The Burger's Priest

When it comes to burgers in Toronto everyone is pretty unanimous in choosing the best. Most people will send you to The Priest. They were featured on Anthony Bourdain's Toronto episode of The Layover, You Gotta Eat Here! featured them in season two, blogTO has them listed as the #1 Best Burger in town, and NOW Toronto has named them the #1 Best Burger 2018 and #1 Best Burger 2019. What started as one tiny location in The Beaches has expanded to 19 locations in Ontario and 2 in Edmonton, Alberta. They've had quite a decade!

I decided that it was time for me to visit the OG shop, known as The First Priest. Many of their other locations are quite spacious, but not this one. This one is extremely small, with barely enough room to place an order, let alone sit down to eat it. There is a very small counter space with four stools - that's the entirety of the room. But I liked this. I really liked seeing that something that started out so humbly was truly able to succeed and grow. It speaks to the quality of their product. You've probably heard their tagline, that they're "redeeming the burger one at a time." The church theme carries throughout all of their restaurants and they do such a great job creating this consistent look. The walls are always black and white - like a priest's robes and collar. The menu always appears on hymn boards and most of the sandwiches are appropriately named. The imagery is very good. In the beginning, they also always used to be closed on Sundays (for church).

Entering The First Priest on a Saturday evening, I was ready to confess all of my burger sins. Burger's Priest's whole deal is that they want to keep things simple; their beef is never frozen and their ingredients are fresh. Quality, purity and simplicity are their commandments. One other thing that you should probably be aware of is the secret menu. In the early days this menu was truly a secret and they wouldn't make you anything off of it unless you knew exactly what you were talking about. Today you can find the secret menu on their website - but it's no where to be found inside of the actual restaurants so you'll need to come prepared. (The secret menu is full of all sorts of abominations, namely The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse burger. It's a good idea to do a little bit of research.) I approached the counter in the small space and began to place my order. Once complete I grabbed one of the four stools and waited a short amount of time for my food to be ready, which was handed to me in a brown bag. It was time to start sacrificing some burgers.

I really like their Old Fashioned Shake so I started there. They do the usual flavours like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry (or try "Jarge" which is a mix of all three!), but also offer mint chocolate chip. However my personal favourite is the Riggs & Murtaugh (Vanilla ice cream + chocolate milk - $3.99). This used to be on the secret menu but now it's on the regular menu for all to see. Named after the characters from the Lethal Weapon film series, I love the way that this creamy vanilla milkshake has a little taste of chocolate milk combined with it. It's so good!

Now... I could've ordered something normal to eat. But unfortunately that's not who I am as a person. Instead I ordered one of my favourite things - and it's a burger that I invented myself. I call it The Priest: Vatican Style. ($15.07). Let's attempt to break this thing down.

I take The Priest which is a cheeseburger (original beef patty & American cheddar) with The Option (breaded, cheese-stuffed portobello mushroom cap) on top. Then I have them change the bun to The Vatican City bun, which is two grilled cheese sandwiches as the bun. Are you still with me?? You also get your choice of burger toppings and I always get "the works" (ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle). I usually leave out the onion. And I add secret sauce. Because everything is better with secret sauce.

So that's my burger! I love it because it combines so many of the unique and wonderful things that The Burger's Priest does well. The never-frozen 100% Canadian Ultra Premium, grass-fed, humanely raised sustainable beef tastes amazing. This creation of mine is clearly for cheese-lovers (such as myself) because it is simply oozing with cheese from like, four different areas. The Option is especially unique and a truly different way to approach doing a veggie burger. I love the crunch on the panko and the molten cheese that spills out. The vegetables are always bright and fresh. And then... Grilled cheese sandwiches as the bun, people. It sounds so wrong but you know that it's right. Eat this on an empty stomach and you won't regret it.

