince from a local butcher that goes into the burger patties.

There is no cutting corners when it comes to quality ingredients at Suntan – a “simple little place” that punches well above its weight in the flavour stakes. Picture: Supplied.

It is this emphasis on quality that has kept customers coming back all these years, and taking care of all of Suntan’s advertising through their rave word-of-mouth reviews.

“It’s just real food, at a good price, and you can’t get that many places anymore,” Mr Wilson said.

“We use simple, good produce and it’s pretty healthy in comparison.”

Suntan is famous for its hearty burgers made with quality, local produce. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Wilson’s signature item is the Suntan Special – a burger that genuinely offers ‘the lot’, with a steak or mince patty, plus bacon, egg, cheese, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, fried onion, salt, pepper, barbecue sauce, and even beetroot – an ingredient Steve said was becoming less common on takeaway burgers.

To try it out for yourself, head to 51 Powell Street, Bowen.

Originally published as Suntan Snack Bar wins Whitsundays’ best burgers competition