Romer's is always a solid place to grab a good burger.  They have some standard favourites and some interesting combinations/twists.  I have never had a bad meal here.  It's not my favourite burger place but it is reliable and tasty.

I think that we can all agree that knowing where to grab a good burger is key information to have. So when I saw Romer's on You Gotta Eat Here! and read that they were voted as #1 Best Burger 2017 in The Georgia Straight’s Golden Plates annual poll, I obviously had to try them for myself. They have three locations in the Vancouver area and one of them is conveniently located right near me in Kitsilano. We hit them up on a Friday night and were quickly seated without a wait.

The restaurant is fairly large, with locals and tourists alike huddled around tantalizing burgers. The space is fairly straight forward, with a polished look of shiny black tiles and wooden rafters that add a bit of a rustic feel. The booths are wrapped in cherry red and there are TVs all over the place. It’s casual and comfortable. The servers are very kind and friendly, although I found things a little bit slow at times.

They have plenty of drink specials including a happy hour and different deals for every day of the week. I was excited to see that bellinis are only $5 on Fridays and almost got one... Until I noticed that they also serve some really nice non-alcoholic drinks as well. I chose the Mango Mint Ice Tea (Mango puree, fresh mint, ice tea - $5.00) because sometimes I’m just into something refreshing and good. And it was refreshing and good! All three elements in this drink came together really well, and I enjoyed that each ingredient was very obvious. I really appreciate when restaurants offer more than just pop on the non-alcoholic menu.

The burgers here are not automatically served with fries, so if you want anything extra you need to order it. They have a large array of appetizers to choose from, as well as a section of various fries & rings. There are certainly a lot of choices on their large menu. We wanted to have some sort of fry situation and the Truffle Fries (Reggiano Parmesan - $8.95) seemed exactly like something that we would do. These certainly looked freakin’ fantastic, but the actual flavour left a bit to be desired. While the truffle aroma was blasting into our noses, the truffle flavour itself seemed to be a bit lost. The fries themselves were crispy and good, and cooked well. But unless you grabbed one that was heavily coated in seasoning, there wasn’t very much going on for bold flavour. Which is what I had hoped for. Also, they served these fries with ketchup which seems like a silly missed opportunity. Why not a truffle aioli? In fact, their (somewhat confusing) menu even lists that they have truffle aioli which can be ordered for $1.45. How does this not automatically come with these fries?? Worried that that would be too much truffle? Because that’s not a thing.

Obviously I was here to eat a burger. Although if you’re not in the mood for a burger, they have plenty of other things to choose from; from big salads, to hot bowls, to tacos or mac & cheese. But their “thing” is burgers and there are eleven different ones to choose from. They also boast that their ground beef is fresh and organic from the Blue Goose Cattle Company. They are very proud of this. The beef is sourced right here in beautiful British Columbia, south Cariboo region. Raised ethically and humanely on pastures of certified organic lands without the use of hormones or antibiotics and is Canadian Certified Organic. (Can’t complain about any of that!) They serve this quality beef on their fresh brioche bun. Don’t want a bun? You can have it on a lettuce “bun” instead. Don’t want a hand-held situation at all? Turn your burger into a bowl. (It’s a lot.) I was pretty torn with which burger to choose. The Chorizador or the Port & Stilton both sounded exactly like typical picks for me. But instead, I went with the Man’s Man (Vine ripened tomatoes, maple smoked bacon, amber ale cheddar, crispy onion strings, smoked alder salts - $13.45) for something a bit more classic. I was totally craving a great straight-forward burg with nice salty bacon and with a good sharp cheddar. Plus I loves me some onion strings. It looked great when it arrived and I dug right in! I did enjoy the flavour of the beef patty, which tasted very fresh and was cooked well (not too overdone, either). The best thing was the deliciously buttery brioche bun, which was warm and melted in my mouth. But unfortunately I found everything else to be a bit lackluster with the flavours getting somewhat lost. These should have been bold ingredients, but they kinda fell flat. The onion strings were good, but could have used to be slightly crispier. The tomato was fine. The bacon was crispy and okay. The cheddar almost didn’t exist. ...And the smoked alder salts? I forgot that they were even supposed to be there. It was a decently alright burger, but probably not worth the title of “best burger in all of the land.” The pickle on the side was very good.

I would probably return to try a different burger. (Plus they also do brunch.) But overall everything seemed pretty expensive and pretty underwhelming. They have the right pieces to create some pretty good burgers but I feel as if something is being lost in the execution. Not bad food, but not the best.