Best Burgers in Dublin

Passenger

Ok, gave Bunsen Burger a go yesterday. Walked in, sat down at a table and a friendly waitress arrived to take my order and explained the options. The decor was nice, clean and simple. She asked how I wanted it cooked and she recommend that the best way to cook the burger was medium rare. I accepted and she came back with my drink as I waited for the burger to arrive.

There are 4 options on the menu (which is actually a no-nonsense business card size menu on the table) and I chose the cheese burger at €7.95. The burgers come with all the listed toppings unless the customer states they don't want any particular topping. I chose to forgo the pickle. I mean, who puts pickle on a burger?! :pac: The waitress arrived with the hand cut fries and cheese burger and I tucked in.

Tasty enough, good quality meat, (the patty was cooked how the waitress recommended) nice toppings and bun, generous portion of crispy chips, but ultimately just a little ho-hum. It could have been how the meat was cooked, though it did have flavour it just didn't have that wow factor that justifies €12 for a burger, fries and drink. The burger was the right size, nice fat patty and not too big to become messy.

It really is a no messing burger joint. Oh and the toilet was also well maintained. Overall simple, friendly and efficient.

Dave!

Wow surprisingly few mentions of Bobo's (Dame St) in here! :eek:

We go there most Fridays for lunch with the job - delicious!

Jack Kyle

Dave! wrote: »

Wow surprisingly few mentions of Bobo's (Dame St) in here! :eek:

We go there most Fridays for lunch with the job - delicious!

BoBo's gets mentioned regularly...it'd be my winner (albeit the Wexford St outlet).

faigs

Jack Kyle wrote: »

BoBo's gets mentioned regularly...it'd be my winner (albeit the Wexford St outlet).

I find BóBós consistently average. Only been to the Wexford Street branch and have never been wowed by it. Bunsen and Jo's kick its ass! Yet to try The Counter.

April O Neill

drquirky wrote: »

You are just spouting off British health and safety, nanny state nonsense that unfortunately has seeped over to Ireland.

Not necessarily. Like said, if minced on-site it's fine but I wouldn't be happy to have a medium to rare burger with meat not minced that day or off-premises.

April O Neill

copacetic wrote: »

Ecoli is rampant in all slaughterhouses as cattle defecate everywhere. Then generally gets on surface of meat.

If you don't mince the meat and cook the outside it is killed off.

If you mince the meat then the outside is the inside and the ecoli isn't killed off. Any food safety information tells you to cook minced meat right through. It being minced in the premises or the cut of the meat makes no difference at at all to the risk.

It does make a difference.

Yes, there may be small amounts of E. coli. The key here is how much. Use the mince quickly and the bacterial load will be much lower, and will be very unlikely to cause problems. If the meat that will be minced on-site has been transported below 4 degrees Celsius, we can assume that the bacterial load is low. And won't get time to greatly increase if the mince is used within the day.

Seaneh

copacetic wrote: »

Ecoli is rampant in all slaughterhouses as cattle defecate everywhere. Then generally gets on surface of meat.

If you don't mince the meat and cook the outside it is killed off.

If you mince the meat then the outside is the inside and the ecoli isn't killed off. Any food safety information tells you to cook minced meat right through. It being minced in the premises or the cut of the meat makes no difference at at all to the risk. It doesn't have to be cooked to brown, but needs to be at least 100c or so in the centre for a couple of mins. So slightly pink at worst.

Where is your information that it isn't a fact coming from?

cooking any beef to 100c will completely over cook it and dry it out to the point where it's like cardboard.

Mr Simpson

Folks, we don't do food safety advice on here, and this has gone off topic. The official line from The Food Safety Authority is that burgers must be cooked well done, and any premises that violates this may face prosecution. This is evident from the warning they gave to Jo'Burger. Can we move on and stop talking about medium rare v well done burgers and the safety of such, thanks

Seaneh

Mr Simpson wrote: »

Folks, we don't do food safety advice on here, and this has gone off topic. The official line from The Food Safety Authority is that burgers must be cooked well done, and any premises that violates this may face prosecution. This is evident from the warning they gave to Jo'Burger. Can we move on and stop talking about medium rare v well done burgers and the safety of such, thanks

Welldone is 71.111c.

Just need to point that out.


Cooking to 100c is not required and would destroy any meat.

Mr Simpson

Seaneh wrote: »

Welldone is 71.111c.

Just need to point that out.


