BGR – The Burger Joint

Yeah, it’s closed now… Should have read my review!

BGR was Fantastic!
I’m sad it is now closed.
Hands Down The Best Burgers In Tampa!!!
The owner was great & the food was beyond any other burger place in Tampa. It is a shame that a great restaurant like this had to close down.

BGR is now closed.

I’m always willing to give a new burger joint a try. Sadly BGR seems to incorporate some of the worst trends of the current glut while not adding much new and exciting. I had the sliders which were delicious. The burgers were beautifully grilled, lots of delicious crunchy spots, served on potato rolls and accented with pickles, diced onions and BGR’s signature mojo sauce.
I also ordered a side of fries, though with great reluctance. I am so over this trend to price the burgers at a level that looks reasonable but then not offer a reasonably priced, individually sized portion of french fries. The fries were hot and tasty, but nothing too exciting. I only ate 10 – 15 fries and rapidly lost interest as they cooled. Please, trendy burger joints — stop selling me a ½ pound of fries. I only want about 20 and am tired of seeing my bill sky rocket because I want a little something-​something with my burger.
BGR’s menu has some interesting options but is very limited (about 10 burgers including special features), but overall I didn’t feel like I got $ 14 worth of dinner and while the burgers were tasty, I don’t know that the taste vs. value balance was better than what is on offer at Square One or Burger Monger.

This was my first trip to BGR. It may have very well been my last…
Walking in, I was greeted in a friendly manner. I ordered the «Wellington», which as I understand it was their recent award winner. I opted for the sweet potato fries and drink combo. My tab came to $ 13 and some change.
The service was prompt and within 5 minutes or so my takeout order was ready. I excitedly drove back to my office, ready to dive into my Friday lunch splurge. On the way, I grabbed a sweet potato fry out of the bag. My first impression… uh-​oh! I grabbed another and was met with the same result. They were overcooked and lacked salt. Damn…
Back in the office, I unfurled my burger from the wrapping and excitedly dived in. Damn…
Whether it was the topping of the Wellington or the grease from the burger or some combination therewithin, the bun was mushy. As I continued to eat, it turned into a soggy, falling apart mess. The burger itself suffered from the exact opposite defect of the fries… it had too much salt. Way… way…too much salt. To the point that it ruined or distracted from any of the other flavors going on. As an aside: while I was waiting, I saw another burger begin to be prepared and thought there was an awful lot put on; my burger confirmed this.
My verdict: The marinated mushroom «Wellington» mix atop the burger was indeed tasty, eluding to the potential of the burger. But today… sadly the concept reached further than the execution allowed. At a rather steep price, and with other options out there, I won’t be in any type of hurry to return.

I ate here for the first time last week for a burger tasting and was completely blown away. Delicious and FRESH, everything I sampled was fantastic. I especially loved their Veggie Burger which was so incredible you would never know it was vegetarian. I also loved both the Ahi Burger and the Greek Burger. Service was great and staff was friendly. I WILL be back.

In my world, Saturday is an exciting day. Yes, I do realize most normal human beings would agree as Saturday is the start to this wonderful thing we call the weekend. But it’s more than just that for me. You see, Saturday is my «cheat day,» meaning after 6 days of super-​duper healthy eating, I can eat pretty much whatever the hell my mouth desires. There are a handful of scrumptious goodies I crave– cheeseburgers being one of them. Now, I have to inform you, I have never, ever been a fan of fast food so eating a McDonald’s cheeseburger is not even an option. I am without question, one of the snootiest burger consumers you’ll ever meet.
For the longest time, Square One was my absolute favorite gourmet burger eatery; that is, until I discovered BGR– The Burger Joint. I was told that they had just recently won «Best Burger of the Bay» with one of their concoctions so that following Saturday, without hesitation, I drove on over to BGR to see what the hype was all about.
Walking into the joint, I was excited to see a sparkling clean, and fantastically fun retro inspired restaurant. Funky lights, brightly– colored plastic-​covered booths and hundreds of framed album covers welcomed me to step on up to the counter and place my order. Having been informed that their burgers are huge, my boyfriend and I shared the award-​winning «Wellington» burger. Wow. I instantly fell head over heels in love with this creation. A huge and juicy medium-​temp mound of goodness topped with roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, garlic, mustard seed and bleu cheese melted in my mouth with every bite. The diverse flavors and perfectly cooked burger proved they deserved their award. On the side, we shared «The Orange Standard,» their thin cut sweet potato fries which were also phenomenal.
My brother and his girlfriend created their own burger with cheddar, bacon and BBQ sauce. They then ordered onion rings as their side which they used on their burger. This combination was great and again, the burger itself was so juicy and superbly seasoned, but I would always opt for one of BGR’s combos. They also have an Ahi tuna burger, a seasonal lobster «Burger» and a «Cuban» burger. Kudos to BGR for being an inspired, innovative and insanely excellent gourmet burger chain. Yes, I said chain. Trust me, I was surprised too.

