KronnerBurger

I wanted to be excited for their grass fed artisanal burger, but in the end I didn’t even finish. They use a dried grass fed ground beef, so it is aged, and not bloody, but they are still definitely cooking raw textured meat. You can only order rare or medium. I trusted that they knew what they were doing by insisting upon this. My husband ordered rare, I ordered medium. The meat in both of our burgers was cooked to the same temperature, and mine was definitely raw in the middle. My burger was so raw I found it unappetising, and I didn’t finish. The only cheese option is pimento cheese. It is cold cheese curds straight out of the fridge. Yes, bun was good, but who cares at this point. So, how about a raw burger with cold watery refrigerated cheese, mmmm…
Fries were good. I was told they were fried in fat for extra crispiness, they come broken in different pieces. I liked this, my husband did not. Croissant with mustard seed butter, amazing. This place is very pricey. I never left a burger place so poor and so dissatisfied. I just don’t get this place. Deconstructing everything what make a burger good in the first place. Keep it simple.

The wedge salad was light and refreshing with shaved radish. The bacon chucks were crispy on the outside and porky in the inside.
The Poutine was meaty and filling. The fries strike the right balance on the crispy, soft scale, meaning they soak up the gravy so well it’s addicting.
Why 2 stars off? Service issues. My server was attentive and professional. Too bad her teammates let her down. Two other servers refused to make eye contact and acknowledged the other couple as next. THEY had to point out that I was next. Later one of those other servers brought my entrée out after I’d specifically asked to wait til after my salad. Rush much. #diningwhileblack. Now I remember why I haven’t eaten here in a while

UNFRIENDLY SERVICE, FOOD JUST OK
I don’t know why all the fuss about this place. I had a burger there a few months ago, just after they opened, and there was nothing special about it at all, just a smallish burger with nothing fancy on it. If this is their signature item, they need to make it bigger and better, or make the price much lower.
Went back today and had a veggie burger, which was OK, again nothing special. They really need more finesse at K-​burger. The burger had a small pile of pickles on it, a few really thick sliced onion rings, some lettuce, and a gob of aioli or mayo or whatever on a greasy grilled bun (hey, this might make a good jingle). $ 12 for this, no fries, chips, or salad came with it. The patty itself was tasty, but aside from that, eh.
Our waitress was NOT FRIENDLY. No smiles or chirpyness, just «yeah, whatever, I’m too cool to listen to whatever you have to say.» Lesee, shall I ID her? Why not: very light blond hair with shaved side. You’re in the wrong biz, dear; do us all a favor and go into prison guarding or DMV windowing. Actually, the DMV people are nicer.
The best thing I can say about Kronerburger is that it’s better than that awful place that used to be in the space. Very low bar.

This place deserves more good reviews! There is food for everyone here. Other than amazingly delicious grass-​fed burgers, they also have in-​house made gluten free buns and vegan burger with crispy vegan bacon! Everything is prepared fresh to order, nothing is previously frozen. That includes fresh cut french fries and gluten free onion rings. The patio is dog friendly, so if you are walking on Piedmont ave, you can grab a meal with your pooch. If you’ve been on Piedmont ave, you know it’s a rare find. The place is definitely pricey, but once in a while a nice treat. We will definitely be back!

These guys have GF burger buns. And their onion rings are GF. And they’re great. Super crispy.
We had the burgers with marrow. OMG Perfect! Asked for medium rare and got medium rare. Came with mayo lettuce great red onions.
Service is a tad slow. I think it was because not a lot of folks in the kitchen.
Definitely a good burger place.

Honestly, I can’t even explain how amazing that (Kronner)burger was (with bone marrow). I don’t even think you can compare it with any other burger joint, because it is a completely different breed. When they say rare, it’s not bloody uncooked meat. It’s dry-​aged, so just extremely tender and a purply color. Absolutely delicious. Every bite was better than the last, and while it was large, I didn’t feel like I was in pain afterwards. The bun-​to-​patty ratio was perfect too – I sometimes feel like single-​patty burgers have too much bun.
The fries, omg the fries! Amazing. Also the onion rings! Our waitress was a bit snooty and unfriendly, I’d have to say, but the food was just too amazing to care.

So my friend is writing an article on the best burger in SF Bay area, and for this she asked her friends to participate in the burger taste challenge.
Kronnerburger was on the list. I braced the BART and crossed the bay, my girlfriend picked me up and we ordered the burger.
Of what a disappointment! Burger was bland, patty was dry, thin; bun was boring.
Fennel salad on another hand was worth the money.

