The Burger Bar is the latest addition to the Santa Eulalia restaurant scene, situated on the corner of Town Hall Square, Burger bar has made a huge impact on the island since its opening this year. Self confessed burger enthusiast Joe Smilovitch is the man behind the concept and two things are clear from the off; one, that this is clearly a passion of his and two, that I have taken the burger for granted for years!
The amount of preparation and planning that goes into every one of the Burger Bar burgers is astonishing. Joe spent months hunting down the perfect bun in which to present his burgers, not to mention the meat itself, the variety of flavours that explode after every bite of a burger are all things that are agonised over and tested until they are perfect, and believe me, they are perfect! Joe tells us that the contents are organic wherever they can be; the tomato ketchup on some of the burgers is even home made! The pickles come from a New Yorker that he discovered so all of the ingredients are authentic and go to making this a burger you will not forget.
The Burger Bar is simple but very cool inside, it has an American diner feel but not in an obvious over bearing way. For those of you that are regulars to the drive in, where the choice is simple and the food barely passes for food, this is going to be a shock to your system, this is burger ordering the way it was meant to be. Joe talks us through the menu, including a list of specials that has all of us watering at the mouth. He gets inspiration from everywhere, the Juicy Lucy, he explains, came from a recent episode of Man Vs Food, with a Burger Bar twist to the original recipe, it ended up in the specials board. I have a feeling it may be on the next menu to be printed!
Keen to promote as many of the burger varieties as possible we opt for two from the normal menu, the classic bacon double cheese and the Cajun chicken burger and two from the specials, the Juicy Lucy (how could we not) and the El Corderito, the lamb burger with mint sauce, pickles, lettuce and onion. Burger Bar also has the added attraction of being open all winter and the ability to show football, which makes it the perfect base for the Essential team members that are lucky enough to spend the whole year on the island. Burgers, football and a beer, it doesn’t get much better. I can see many a night catching the Champions League with a gourmet burger in hand.
The burgers are with us in no time, accompanied with some home made chips, a ceasar salad to share and some chicken nuggets for Raffy, the junior member of the Essential team. I opted for the Cajun chicken burger, which comes with a mayonnaise and sweet corn relish on top of salad in the hand picked bun. The fact that we had discussed the various burgers for a while before ordering had me hungrier than I thought I was so the poor burger didn’t stand a chance. The flavours complimented each other perfectly, the burger didn’t break up when I cut it in half to make eating it easier but did melt away when I started eating it and the chicken was cooked to perfection. The verdict around the table is unanimous, this is the best burger we have tasted this year, maybe even ever! Nic, our trusty photographer, is the connoisseur of the burger, he has one almost everywhere we go, so when he tells me he has jut eaten the best burger on the island, I have to believe him.
We had a delicious bottle of red to wash the meat down with, not to mention far too many of the home made chips to accompany the burgers, extra 15 minutes on the treadmill tomorrow! Our first Burger Bar experience is complete and it couldn’t have been better. We felt at home from the minute we sat down, the service was fantastic, the food unbelievable and we got to watch some football as well, possibly the perfect night out. It’s an amazing concept and one that they manage very successfully; I can see The Burger bar featuring heavily in our winter plans!
CONTACT:
THE BURGER BAR
AYUNTAMIENTO PLAZA ESPANA
07840
SANTA EULALIA
t: (+34) 971 319 896