Burger Frites is a casual dining hamburger restaurant located along Joo Chiat Road. They said to serve pretty good gourmet craft burgers here. Let’s check them out with a dine-in.
The restaurant frontage is that of a 5 foot walkway. Notably this classic pre-war houses are similar to that Redeye Steakhouse we visited previously. The interior of the restaurant café is decked with rustic cozy brown wood. There are a mix of tabled as well as sofa seating, making the place great for groups.
There are self-help cutlery and plain water for patrons. Also, service is friendly, quick and fast. You place your order at the counter where your burgers are served to you. Apparently the establishment also owns and operates the Steak Frites restaurant just across the street.
Build your burger
Dining at Burger Frities involves you selecting your burger bits which is built to your choosing. Their menu selections are simple. You have three burger patty types to choose from and your burger built from your choice. Starting choices includes the 180 Gram Angus beef burger, Crispy tender chicken and their Breaded Bride cheese.
Thereafter, burger bases includes, the regular “Burger” $16, with a dollar more for added cheese and $2 more for bacon. The entire works of cheese and bacon, you guessed it, costs $3 more at $19 a pop. Also you have the option to double your patty for $8 extra and a choice of a more stomach-friendly gluten-free bun at $3. All burgers are served with lettuce, tomato, chipotle and sauces. And of course the prices here does not include GST and service charges.
On sizes, their burgers are not large in size, but adequate when you pair them up as a combo meal. An additional $5 on top of your burger makes it a combo with fries. Hence, at $20++ a meal, this puts Burger Frites up on the pricing range comparable to Fat Papas, Hans Im Gluck, but more expensive than Wolf Burgers, Bergs and Fat Burgers in the sub $10-15 segment.
Ok burgers, but not great
Furthermore, I found their food a mixed bunch. Their burgers patties are fresh and neatly compactly packed. Their chicken burger is pretty good with a nice dousing of creamy pepper sauce which is not overly drippy. It makes them ideal to be eaten in-hand.
However, the beef Angus is not as juicy as I expected to be. And I felt it is not as well flavoured for a home-made patty. The taste is tad muted. But this is made up for generous servings of mustard. Moreover, if you are hungry, the Beef burger is the larger one to go for. Though I tend to prefer and recommend the chicken burger.
Fries or Cookie? Cookie please
Moreover, interestingly, the name Frites actually mean fried potato chips. Going on that, moreover, on sides, you have a choice of fries or a single large cookie for your side. Your serving of homemade fries comes with a sauce side. Also, while the potato fries seems to the more obvious choice of side, I actually preferred the cookie. It is a delightful crunchy delight.
Their fries however, are tad quite a different story. They are home-made but I felt old,oily and not very fresh during my dinner dine-in on a Saturday night. Which was surprising as it was smacked right at dinner time. Also, the fries were also quite soggy in some areas and does not offer the crunch-ness as I was expecting from freshly-fried hand-made fries.
In addition, topping up their menu offerings, the restaurant serves an assortment of miscellaneous sides, such as chicken drumsticks from $7 for 3 pieces, tenders ($7), Mozzarella sticks and mixed patters to share ($25).
Drink selections
Drink selections comprises a choice of craft bottled beers, as well as milkshakes. I did not go for the shakes as they were not offered as part of the $5 meal, where I got a canned drink of choice from a selection of regular soda, including Orangina. Also, do note that only cash and nets payments are accept. Cashless payments include paylah, paynow, but not Fave or Grabpay. No credit card based payments are accepted.
All in all, Burger Frites was not quite the hype I was expecting their burgers to be. Granted, the café ambience and service is good. But for the price, I found is quite let down by lackluster burger quality to the competition, especially in the already rather competitive burger scene in Singapore. Probably good on your shortlist, but not one of a must-try.
Verdict:
Must Go! | Actually pretty Good | Worth Trying | Shortlist Optionally | Should Avoid
Burger Frites Locality Map
340 Joo Chiat Rd,
Singapore 427592
Opens daily: 12pm–10pm
[…] similarly priced to competing offerings in the sub $20 range, like the offerings from Fatboys and Burger Frites at Joo Chiat. However, their offerings are pricey and lower value than similar offerings from Burgs Burgers and […]