Cooking to 100c is not required and would destroy any meat.

I'm well aware Lets move on

cson

BoBo's on Dame St is decidedly average imo.

Pet hate of mine is having to take a knife and fork to a burger.

Seaneh

If find, in general, the problem with "speciality" burger places in ireland is simple.
They make he patty's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too big.
This means that by the time he inside is cooked, the outside is overcooked and tough, they also use **** buns that can't stand up to the weight and being handled and end up falling apart.

If I ordered a 1/2lb burger I'd rather two wider flatter patties than one big fat patty, they will cook through more evenly, quicker and retain more moisture, they are also easier to season AND you can put condiments/cheese between the patties.

In the better chains in the states like Five guys, steak and shake and so on, they always use multiple patties rather than one big one.

Mr Simpson

I'm the same. If I want a 2/3lb burger, I'd rather two thinner pattys in the bun

Twee.

Five Guys is pretty special. NOM.

I was just thinking about the place I used to go to in New York, Mark Burger. They did sliders, around €2 each, that were absolutely delicious. You could get them with cheese, or cheese and bacon. Meat ground on site. Drool worthy!

Seaneh

The best bread I've ever found for a burger (after 6 years as a chef before I packed it in) was a good auld Waterford Blaa.

You can order them par-backed (cuisine de france stylee) from palas (i think), come from a bakery in waterford and you just finish them in your own oven.

2 1/2lb patties in a blaa with sautéed onions, relish, pickle, cheese and bacon, it's haven in a bun.

Aard

Twee. wrote: »

I was just thinking about the place I used to go to in New York, Mark Burger. They did sliders, around €2 each, that were absolutely delicious. You could get them with cheese, or cheese and bacon. Meat ground on site. Drool worthy!

The only place you'll get a €2 burger in Ireland is in McDonalds. Over here the same thing would easily cost €7.

noodler

SolitaireX wrote: »

The size of the burgers in bobos has decreased since it opened originally, wasn't impressed on my last visit. GBK is overpriced muck.

I don't see where all the hate for Eddies, chippers, BK and McDonalds is coming from, they do exactly what they promise, a burger, (although I will concede that eddies is pretty pricey for what it is).

Most (if not all) of these "Gourmet" places just slap on a few fancy sounding toppings and charge stupidly high prices for what is essentially ground beef and bread. I'm going to have to accuse people of being food hipsters here, own up if you've ever taken a photo of your food for instagramming or otherwise!

I gotta say, I have an Eddies classic burger about twice a month and it never disappoints (Usually the Eddies on Parnell St).

The burger with drink and fries comes to 9.75 (combo) so it hardly breaks the bank either.

Some of the other branches people visit sound awful.

Aard

It can't be just me, but I don't get the Eddie Rockets hate. Is it a form of elitism? A meal there doesn't have to break the bank and the environment is pretty laid back. Nobody trying to get rid of you. Maybe its just the ones I've been to (Dundrum, Stillorgan, off Grafton St, and Donnybrook back in the day) and maybe the others aren't so good, I dunno.

Passenger

Aard wrote: »

It can't be just me, but I don't get the Eddie Rockets hate. Is it a form of elitism? A meal there doesn't have to break the bank and the environment is pretty laid back. Nobody trying to get rid of you. Maybe its just the ones I've been to (Dundrum, Stillorgan, off Grafton St, and Donnybrook back in the day) and maybe the others aren't so good, I dunno.

Quality of food does vary from restaurant to restaurant to be fair.

Mr Simpson

My hate towards Eddie Rockets is purely down to the amount of inedible meals I've gotten there. Their consistency across the brand leaves a lot to be desired

EyeSight

Aard wrote: »

It can't be just me, but I don't get the Eddie Rockets hate. Is it a form of elitism? A meal there doesn't have to break the bank and the environment is pretty laid back. Nobody trying to get rid of you. Maybe its just the ones I've been to (Dundrum, Stillorgan, off Grafton St, and Donnybrook back in the day) and maybe the others aren't so good, I dunno.

i like them, but i find their prices to be a bit high for what you get

chris85

Aard wrote: »

It can't be just me, but I don't get the Eddie Rockets hate. Is it a form of elitism? A meal there doesn't have to break the bank and the environment is pretty laid back. Nobody trying to get rid of you. Maybe its just the ones I've been to (Dundrum, Stillorgan, off Grafton St, and Donnybrook back in the day) and maybe the others aren't so good, I dunno.