Another great burger joint in Tampa and on North Dale Mabry. I’ve been meaning to try this place and finally got the chance when a friend wanted to meet here. The burgers here are special in a great way. I got the Southwestern Burger and my friend ordered the Turkey Burger. The 9 oz Southwestern burger patty is infused with chipotles, poblanos, onion and chilis. It’s topped with pepper jack cheese and black bean salsa. The nicely toasted brioche bun is the perfect vessel to house the party of ingredients.
Aside from the burgers, we ordered Fries topped with Parmesan, Rosemary, and Roasted Garlic along with an order of Onion Rings. Fries were fried nicely, but I wasn’t expecting whole roasted garlic cloves. It was a bit surprising, plus who wants to eat whole garlic cloves? Minced would have been better in my opinion. The onion rings were nice. The batter wasn’t too think, but they were quite bland so the fries were much more enjoyable. Overall a great place for a burger and fries that I would definitely come back for.

I had been meaning to try BGR ever since they won the burger showdown the other week so when my fiancé and I were each having our cars serviced at a nearby tire place on Sunday, we decided to finally stop in and see what the place was all about. The outside wasn’t anything too impressive (and honestly I’ve driven by it a million times and never felt the need to go in), but the inside did pull me it. It was dark, elusive, and had a walk-​up counter service menu that reminded me of Burrito Border.
The line moved quickly and the girl who took our order was sweet. She double checked to make sure we wanted everything that came on the burger per the menu and gave us the option to customize as need be. We were then handed a pager and took a seat. We ordered one fountain drink between the two of us and I enjoyed that they had a Coke Freestyle machine. I’m not a coke fan by any means, but I love that the coke freestyle machines have seltzer.
Our orders took about 5 – 10 minutes, which wasn’t bad considering the Sunday lunch crowd that had formed. I had ordered the veggie burger with the mojo sauce on the side and no cheese, my fiancé ordered The Wellington (the showdown burger winner), and we split a double order of fries between the two of us.
My veggie burger was excellent. It sorta fell apart on me, which is a good thing since it meant it was made on site and not a standard boca burger (yuck). It was also very juicy and didn’t need any of the «mojo sauce» (basically a mix of ketchup and mayo). I would order it again in a heartbeat and highly recommend it to friends.
My fiancé’s Wellington was fantastic as well. It was flavorful, juicy, and perfectly medium. Bravo.
Our fries were just ok. Sorta standard, and a little well done, but they got the job done.
For a burger place it is a tad overpriced, but you really do get your money’s worth in the quality of the burger. I say give it a try. :)

