11 brilliant burgers for a hot Irish summer
Nothing says summer like biting into a big, juicy burger. We sent Pol O Conghaile in search of Ireland’s best
Bunsen Burger Dublin, Cork, Belfast
n Is this the best burger in Ireland? Bunsen led the country’s casual burger charge and continues to reap the rewards. These are brilliantly built burgers, best served a little pink — a smooth, umamifriendly fix that sets a little juice drizzling down the fingers... but not too much. Turnover is quick and space can be tight in its fast-casual spaces, but Bunsen is the standard by which any new burger business must be measured. There are great gluten-free options, too. Price: From €6.95.
Details: Branches in Dublin, Cork, Belfast; bunsen.ie
Handsome Burger Galway
n “It’s all about the juice,” Rory McCormack told me as I bit into a beast of a burger in Caribou, the craft beer bar in Galway’s Woodquay. Before he’d finished the sentence, that juice was running down my fingers. Rory and business partner Cathal O’Connor use a beef blend from Brady’s butchers in Athenry (80pc chuck, 20pc short rib), adding brioche buns, pickled cucumber, sticky onions and a secret ‘Handsome Sauce’ to seal the deal. The fries, triple-cooked in beef dripping, are the devil. Price: From €8.
Details: 31 Woodquay; handsomeburger.com
Five Guys Dublin, Belfast
n Five Guys gets the nod for its happy-clappy helping of old-school Americana. €13.95 for a cheeseburger and fries is a hefty price tag but there’s quality under the hood in the shape of two fresh Irish beef patties that make a moist mouthful, combined with big-ass pickles and nice squishy buns. Everyone from Ed Sheeran to Barack Obama has sung the praises of this US staple, and toppings are free (as are the peanuts). The fries can be insanely salty, so be sure to address this when you place your order. Price: From €7.95.
Details: Dundrum Town Centre; 56 South Great Georges St; fiveguys.com
The Hungry Moose Kilkenny
n Ireland celebrated a National Burger Day on June 21, during which the country’s best burger was named as a charcoal-grilled chuck, brisket and short rib patty served by The Hungry Moose in Kilkenny. In a former life, chef Chris Telford cooked for stars like Jay-Z and the Rolling Stones, so it’s no surprise to find a touch of rock ’n’ roll to his creation. Smoked bacon, dill pickles, Canadian moose cheddar and organic maple barbecue sauce are among the toppings, and the brioche bun is brushed with melted rendered beef fat. Price: €14.95 with a choice of fries.
Details: 60 Upper John St; facebook.com/ the hungry moose kil kenny
Featherblade Dublin
n This is a beautiful burger. Stepping into Featherblade, with its subway tiles, minimal lighting and matt black table tops, I expected gourmet overkill. I got the opposite. A simple burger, served on its tod on a small plate. No fuss. Just a lightly smoked patty, gooey bearnaise sauce and a thin layer of caramelised onions. Granted, you need to like tarragon (a strong note in the sauce), and it gets messy, but the ‘house smoked burger’ deftly mixes strong flavours without them repeating on you all afternoon. It would be rude not to add the beef dripping chips (€3.50). Price: €9 (lunch menu).
Details: 51 Dawson St, featherblade.ie
Boxburger Bray, Co Wicklow
n I’ve got two basic burger rules. 1) They should fit in one hand (not to mention one set of jaws). 2) They should not be pinned together with a stick. Both are staples at
Box Burger. Burgers start simply, with a moist, brioche-style bun, and follow through with a succulent patty and ridiculously melty cheese. Fancy options include a beef and Clonakilty black pudding patty, and there’s a Dublin outlet in Portobello’s Eatyard if you don’t fancy the Dart ride. Price: From €9 (takeaways also available)
Details: 7 Strand Road, Bray; boxburger.ie
Son of a Bun Cork
n Cork is catching up on Dublin’s burger scene, now boasting a Bunsen, as well as sizzling stops at the West Cork Burger Company and Coqbull. Son of a Bun has generated the biggest national buzz, however. Here, burgers begin with the daily baking of brioche buns and mincing of West Cork Aberdeen Angus beef. Several varieties include a burger of the month, a recent ‘Drunken Bun’, for example, with a riff on barbecue sauce featuring Franciscan Well’s Rebel Red ale. Price: From €8.50
Details: 29 MacCurtain St; sonofabun.ie
The Duck Terrace Gorey, Co Wexford n Burgers work everywhere, from dive bars to five-star hotels. Marlfield House sits towards the fancy end, and you’ll find its Hereford dry-aged beef patty in the new Duck Terrace restaurant. Local ingredients are given pride of place and toppings including Knockanore oaksmoked cheddar, slaw and red onion jam. A perfectly posh stop off the M11. Price: €16.
Details: Marlfield House; marlfieldhouse.com
Bujo Dublin
n Bujo is a loud, buzzy, forward-thinking burger joint overlooking Sandymount Green in Dublin 4. The philosophy is bang on-point here, from compostable packaging to family suppliers like Coghlan’s Bakery in Newbridge, though the experience feels a lot like an assembly line. Customers order and pay before waiting for takeaway or receiving a pager that buzzes for sit-in collections. The burger itself is a double patty, cooked to medium with a firm, granular feel in the teeth, a hint of pepper and a slight kick to the light pink sauce. Price: From €8.
Details: 6A Sandymount Green; bujo.ie
The Humble Chipper Everywhere
n There was fast food in Ireland before Instagram. We all know cheap ’n’ cheerful chippers are capable of unspeakable food crimes, but they can throw up the odd surprise, too. Hat-tips here to the Club Burger at Lino’s in Mullingar, which local author Ronan Casey describes to me as “a rural Big Mac… but bigger and better with taste, character, size, scent and grease”. Other independent chippers getting nods on National Burger Day awards were Raffaeles in Tubberycurry, Co Sligo; Mullen’s in Dundalk; Miss Ellie’s in Clonmel, Co Tipperary; The Friar’s Rest in Letterkenny, Co Donegal and The Chippy in Limavaddy, Co Derry.
Prices: Vary.
Burzza Waterford
n Every good burger list needs a next stop, and this is mine. Tweeting for burger tips last week, I couldn’t look past Burzza’s ‘Shebang Burger’, bundling beef from local butcher Tom Kearney together with Crowe’s Farm smoked bacon and four melted cheeses (four!) in a brioche from Walsh’s Bakehouse. That kind of local provenance blows vague nods to ‘Irish beef’ out of the water for me — plus, the Waterford Greenway is nearby, so you can cycle off the calories. Bonus! Price: From €12.90 with fries or salad
Details: 53 John St; burzza.com