Tag Archives: Burger

Maso je maso Steak & Burger Restaurant, Prague, Czech Republic

08 Wednesday Aug 2018

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Maso je maso (meat is meat) occupies the space where the Summa cum Laude used to be.

The bar, open kitchen and bathrooms are the same but the restaurant interior has been re-decorated.

Those who read my review of Summa cum Laude will remember that I found the menu confused, like a mash up of several restaurant menus. Well Maso je maso is definitely not confused – this place is all about meat!

The reason for our visit was two-fold; try a new place and also escape from the heatwave that had caused Prague temperatures to rise to 35 degrees – I was pleased to find that the excellent air con from the previous restaurant was still in operation.

The new Chef-Patron visited our table and welcomed us to the restaurant and recommended the various steaks. The steaks sounded good, but with such hot weather outside we’d already decided on burgers.

A large glass of wine was 80 Kč. Tap water free. A tasty amuse-bouche (chorizo bruschetta) arrived.

The Italian Burger was good value at 215 Kč (170 gr. homemade ground beef, home made pesto, rucola salad, mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, parmesan, balsamic, basil). Homemade fries were not such good value (55 Kč).

The burger was really delicious and beats my previous favourite burger from nearby Putica – sadly my last visit to Putica was a disappointment and their burgers are not as good as they were. My only criticism was that is was served on a small board and I would have preferred a plate.

We shared a nice-enough panna cotta (95Kč) – slightly surprised to find this on a dish as that makes the ‘wobble test’ difficult.

Our second visit was just for the Italian burger – this time we asked the burgers to be served on plates and they were happy to do that. Oddly no amuse-bouche, so not sure how that works.

I certainly recommend a visit and when the weather cools down, I’ll try a steak and let you know.

Maso je maso
Belgicka 335/26
Prague 12000
Czech Republic

http://masojemaso.com/en/

Opening hours
Monday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Tuesday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Wednesday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Thursday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Friday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Saturday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Sunday Closed

Burgerista Restaurant, Salzburg, Austria

16 Saturday Sep 2017

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We were in Salzburg for a long weekend. There are plenty of restaurants in the centre of Salzburg, many offering traditional Austrian food, many of them expensive. We were sightseeing and didn’t want to spend a long, potentially expensive, lunch. Burgerista is well reviewed and in a really central location.

It’s a burger place, where you line up and place an order, then collect it when it’s ready. I could have just said ‘fast food’ but that isn’t quite fair as the burgers are much better than that. The closest equivalent is Five Guys or In-n-Out Burger.

The menu is pretty simple; choose a burger then add EUR4 for chunky fries and a drink.

The choice of drinks with free refills includes the regular sodas, plus homemade lemonade – you’re given a glass jar as a cup. They also sell a 0.33l beer for EUR 3. They give you a pager that buzzes when your food is ready and you collect from an open kitchen.

We tried a classic burger EUR 6.90 and 3 mini cheeseburgers EUR 4.90. The burgers were better than they look in my pictures.

The mini burgers were much smaller than I expected – on my next visit I had a double cheeseburger. The chunky fries were really good.

The tables have a selection of sauces.

Our first visit was noon on a Sunday and it wasn’t that busy. Our next visit was around the same time on Monday and the place was packed – lots of teenagers who may have been on their school lunch break. There was a long line to order and only one person behind the counter, it was quite hot and tables were scarce. Burgerista is a victim of its own success.

Despite the busy Monday, we enjoyed the food. The server behind the counter was friendly and spoke to us in English. I would definitely recommend Burgerista if you find yourself in Salzburg or any of their 18 locations across Austria and Germany.

Burgerista
Griesgasse 15
5020 Salzburg

MO – FR & SU: 10:30 – 22.00
FR & SA: 10:30 – 04.00

http://www.burgerista.com/salzburg/

Five Guys Burger Restaurant

08 Thursday Sep 2016

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Five Guys sells itself as a high-quality fast-food burger restaurant.

Five Guys started out in Arlington, Virginia 1986. The name Five Guys comes from the father and four brothers who founded the chain. They now have over 1000 locations in the USA and now 27 in the UK. Obviously they have done this via the franchise route as opposed to my favourite quality burger place – In-N-Out Burger – who own and run all their outlets on the West Coast of the USA.

I recently tried the newly-opened location in Watford, Herts, UK – but my comments apply to all Five Guys locations. I’ve also visited the US outlets.

The PR about quality: The food is expensive and this is the PR to support those prices:
No freezers. No microwaves. No timers. No can-openers.