Every once in a while, I am okay with paying good money for a good product or to try a new restaurant. However, when I saw the tab at BGR rise to over $ 35 for 2 people, I had to scrutinize the menu. My mom and I called in a to-​go order at a little bit before 2pm. I ordered the Turkey Burger with cheddar cheese and a side of asparagus fries. My mom order The Burger (added cheddar and bacon), a side of onion rings and a milkshake. We were quoted the total on the phone and with trepidation at the real cost and a request from my mom to double check the receipt for accuracy, I went to pick up the food. Sure enough, the total was correct. It was $ 10 for the turkey burger, $ 7 for The Burger, $ 1 EACH for added cheese and bacon ($ 2 for adding cheese and bacon is ridiculous in and of itself), $ 3.50 for asparagus fries, $ 4.50 for onion rings and $ 5 for the milkshake.
I noticed that there was a lunch deal from 11 – 2 which featured a burger, regular fries and a drink for $ 8.99 and while I realized there would be upcharges because of our special menu items, I asked if we could get this deal since we ordered before the cutoff. I was told that normally I would get the deal, but next time to let them know ahead of time that the order was placed before 2pm (because, you know, having a time stamp on your own receipt isn’t sufficient…). I was told that since it was already rang up, it couldn’t be adjusted, and I was apologized to. Even if that is the case, at least offer me a free fountain soda which costs you virtually nothing!
Now the food: the Turkey Burger had a weird texture and these dark gooey onions. The bun was too soft, like it was undercooked bread. The taste was unbearable and after 3 bites, it was trashed. The asparagus fries were extremely thin, half burnt, and grilled with parm cheese, which I could have done at home better. The Burger was ordered with their mojo sauce which wasn’t appealing and my mom didn’t even get through half the burger before deciding that even though we spent a fortune, it wasn’t worth it to continue consuming. The onion rings were doughy and bland. The milkshake was the best part and even that was tasteless.
With amazing options like Burger 21, The Burger Monger, and more, Tampa has enough quality burger joints and we don’t need this one.

Delicious but too pricey. I had the Greek with a side of sweet potato fries. Excellent but not amazing. Liked my hubby’s cheeseburger (with bacon, pepper jack cheese, and mojo sauce) better. Spent over $ 30 for burgers, sides, and drinks for two. The prices are what may keep us from returning.

So my 1^st stop on the road to finding an outstanding burger joint. It’s in the name so I figured I would start here.
Aesthetic: with it’s exposed kitchen you immediately are aware that this isn’t your regular burger joint, apart as if chipotle and white castle had a a kid and called it BGR.
Menu: Surprisingly a little spartan. Not many choices a couple of exotic featured burgers and regular fries as well as sweet potato fries.
The Burger: I had the regular hamburger with fries and a drink. The burger was decent not worth the almost 13 dollars I spent for the meal. I’ve eaten at a lot of burger restaurants one of which Hardee’s or Carl’s Jr. depending on which coast and state you’re in has one of the better burgers I’ve had in their six-​dollar thick burger, which coincidentially doesn’t cost 6 dollars more like half of that. Two other places only local to Colorado Good Times burgers and shakes and in cherry creek The Cherry Cricket have much better burgers than the one I had at BGR. I’ll go back and try their featured burgers and sweet potato fries to see how it stacks up.
Price: A little on the pricy side as far as burgers go. Add about 50% premium over any regular burger joint. However they do offer Military discounts, which I forgot to ask for when ordering.
Overall: it wasn’t a bad burger, it wasn’t a great burger I needed to email my friends about. We’ll see how the other places compare.

Better than the monger. Eclectic atmosphere really seems to try too hard, but the burgers, shakes and other assortment of goodies have yet to disappoint.

This is a DC-​area chain, so I expected it to be decent (I lived in the DC area for years.) Well, the burgers are very good. But the fries are no better than Ore-​Ida in the freezer section at Publix. The shakes (I had the monthly special Thin int) are also terrible. The shakes at Burger 21 are much better, as are the fries. Even the shakes at Steak and Shake are better. Don’t think they know what they are doing with the shakes.
But, if you are a burger person, go here. Get a burger and a drink. And ignore the rest of the offerings.
The 80s décor/​music were a plus for me, although I do agree the music is too loud.

I was in town on business and didn’t have a lot of time for lunch when a colleague recommended The Burger Joint for what she said is «a great burger». She wasn’t kidding! I opted for the Wellington Burger — a cooked-​to-​order burger with bleu cheese, carmelized onions and roasted mushrooms in what they call «mojo sauce» (a sort of savory wine-​flavored gravy) — and while it was super messy (grab extra napkins!), it was also super delicious. I savored every bite, and now BGR is on my list of places to hit for good food when I’m in Tampa.

I went in today and decided to have a little fun with my order. I got the chocolate dipped strawberry shake, fries with rosemary and garlic, and the Greek burger (lamb with what you would expect). This came to a little over $ 20.
Milk Shake: I was offered a straw and a spoon, but you wouldn’t need the spoon. It wasn’t thick enough. More milk than strawberry and no chunks of anything in it; strawberry or chocolate.
Burger: I ordered it MR and got it M-​MW. It did taste like good lamb, but over cooked, so not as juicy.
Fries: They are good.
For $ 12 it was a good meal, but feel short for $ 20. Once again the staff is awesome, but the food didn’t measure up.