I’ve had some great burgers in my time. This one is my latest crave…
Second time here, to make sure I wasn’t just really hungry the first time. The first time we were surprised to see only 1 burger on the small menu. After splitting one the first time, I had to get one for myself.
So today while running errands with Winston (the dog) I stopped in because they have an outside (covered and heated) area. Good to know for you foodies with doggies.
This time I ordered the burger accompanied by the onion rings because fellow Unilocalers said they were da bomb.
While I waited the wait staff brought Winston a dog bone (cleaned and saved specifically for these occasions from the offering of bone marrow on the menu.) I thought this was way cool. It was pouring rain outside but Winston and I were snug and warm under the outdoor canopy with heaters.
So now for the burger. So I’ve eaten Umami burger in So cal many times. But to me if you want to experience that «umami moment» this is the burger. The bun firm a bit small for the burger (a good thing). You can get cheese and bacon which I got both on the first try then only bacon on second. But trust me you don’t need either. The star of this burger is well the meat. The way they seer the outside to get a thin charcoal crust which seals in the natural juices of this medium rare burger is epic. Salty, savory, peppery, buttery juicy… I could go on but words don’t do it justice. The savory bit was earthy and… well… grassy. Yep I said it. That dimension made it hit Umami peaks I never had in a burger.
The mayo, (no catsup or mustard a true sign of artful intelligence) ripe red onion iceberg lettuce and pickles gave each mouthful a sweet crunchy bite without masking or overpowering the star attraction the meat.
The onion rings were light flakey served with an aloi that many folks including myself would definitely put on a lesser burger.
Consider me «ed-​u-​ma-​cated»! All my life I thought the more exotic ingredients you can pile on a burger the better.
I’m sure they pair wines with the Kronnerburger. Because that would be logical. Going to have to try that next time.
Man this burger is so good consider all your mama’s slapped! I can now go find a cow grazing on grass and give him a big hug.

Wow! This burger is perfect. It’s even worth paying $ 12.50 for occasionally when you want a an upgrade from Super Duper. I got it rare as recommended as it came out rare/​raw (like steak tartar) in the middle but nicely browned crisp on the outside. It melded perfectly with the cheddar mayo and pickle. It’s not a huge burger though. You’ll want to order some sides to make it a meal. You could share it as an appetizer.
Also got the fried chicken which had a nice dill flavor from the pickle brine but the breading was too salty and the breast meat was kinda dry. For $ 20 we expected to get more than one thigh and one breast. Average fried chicken for a not great price.
Though this place seems casual it will hit your wallet in a more upscale way. Burger, fried chicken, cocktail ($ 11), beer ($ 6) = $ 65 including tax and tip. Not your casual weekday night out dinner for two.
5 stars for the burger
3 stars for the chicken
3 stars for price /​value

Enjoyed the easy going atmosphere of the place. The food however, needs a little more care. I can see this being a good burger joint but quality control
is lacking here. The burger came well done, we had asked for med rare, but well seasoned and the bun was nice and hot. The fried chicken burger was okay. Fries were very crisp, shoestring potato crispy and with a heavy hand on the salt. The onion rings were tasty, but was so fried the onions had melted. I had high hopes for this place, but perhaps it was an off day. $ 40 for 2 burgers, an order of fries and onion rings. There’s a lot of choices on this street and I want you all to do well, so keep up with the quality control peeps.

Tiny plates are gone! And I think the food was even better than I remembered.
The beef, succulent and beautifully rare. The fries perfect and generous. The wedge salad stupendous.
Only sad note was I was served the last slice of honey pie: tiny and barely any chantilly cream to accompany it.

This is a serious burger. They do their burger rare, but it doesn’t taste like it. They compensate for rare by dry ageing — yes you can tell — and by their cooking method which provides the PERFECT char. The meat itself is moist, crunchy, and full of flavor.
So get the freaking burger, don’t take my word for it.
Seeing as their menu is a la carte you are probably going to want to get some sides as well. I would be temped to come just for the onion ring and the avocado toast. The onion rings are the crispiest fry I’ve ever seen — AMAZINGLY delicious. Avacado toast — awesome! — They were a touch heavy on the roe, but that didn’t hurt it.
Oh and full bar, with a good variety of drinks to meet anyone’s needs.