The prices vary from location to location but are generally these:

Hamburger UK £6.75 US$ 6.49
Cheeseburger UK £8.00 US$7.19
Bacon Burger UK £8.00 US$7.49
Bacon Cheeseburger UK £8.75 US$8.19
Little Cheeseburger UK £5.50 US$5.29
Little Bacon Burger UK £6.00 US$5.99
Little Bacon Cheeseburger UK £6.75 US$
Little Hamburger UK £4.75 US$4.59
Little Five Guys Style Fries UK £2.75 US$3.09
Five Guys Style Fries UK £4.00 US$3.99
Milkshake UK £4.75 (not sold in the USA)

The UK stores are charging significantly more than the US – for example a UK Cheeseburger is the equivalent of US$10.66 as opposed to the US version at US$7.19.

The fries are ridiculously expensive – even if they are hand cut daily and cooked in peanut oil. I’m guessing they are pretty good but I’ve never ordered them as I think they are disproportionately priced.

You can choose from a variety of toppings when you order and these range from ketchup to grilled mushrooms. You can choose to go ‘all in’ and have all the toppings, but I’ve found this makes for a pretty sloppy burger – the bun can’t hold everything and the whole thing falls apart.

The Cheeseburger is a pretty big burger and really should be sold as a double- or half pounder. The Little Cheeseburger is a more than adequate size (like a quarter pounder) and I’m surprised that Five Guys haven’t been criticised for encouraging obesity.

If I was really hungry, I’d order two Little Cheeseburgers as these hold together well when you eat them.

The Little Cheeseburger is a good burger, but then you would expect that for the price. In the UK the competition are McDonalds and Burger King and Five Guys are definitely better. However, in the US there is also Wendys and I would say that they are just as good for a much lower price.

You can order and pay for your food online, set a collection time and just pick up from the serving area. This works really well and also allows you more time to choose the toppings you want.

The take-away bag is just plain brown paper and I think that’s a nice touch.

The staff all seem friendly and smile at customers.

It’s certainly worth a visit to a UK Five Guys outlet and I’ll likely pick up a Little Cheeseburger from them again. I wouldn’t bother to seek them out in the USA, especially in California where you would do so much better finding an
In-N-Out Burger.

five-guys-watford

https://www.fiveguys.co.uk/

58 High Street, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 2BS

01923 804 175

Opening Times:
Mon-Thu: 11:00-23:00
Fri-Sat: 11:00-23:30
Sun: 11:00-23:00

Cafe Bazaar – Prague, Czech Republic – now closed

30 Thursday Jan 2014

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3rd September 2015 update: This restaurant is now closed.

Café Bazaar specialises in gourmet burgers and sides, although there are other items on the menu.

We had five of the mini burgers, although each burger was what I would call a decent size burger; the full-size versions must be enormous. The five we ordered were; Bazaar (x2), Bacon, Chicken and Veggie plus one baked potato and one homemade fries. We also had the honey mustard and BBQ sauce dressings. It’s a little odd that such a great burger is only about 80Kc but the dressing is 20Kc. The baked potato is 35Kc and that comes with sour cream. I think people would happily pay 100Kc for the burger and make the sauce/dressing free.

All of burgers and their buns were excellent, although my dining partner wasn’t keen on the veggie burger (I ate the whole thing). The baked potato was light and fluffy. The homemade fries were really good. I probably would order at least one dressing/sauce again, just for the fries as the burgers don’t need anything added.

We tried the beer, which wasn’t one I recognised and now I can’t remember the name. We thought it was a good beer and excellent value at 29Kc for a 0.5l – Czech pub prices. I also tried a glass of red wine and a Sambuca – all good and for a good price.

We finished with an excellent pistachio chocolate cheesecake type of thing.

There was also free wi-fi. The toliets were spacious and clean.

Café Bazaar highlights the fact that they are a social business offering employment to young people significantly disadvantaged in the labour market, perhaps without family support. Reading between the lines, I think that means their staff are orphans who are making the transition into working life. But if I hadn’t known that, I wouldn’t have noticed any difference; the food was great and our waitress was helpful and friendly, speaking English to me when my limited Czech fell short.

We’ll definitely go back and it’s great to be able to support such a worthwhile enterprise without having to compromise on food or service.

Café Bazaar
Trojická 1, Prague 2 (in between the Výtoň and Palackého náměstí tram stops, 3, 7, 17)
Reservations: 222 540 873

Manager: Magdalena Valdmanová
Mobile: 777 698 156
Email: magdalena.valdmanova@cafebazaar.cz

Mon – Fri 11:30 am to 10:00 pm
Sat – Sun 10:30 am -10:00 pm