There sure are a lot of burger joints opening up as of late, and I likes me some burgers! These are good times for me, so I keep sampling these places on my quest to find the best burger.
We were actually on our way to Jimmy John’s when we looked off to the left and saw BGR. Curiosity got the best of us, so we went in. 80’s music and album covers on the walls immediately took us by surprise. Fun atmosphere, and the staff was extremely pleasant. We ordered a Wellington Burger, minus the blue cheese with fries and a «The Burger» with asparagus (substitute for fries). First let me start with the Wellington topping. This *&%@ was amazing. It was a kin to maybe a Marsala sauce with mushrooms, but thicker like a gravy almost. Absolutely fantastic flavor. The actual burgers were properly seasoned with salt & pepper and perfectly charred from the flames on the grill. And because they’re cooked over and open flame, you don’t get the grease associated with some of the other burger places. The asparagus was very tasty, and maintained it’s crunchy snap despite being cooked on the grill. The fries were fries. It’s kind of hard to screw up deep fried potatoes, but I will say they didn’t skimp on the portions.
We ended our trip with a chocolate covered strawberry milk shake — Very good milk shake. Basically, they line the cup with chocolate syrup, pour in the ice cream, and then top it with more freaking syrup. I’m not a huge dessert type guy, but this was pretty good stuff.
I will definitely revisit.

Went here with a fellow Unilocaler for the first time. We shared a side of fries and I got the The Wellington. Let me just say, that was a darn tasty burger! I’m a sucker for grilled onions and boy were these grilled!!! *mouth watering.* My friend got the turkey burger and she laid that one to rest: D! I took home a burger and onion rings to my fiancée. The burger was really good (can’t remember which one, it was the monthly special) and the onion rings, although there were only 6, were really good. They were huge, but they had a lot of batter on them. Which I didn’t mind, but it was a bit much after a while. A solid place and I hope that they are here to stay and that they expand across the Tampa area.

Outsdanding Experience!!!
Went in today as a 1^st timer, Order the Wellington with Garlic Fries.
it was really really good!!!

My wife and I decided to go to BGR on a Friday night for our date night. We arrived around 6 PM. and found the restaurant buzzing with people, but it never felt too crowded. There was a steady stream of people at the restaurant. The décor was very unique with record covers from the 80s on the wall and chandeliers that my wife took pictures of right away. The menu was a tad bit overwhelming at first as there were lots of choices beyond the normal Hamburger and Cheeseburger. Selections ranged from your typical Hamburger to Tuna Burger to Cuban to Greek Burger. Choices for sides include the classic French Fries, to the popular Sweet Potato Fries and Onion Rings to the most surprising choice: Grilled Asparagus. We decided to stick to the classic Cheeseburger. We both added the secret secret Mojo sauce and as a side we decided to split an order of Onion Rings. I also was able to get a tasty imported Palm Beer from Belgium and they also feature Tamps’ own Cigar City Brewery (a huge plus in the book of a beer connoisseur like myself). Since we were there for dinner we didn’t have a chance to try it, but we saw a $ 7.99 lunch deal on the menu that looked great.
After ordering we were given a pager and the food took about ten minutes to come out as it’s all cooked to order.
While waiting we made the acquaintance with the Coke Soda Fountain of the future. There were literally 100s of possible combinations to choose from. Just to illustrate the large amount of options: My wife got a «Cherry Vanilla Mr. Pibb». Go figure :)
Once the pager went off we went to pick up our food and we were very pleasantly surprises at how well put together the burgers were. Usually «gourmet burger» are stuffed over the top with toppings that slide off the bun onto your plate and put a huge downer on the entire experience. However, at BGR they hit all the fundamentals on the head and took them to the next level: a tasty firm bun, fresh crispy produce, and of course a perfectly cooked juicy burger. As far as the onion rings go, there were plenty to share for 2 – 3 people and they were delicious like they had just been made and.
The best part of the experience at BGR was that my wife loved it. She is not usually a burger person, but she absolutely loved the Cheeseburger and Onion Rings she had. I can recommend the food and ambiance to anyone looking for a good meal.