First I’ll tell you the important stuff, then I might drift into some shallow musings about how thin and fit all the servers and cooks here are, and how I’m dying to know if it’s because they eat burgers every day or never ever eat burgers at all…
So, first: KronnerBurger is doing something special, and it’s worth coming back for. Most people will go for the burgers, but if you are not like most people, you will still find much to indulge in of the non-​meat variety. They take their salads just as seriously as their beefy dishes. Beautiful presentation, creative ingredients a la saison, and prices that won’t make you curse the hipster invasion of Oakland. It’s all good in this hood.
I had a bite of the burger, and it was so decadent (and honestly delicious) that I can’t imagine eating a whole thing. They are a modest size, but the meat itself is so damn meaty and rich, which I think is a good thing for burger lovers. The burger is $ 12, and you can add on marrow, or herb cheese, or bacon for some extra dollars. Also had the fries with beef cheek gravy and cheese curds. Way better than any poutine I’ve tasted.
WINE ALERT — the list here is amazing and esoteric. They also have cocktails and beer, but c’mon… the fancy little Euro wines served in proper European glasses are irresistible. So unique for a burger bar.
And how cool that it’s a triangular-​shaped diner with soft vintage lighting? With amazing desserts too! Good work, Kronner Burger.

Be still my beating heart.
No, literally, because this burger has 2 days worth of calories.
Their speciality Kronner Burger has an add on of bone marrow, in case you didn’t think a juicy burger with cheese didn’t have enough cholesterol for you.
But man, was this a good burger.
And with fresh cut fries, how could you go wrong?
But, be prepared to spend some cash. This isn’t your $ 10 or even $ 15 burger with the add ons, well, the price adds on too.
It had a rich, velvety flavor to it (with the bone marrow), and I couldn’t help but think of being transported to some place like Las Vegas.
I felt like a high rolling gambler.
Gambling with my arteries and all.

Eh… I struggled between a 2 or 3 star review. The service made me drop it to 2.
Service — The hostess was lovely and polite. But only intereacted with her for a second while she sat us outside. The waitress couldn’t give to flips about us. Apparently she forgot that being a good waitress ups your tip. Took her over 5 minutes to come to our table. Didn’t bring water until asked for multiple times after the food had been brought. Didn’t even bother to make eye contact with us while we were ordering.
Food — I really wished I’d liked their burger. But no. In fact I didn’t even bother finishing it. I’d seen great reviews for it and I love a good burger and rare burgers are the best way to go in my opinion. However, this burger just had an odd taste to it. I couldn’t figure out what that odd taste was. It was just unappealing. Plus the final nail in the coffin was that my burger was cold. Like it had been sitting on the counter for a while cold.

I’ll come right out and say that KronnerBurger isn’t for everyone. I understand the hesitation of rare meat in the United States. We’ve been taught at a very young age how it’s not meant to be eaten. Well this is probably true when it comes to the store bought crap we’ve all been raised on at one point or another. Or the mass market fast food beef we shovel into our faces. I can’t tell you with a straight face that I don’t like either of those because when my cravings desire them I satisfy it. Had I been raised on KronnerBurger I might be different but alas I was not but thankfully I have come to appreciate the masterpiece which is the ultra rare kronnerburger. This restaurant centers around this burger and for good reason. If rare is a bad word in your foodie heart then click the Unilocal Icon and start your search over.
There is no burger that can you can compare it to. At least not in my experience. I’ve had it at multiple locations now and it’s great everywhere I’ve found it. It’s a unique experience for sure and it’s been given a worthy home at the corner of Piedmont and 41^st. If you get the burger make sure you get the marrow otherwise the experience isn’t the same. It’s good but with marrow it becomes great. Think of the burger as beef tartare with a nice sear around it.
The rest of the menu is no slouch along with a creative cocktail menu. There is an every changing daily specials menu that really shows off the chef’s skills. Not to mention he’s been known to do themed nights as well such as rib eye steak. If I had to pick a side the fries with cheese curds and gravy are a must have. Poultine without calling it Poultine really. On top of all that if you feel like a nice glass of wine he’s got a wine list solid enough for any white table cloth establishment.
The room is small but well designed considering the unique shape of the space. The staff is always excellent and their service is top notch and friendly. You can bad mouth the burger or the hipster like atmosphere but you can’t bad mouth the staff here. All in all I clearly love KronnerBurger and everything chef brings to the world of food in the bay area. It’s a unique niche and amazing for anyone who has a little tyrannosaurus like craving in them from time to time.

