I wanted so hard to believe in this fairy tale. Sadly, like "Hans im Glück", the stories of finding a good burger here are fantasy.
Don't get me wrong, I love the concept of a restaurant based on a fairy tale, and from a design point of view, it is obvious that this place put a lot of thought and hard effort into that part of their restaurant. You really do kinda feel like you're sitting in a forest while you eat. Also, some of their non-burger options looked pretty good, though not necessarily wildly creative or fitting to the design concept. I'll leave open the question as to whether a fairy tale concept restaurant should be dealing in burgers, which are usually thought of as a simple food, and not an apt springboard for truly creative cooking.
BURGER - ONE STAR
The burger is why I came here, and as it gets only one star, I can really only give this restaurant, which holds itself out to be a burger restaurant, one star. But let's look deeper at the source of my discontent:
MEAT - One Star
- A gourmet burger restaurant absolutely has to ask its customers how they want their burgers cooked. That's the "gourmet" part of gourmet burger. They didn't do that (Strike one).
- If not, then a gourmet burger restaurant absolutely has to cook a juicy burger that appeals to the broadest spectrum of tastes, which usually means medium or medium-well. Instead, they cooked my burger dry, which is beyond well, which means overcooked (Strike two).
- Finally, a burger patty needs to be substantial enough, or the toppings modest enough, that the patty itself is the main attraction and everything else the supporting actors. Here, the patty is dwarfed with toppings and bun (STRIKE THREE).
BUN - Four Stars
- You have a choice of sourdough, whole grain, and "sesame bagel". For obvious reasons, I did not even consider the last (non-)option, and I pretty quickly concluded that sourdough was a better choice than whole grain. I guess whole grain makes sense if you're ordering a veggie burger or a chicken breast sandwich, but I couldn't imagine that working out with my cheeseburger.
- That aside, the bun held up the whole way through and was in and of itself actually really good. I just wish among their options they would include "normal frickin' hamburger bun with sesame seeds on top".
TOPPINGS - Two Stars
- Crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, delightfully pungent onions; the produce was great!
- But I ordered a cheeseburger and the woefully thin slice (I could actually see through it to my burger patty) was inadequate. It's supposedly a really great cheese made from the milk of free-pasture cows who roam the Alps all summer long chewing fresh hay and grass and farting sunshine and butterfly rainbows. I couldn't tell you, because I couldn't taste it. I may as well have just ordered a regular burger.
FRIES - Three Stars
- Great! On the softer side of crispy, but definitely great tasting fries!
- The portion was just enough and not too much.
- They're thick cut fries, basically steakhouse fries but with no skin. Yum!
SERVICE - FOUR STARS
- Also great! The service is really friendly and the food comes out rather timely.
- Okay, there was a while when I was hoping our waitress would come around for a second drink order because the restaurant was really hot and I was parched, and that didn't happen.
- But our waitress was able to take the drink orders from those of us who wanted to order the evening combo (Abendmenü? Cocktailmenü?) in advance, instead of making us wait until we order our food. I guess that was difficult because of the handheld computer she uses to plug in our orders, but she offered to do it with a smile, so extra points for her!
DRINKS - TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS
- They do have a creative cocktail menu, so plus points for that.
- However, all the cocktails are fruity. I respect their creative vision, so I can't take away points for the lack of variety, but it was annoying because I don't like fruity cocktails.
PRICE - ONE STAR
- This was €14,50 of disappointment, and I got every cent's worth of that, unfortunately.
- Admittedly, half the price was the cocktail, but for this money, I expect first and foremost a damn good burger.
- If I'd had one more drink, this place would land in the €€€ price bracket. Plan accordingly.
CONCLUSION - ONE STAR
In the end, the concept behind this restaurant is really, really cool, and from a design point, they deliver a really cool experience. But as a gourmet burger restaurant, they fail. I can see myself coming here again, but not for any of the burgers. I'll try one of the salads that looked really good, or maybe one of the non-burger options, like turkey or chicken breast. read more