Fat Friday - M:Brgr

Wow, this post is loooong overdue. How long you might ask? Well, we dined at this restaurant some time back in March, and since that time, this restaurant has already closed up shop! We were not really surprised by this news, as this review will highlight, but since Matt and I were on a burger binge for Fat Fridays, we thought we owed it to our research to give it a try.

And it’s been ages since I’ve written about a Fat Friday…

If you’re not familiar with M:Brgr, it originally started in Montreal and has hence opened (and closed) a Toronto location on King St West, not too far from out house. We walked past it during the renovation stage, and after reading a few reviews on the place, we decided to give it a try. Their ‘gimmick’ was the $100 burger - two Kobe beef patties with bacon, grilled pear, foie gras, brie, fig jam, asparagus, Piave cheese, garlic-roasted ham, porcini mushrooms, honey truffle aioli and truffles.  

M:Brgr is all about the options. Their menu is quite extensive; you begin by choosing what type of paddy as your base: veggie, tuna, Kobe beef, or AAA beef. Step two: choose a bun: regular, whole wheat, or lettuce wrap. Next, you can add any number of common and unique ingredients to place atop your burger: various cheeses, a selection of sauces/mayos/relishes, and numerous vegetable toppings. The final step, for those inclined, is to add the “crazy expensive” toppings, which include a couple different truffles and Foie Gras.

There are other things on the menu that you can have besides burgers: tacos, sandwiches, salads, hot dogs, even macaroni and cheese, but with a name like M:Brgr, you got to try the burger. Matt and I decided on just basic burgers, choosing the AAA beef paddy on a regular bun, and adding cheese and bacon. We also ordered a side of fries to share (no onion rings on the menu…ahem….only onion strings. What’s that about? A true test of a good burger joint, for me, anyway, is how their onion rings taste. They lost major points with me on that one…). And the burger: how was it, you might ask? Well, service was a bit slow, but when it finally arrived, the burger was cooked well and tasted pretty good, but really it nor the fries were anything special. We had definitely eaten better.

The location itself is very large and spacious, almost too large for a burger joint. Previously, the spot has housed a number of other restaurants that never seemed to last long (another reason we weren’t surprised by the closure; I think the space might be cursed…), but just generally, M:Brgr was just overpriced for what you got. We were not in a hurry to go back any time soon. Looks like we won’t have the opportunity to.

Keep posted for a few more burger places to report on, including my new found favourite… I'll get to them, I promise.