Wow, I haven’t experienced a let down like this in a long time! With so much hype surrounding this burger, I was so excited to finally visit KB.
Husband and I split a Kronner Burger and a breakfast sandwich made of a biscuit, smoky mayo, fried egg, and pork. Both were $ 12. We added bone marrow to the burger for a few extra bucks. The burger was okay, but did not live up to all the raves about it. We’ve had better burgers for half the cost at different spots around Oakland. The $ 12 cost doesn’t include fries, so if you add fries and bone marrow, you’re looking at a $ 20 burger before tax and tip! The breakfast sandwich was also disappointing. The fried eggs were extremely overcooked to the point where the yolks were hard and crumbly.
I doubt we’ll ever come back.

Sleek burger joint in Piedmont Oakland. Formerly on SF 7×7 list.
Kronnerburger with bone marrow — ⁴⁄₅ — While the herb cheese was very good, it overpowered the bone marrow. I’d go one or the other in the future and add bacon instead. Noted on the menu that is is cooked rare and, surprisingly, it was as rare as it gets which was great.
Beef Cheek Poutine — ⁴⁄₅ — Solid poutine. Could use more cheese curds but otherwise very tasty gravy. Fries were average, despite the reviews raving about the quality. Still good enough to order again.
Overall, I’d come back again. There aren’t many burgers out there that are cooked as rare as this or offer marrow as a topping. I’d also like to try the honey pie. «I’m a fan.»

From Michael Bauer’s «a contender for one of the best burgers in the Bay Area» to more than a few not-​so-​generous Unilocal reviews, I had a rollercoaster of expectations ahead of my first visit to KronnerBurger. Arriving before noon on a Friday ensured an immediate order at the counter and prime picks for a table.
The order process itself began my KB seduction. As my co-​luncher gave her choices, I couldn’t help but notice behind the register the picture-​perfect cuts of meat being trimmed with loving attention in the open kitchen. Once seated, the clean minimalism of the interior suggested a canvas yet untouched, the white marble tabletops framing the red Sir Kensington bottle of ketchup.
Anticipation yielded to delight once our lunch, a burger each (mine with a marrow extra) and a shared fries arrived. Yes, this burger was rare, very rare — not my usual choice, but the quality of the meats really got a chance to shine. Amazing flavor and texture; each mouthful a joy. Also delightful was the bun, freshly baked on-​premises. It didn’t quite hold up towards the end of the burger, but both my companion and I ate its remains via fork and knife like it was a honored side dish.
The marrow for me didn’t offer sufficient perk for its $ 3 price tag, nor do I fully agree with the choice of iceberg as its lettuce (texture contrast, I’m guessing). Beyond those two picky points, I’m with Mr. Bauer — this was one of the best burgers I’ve had in the Bay Area.
Also excellent, though not generating the «write home» enthusiasm of the burgers, were the fries — nicely golden, beautifully crisp/​tender, perfectly salted. And the aforementioned ketchup, a worthy accompaniment.
And to echo many a reviewer: GET THE HONEY PIE. I’m not that much of a dessert person, but I’d go back just for a slice. A creamy custard; not just the honey flavor apparent but the honey *source* from its deep floral whiffs. «Like hugging a pot of honey,» my companion said, hee. Lightly sprinkled with sea salt and paired with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Sharing bites and making eye contact was borderline naughty. Seriously, sexy good.
All the service was very friendly, including our waiter, who was kind and knowledgeable enough to talk about the burger meat — sourced from four cows, of various ages and cuts, to offer a sublime flavor profile.
Update 7÷3÷15: The return lunch was still good but not as impressive as the first visit, possibly due to coming at peak weekend lunch time. We snagged the last available table; a few patrons had to dine standing at the communal counter. The burger was as tasty and juicy as the first visit, but the fries dropped a notch in quality and presentation. And, no honey pie! As explained, it’s a rotating menu item, so check their website for daily menu update before visiting if it’s a must-​have. What was new and tasty were the onion rings, bright gold in color from a dose of paprika in the batter.

The burger was slightly underwhelming but still good. It was very juicy and greasy — the way I like it. We got all the add-​ons: bone marrow, pimento cheese, and bacon. I thought the bone marrow was completely unnecessary. The cheese was awesome though. Bread was good too.
But what was pretty impressive was the poutine — beef cheek gravy and cheese curds on fresh cut fries, topped with scallions. Yummy!