Bangkok Burger Co., the only place in town to find a Panang burger
"Although many pubs and restaurants in Bangkok serve a burger, none are focused solely on that dish," says Bangkok Burger Co. founder Jim Moroney.When it comes to the best burger in town, new start-up Bangkok Burger Co. has plenty of competition in the capital.
Given Bangkok's numerous, it’s no wonder that a slew of bars, restaurants and pubs tout their own meat-in-a-bun as the best in the city.
It is refreshing, then, to come across a place happy –- indeed, confident enough –- to let its burgers do the talking.
The Bangkok Burger Co. sits on the first floor of the newly completed Opus Building, located just off Thonglor along busy Soi 10, which cuts through to Ekamai.
Inside, a series of red booths line the left-side floor-to-ceiling windows, while couple-sized tables and chairs are on the right. At the far end of the room is the open kitchen, a glowing beacon of yellow light topped by a flat screen TV showing family-themed movies.
In short, it’s a warm, clean, simple, comfortable space –- albeit one that has attracted plenty of thought by its owner.
Curry burgers and calorific milkshakes
The list includes the familiar: The Bacon Cheese: triple crispy bacon, cheddar and burger cheeses, 230 baht regular, 295 baht large); the less familiar (The Emperor: burger cooked in teriyaki sauce with sautéed onions, mushrooms and wasabi mayonnaise, 230-295 baht); and the interestingly unusual (The Panang: a burger simmered in panang curry sauce and Thai vegetables, 230-295 baht).
We found the regular size portion to be large enough, leaving room for a few sides. While the crunchy battered onion rings (125 baht) could have done with a bit more onion, the Buffalo wings with blue cheese (145 baht) were on the money –- just remember to ask for extra hot sauce.
It’s worth mentioning the excellent dip served with the salt and pepper calamari (145 baht).
The overall verdict on the burgers: well-structured, they ably held together with a pleasing blend of ingredients. If we had one quibble, it might be that the flavor of the beef didn’t always come through –- but there was definitely a sense of well-judged balance of tastes inside the bun.
We also weren’t overly keen about the disappointing steak fries, though we’d easily pay the extra 30 baht to upgrade to curly fries again.
However, at the end of the day these are minor critiques of an otherwise highly impressive product.
Pair everything with one of their calorific milkshakes (recommended is the Cookie Crunch: Oreo cookies with vanilla ice-cream, milk, ice, and whipped cream, 110 baht), fruit-shakes (can’t go wrong with a Berry Nice: wild berries blended with pineapple, 95 baht) or the adults-only selection of "Grown-Up Shakes."
So is it best burger in town? Perhaps not quite yet –- but it’s definitely a contender.