Bad burgers, overcooked and comes out a mess. Shakes are nice in there. Its not elitest, I dont mind paying a few extra euro for a better quality burger, whats wrong with that?

Midweek the Counter do a good lunch deal. I remember it to be a signature burger (some good options here), fries and a drink for €9.95 between 12-4pm Mon-Fri. Good deal but rarely free during the week for it. Wont break the bank and service is much better than Eddies.

chopper6

EyeSight wrote: »

i like them, but i find their prices to be a bit high for what you get

Nothing wrong with thier Hotdogs though...or the chicken wings.

franer1970

GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) has great burgers and the absolute best chips (good and chunky unlike say, the weedy dross you get in The Counter).

If you sign up on their website you'll sometimes get pretty good special offers - buy two burgers get cheapest free at the moment.

Inbox

Are Captain Americas burgers nice?

Cienciano

enda1 wrote: »

I've never actually tried them sober - I'd say it's a drunken reaction though to be fair.

No one has ever tried them sober. Chopper thinks he has, but was actually so drunk he thought he was sober :pac:

Passenger wrote: »

She asked how I wanted it cooked and she recommend that the best way to cook the burger was medium rare.

I'd agree with the waitress there. Medium rare is perfect for a burger. I love steaks rare, but would rather a burger medium rare.

Seaneh wrote: »

If find, in general, the problem with "speciality" burger places in ireland is simple.
They make he patty's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too big.
This means that by the time he inside is cooked, the outside is overcooked and tough, they also use **** buns that can't stand up to the weight and being handled and end up falling apart.

If I ordered a 1/2lb burger I'd rather two wider flatter patties than one big fat patty, they will cook through more evenly, quicker and retain more moisture, they are also easier to season AND you can put condiments/cheese between the patties.

In the better chains in the states like Five guys, steak and shake and so on, they always use multiple patties rather than one big one.

I hate agreeing with AC Milan fans, but agree 100%. Pubs are the worst offenders. "Homemade" burger is more like a big meatball than a flat burger patty. But you hear idiots thinking it's great because they're getting a great big lump of meat.

Passenger

Passenger wrote:

She asked how I wanted it cooked and she recommend that the best way to cook the burger was medium rare.

Cienciano wrote: »

I'd agree with the waitress there. Medium rare is perfect for a burger. I love steaks rare, but would rather a burger medium rare.

I had another Bunsen Burger a few days ago and I asked for it to be cooked well done this time and the meat (and whole burger) was tastier IMO. Maybe the well done patty complimented the condiments and bun more as the meat didn't stand out as much or overshadow the overall flavour or the burger. It's all down to preference really but as much as I enjoy the taste of rare/medium rare meat, on a burger the flavours just amalgamate better when the patty is cooked well done.

Kintarō Hattori

I was in Bunsen today and I have to say I was very disappointed. With the hype on here I was looking forward to a flavoursome delicious burger but I just didn't see anything amazing about it. There was little flavour and I can't help but feel the bun was overpowering the meat.

I have no allegiance to any one place. If somewhere does an amazing burger then that's where I'll go. For me BoBo's was the place to go and I had hoped I was going to find a better burger in Bunsen but alas that wasn't the case.

I'll have to try the other places mentioned below. Some I knew about others I didn't:

http://lovindublin.com/dublin/10-best-places-eat-burger-dublin/

Marty McFly

Have to agree with the above tried Bunsen on Sunday for the first time and found well very meh certainly nothing special, almost felt like they were trying to hard to be different as well with there decor, menus etc.


For me Counter and Bobo's are quite a bit ahead in terms of taste, also Counter because it does Burger in a Bowl.

Bandara

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I was in Bunsen today and I have to say I was very disappointed. With the hype on here I was looking forward to a flavoursome delicious burger but I just didn't see anything amazing about it. There was little flavour and I can't help but feel the bun was overpowering the meat.

I have no allegiance to any one place. If somewhere does an amazing burger then that's where I'll go. For me BoBo's was the place to go and I had hoped I was going to find a better burger in Bunsen but alas that wasn't the case.

I'll have to try the other places mentioned below. Some I knew about others I didn't:

http://lovindublin.com/dublin/10-best-places-eat-burger-dublin/

Agree with you completely, Bunsen is massively overrated because it's perceived to be cool, 'oh they only do their burgers with or without cheese, it's like....sooooo authentic'

It's not, they are trying way to hard to look like they are not trying at all