Big Smoke Burger Review

Big Smoke Burger

This week I visited Big Smoke Burger on King St West.  Big Smoke used to be known as Craft burger.   Craft burger was always a place people talked about when you brought up burgers. 

The location was fairly small.  There is a single bench along the wall with chairs across the small tables lined up in single file.  The tables are crammed so tightly that you cannot pass between them if you’re sitting on the bench, and everyone has to get out of the way if you need to go to the washroom.  This is worse than getting up in front of everyone in the middle of a packed movie theatre.

They offer chicken, lamb, beef and vegetarian patties.  There are a whole bunch of gourmet burgers; I ordered a Big Smoke Burger which horseradish mayo, caramelized onions, smoked cheddar, tomato & lettuce.  They offer fries, onion rings, poutine, and salads as sides.  There are 8 signature burgers to choose from but unfortunately the choices feel limited.  All the burgers seem similar and they don’t seem to encourage customization at all. 

My Big Smoke burger with fries and a pop came up to just under $15.

The only issue is that for $15 for a burger, I expect to be full and bursting when I’m done.  Maybe I've crossed the threshold of pure gluttony as the folks next to me were complaining about how stuffed they were, but I could of ate another burger without stopping to take a breath.  Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious; the meat was tender, and the horseradish mayo gave it the perfect tang, but it was just a tad too small. 

I'm leaning towards pure gluttony as the problem

The fries here were good, but they were either cooked in lard or the oil had not been changed in a while and that left the fries with a strange, smoky taste. (Description of fries was given by my girlfriend who accompanied me. For the record, I seem to be completely oblivious to these sorts of things and now bring her along). 

The staff were very friendly and the wait was 8-10 minutes.  The location was dimly lit and had a nice atmosphere.

Pros:

·         Friendly staff.

·         Fair price.

·         Nice Atmosphere.

Cons:

•      Not filling.
•  Tight space.
• trange taste on fries.

Big Smoke burger does everything fairly well, but larger portions will definitely add value.  I know there isn’t much wrong here, but there’s nothing that stands out in any way.  I’m a little disappointed with everything.  It’s not bad, it’s just not great.

6.5/10