On this particular occasion they made my burger as a double cheeseburger (two patties) which I wasn't thrilled about (I didn't order it this way). It was just too much. I mean, this burger is already too much. It did not need an extra patty. I felt that the burger was too meaty this way and the meatiness over powered the other components that I had been hoping to enjoy for what they are. It was a mistake and I know that most people would be pleased to find a bonus patty that they weren't charged for.

Also, Fresh Cut Fries ($3.99)! I like their fries a whole lot. They're always fried to a delicious, deep golden brown and are nicely salted. These are the kinds of fries that I always crave the most. They make a Poutine as well, which I've never tried. I bet that it's great.

While I've never ventured beyond beef, I'm really interested in trying the Chicken Low Priest and The Token sandwiches that they do. These will be the next on my list!

There are some comparisons that can be drawn to California's famed In-N-Out Burger. First of all, they both have secret menus. Secondly, the Priest does "Jarge Style" which is essentially equivalent to In-N-Out's "Animal Style." And thirdly, the Priest has a burger called the California Classic which is pretty much made in the same style as an In-N-Out burger (complete with secret sauce). So if you're a huge fan of In-N-Out (and who isn't?) The Burgers Priest is an excellent place to visit right here in Canada.

Last but not least, I couldn't leave without getting The Vatican On Ice (Ice cream sangwiched between two grilled cheese buns - $5.99). Yup... Yup. This is a thing. And they're doing it. And you know what? It works. Everyone loves salty and sweet flavours and that's exactly what this is. The bun is warm and crispy from the grill, the ice cream is cold and melty... The whole thing is a contradiction wrapped in an enigma and it's good. However, I highly recommend sharing it with someone. Nobody needs all of this to themselves. (And no, "sangwiched" isn't a typo.)

Welp. I think that I've said everything that I need to say about The Burger's Priest. Phew! We got through it together and our arteries are still (mostly) intact! You don't need to order "crazy food" like I did. The normal, basic burgers are what make them shine and they're damn good. Now get out there and be a part of the redemption!

Great staff. Loved the burgers. The burgers are worth the price. I had cheese burger which was too good in taste. Had a nice time here with good food.

Omg, we almost didn't make it here.. 5 min till closing. We came here because we heard through the grape vine that this is the best location! Great thing, you can park on the street and walk inside in like 1 second. The service was really fast! We ordered 2 cheeseburgers and an order of fries. We received complimentary bacon which was soo bomb! Totally made my day! :) The burger was really nice and juicy and had a great amount of grease which I love. Not over the top greasy, but definitely what a burger should taste like! Their fries are okay, nothing to rave about, but definitely an important side and worth reordering. I feel like I have become a true Torontonian after having this. Definitely ranked in top burger joints in my books!

Burger Priest is heaven! I love their burgers and I am addicted to them. Whenever I'm in the area, I make sure to grab a burger at burger priest. I've tried a bunch of different kinds of burgers here and they're all so yummy. I love that their burgers are unique and they offer a variety of flavours. 

The burger priest locations I've been to are not that huge and I prefer taking out. They have the typical toppings and add ons that you can get at other burger joints. Be sure to check out their secret menu (online) before you go in, incase you want to try something extra special.

I had never heard of the place,I was visiting from up north.I absolutely LOVE the place and don't think I will ever be able to eat any other than The Burger preist.

Amazing place!!! I really enjoyed the experience and the burgers were so delicious. The meat was cooked to perfection and the customer service was great! The young lady serving me, a girl named Paige I think it was, was one of the most polite cashiers I've ever met. She handled my large order so well I was impressed! Keep up the good work and great food 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

The burger was very good. Just the perfect size. The fries are among the best I’ve had anywhere and very plentiful. Price was very competitive and the servers were extremely friendly. Very impressed !

Long time visitor of this iconic Toronto burger joint, I know what I’m getting every time I order. Like most things better you enjoy this meal as fresh as possible. Check out the secret (not do’s secret ) menu and grab a chocolate shake with that burger.