Thank god for hype and expectation being delivered on every so often - the burgers, the music and atmosphere in Jo Burger in Rathmines village, Dublin 6 is everything I had been lead to believe. Closing in on a year here in Dublin, it is consistently the one place recommended to me for eating. Being confronted by my burger was akin to David meeting Goliath, where to start and how to tackle it a mystery, your mouth nevertheless finds a way. Opening with a hands on approach, slowly you find some weapons in the form of a knive and fork are necessary breaking it down into manageable pieces. You find yourself trying to keep the bulk of the burger somehow on the extremities of the plate just to convince yourself you’re making progress, this ruse carefully constructed to ensure there is no danger of you not finishing. There is so much tasty goodness on the plate in front of you that to leave even a bite behind would seem like some sort of war crime.

We had arrived before 8 meaning we were first in line avoiding the queues that developed throughout the night. The pleasant staff administer a fine selection of bottled beers (and wines) while waiting and the hope for a good feeding means the queing time races by and you are soon browsing menu pages pasted into a Beano annual. The menu is available to examine online, the choice of toppings is eclectic and full of potential and you can’t but want to choose some of the tasty sides, sharing them out amongst the group is essential as realistically the burger will fill you. Corn on the cob, sweet potato and regular fries and organic tomato sauce were our choices and they were good, though the regular fries did seem a bit limp, some crunch would have been welcome. My burger was dripping in a combination of cream cheese and blue cheese, the cream cheese dulling the strength of the blue just to the right degree on my burger cooked to my liking. My friend had chicken, but knowing now the quality of the beef served I have to say I can’t condone choosing a chicken burger over the choice of lamb and beef on offer - you can order the chicken if you go - just don’t tell me abut it. A DJ kicked off shortly after we took our seats delivering a pretty cool set of music, somehow not too loud to mean I had to shout at my company, yet still audible enough to give the heaving, swelteringly hot room a good buzz. Overall I was well impressed, the bench style seating doesn’t scream of comfort admittedly and there is a sense you are eating in an evolved fast food restaurant - but the evolution has been one of organic, locally sourced produce being used to create tasty food and the food should be the saving grace even for those who may frown at the establishments eagerness to be cool.

Official Home Page for Jo Burger (scroll across to the menu and other information such as a bebo and My Space page)

Menu Pages Reviews

Irish Independent Review