Restaurant Review - Burger Joint New York

Burger Joint New York chases the dreams of a perfected burger, fries, and a drink New York style.  Bringing the location from the original in New York, the restaurant is located in Hongdae off of the main party streets on the second floor, Burger Joint New York is the place to go for a simple set meal. The concept is simple where you tell DON'T want on your burger. Yes, tell them the things you do not want to include which makes life a lot easier. Just goes to show the amazing service that goes into each and every burger. 

With an extremely simple menu, which is recommended for most burgers anyway, making an order is extremely easy. Because they are cooking up their burgers fresh, it can take a while if there is a line. For the most part, Burger Joint New York is extremely popular with the locals as well as the foreigners. It is one of the very few restaurants that offer Dr Pepper which is a must have for many. This hip hop themed restaurant is a place for foreigners to feel comfortable with staff that speaks a good amount of English, making you feel like you are at home. 

Directions: Take exit 9 of the Hongik University station stop on the green line 2. Go straight until the light and take a left after you cross the street. Go straight until you pass the Taco Bell on your right. After the Tony Moly on your right and before the light, take the street on the right going up. Go straight and before you reach the intersection, Burger Joint New York will be on your left in a hidden alley by the Watson's drug store. Be sure to look carefully because you can miss this second floor restaurant with a black exterior. 

Address: 358-51 Seogyo-dong Mapo-gu, Seoul

서울 마포구 서교동 358-51

Phone: 02-324-8999

Restaurant Review - Burgermine



Burgermine, named People's Favorite Burger, is one unique burger spot located in the Itaewon Haebangchon area that allows for customers to get a DIY burger. This all you can eat option is where you can pick your own unilimited topping of anything and everything after given the patties for your burger. It is a popular option for many because the amount you can consume. This DIY Burger option is just $15 with fries and beverages.

For others who are not looking to down so much, Burgermine makes their own burgers with a variety of combinations. The burgers are rather plain in taste, nothing that special which is reflected in the photo. They offer two salad options which is the garden (a huge plate of veggies topped with bacon bits and a balsamic vinegar dressing) and a chicken caesar salad. There is also the option of other sides which include the mouthwatering Chili Cheese Fries which is not exactly that.

It was a huge disappointment for the simple reason that deep fried fries were topped with sliced cheese and thrown into a microwave. The chilli on top was just not appealing to taste with a bland, can taste. Personally, it is not a recommendation unless you are going for the all you can eat option.

Burgermine is a pretty chill place to go with graffiti on the walls and a dimmed lighting environment. It wouldn't be the best place to take a date, but hanging out with friends is on the list, especially if you are all the type with a big stomach! 

Address:Seoul, Yongsan-gu, Yongsan-dong-2-ga 45-9
용산구 용산동 2가 4-9

Phone: 070-8263-2034

Directions: From the Noksapyeong station on line 6 of the brown, take exit 2 and go straight to the light. Take the hill up on your left and go straight. Go all the way up and after a long 5 minute walk, you will see an international market on your left. Past the market, you will see Burgermine on your right.

Restaurant Review - Burger B

Burger B is one of the best burger places in Hongdae for an outdoor seating over amazing food, burgers to be exact. It is the one place to enjoy an outdoor view over burgers, fries, and the choice of a beer or a milkshake. Better yet, you can get the Burger B platter that serves you an amazing burger with fries and a shot of milkshake. Yes, a shot of milkshake. You can then proceed to ordering your own or going for a beer as a refreshment.

Burgers are priced at a decent $8 which makes it easy for customers to get filled without splurging too much. The one thing that is recommended is to go to Burger B with an open stomach because the food is amazing. It is also a great spot to enjoy a drink with friends before heading out for a chaotic night in Hongdae. Burger B is extremely popular among locals and foreigners because foreigners know a good burger. The meat is definitely different compared to other burger restaurants in Korea, maintaing that juicy texture.

With an open balcony area, it is the perfect place to lounge around during the day, and at night. You grasp the crisp air from outside and it's very welcoming to conversations and booze. Burger B caters to both vibes of the Hongdae community with good food and drinks, one recommended location for sure.

With three locations in town which include the popular Hongdae, Apgujeong, and Sangnam, the location visited was the one in Hongdae at 362-7 Seogyo-dong Mapo-gu, Seoul.

Restaurant Review - The Joe

The Joe in Hongdae is definitely not the place to rave for their burgers, but the menu is extremely cheap. Because the patties are frozen and not the best patties are used, the burgers from the Joe is just something to fill a stomach. The one thing that is special about The Joe is their tangy sweet and sour sauce that they layer the burger with. It is definitely something that takes it up a notch. Their fries, on the other hand, is something that is worth making the splurge on. There is a small number of restaurants that actually use nacho cheese on their fries and that is why the freshly battered and nacho cheese melted fries is to die for. Nonetheless, it is the place to go for a quick bite to satisfy any stomach of a club goer and partying in the busy streets of Hongdae. 

For anyone looking to sample The Joe and review it for yourself, take exit 9 of the Hongik University station on the green line 2. Make a left when you exit the station to the first street you see. Take a right at the first intersection and go straight to the corner. The Joe will be on your left before you reach the corner of Taco Bell. 

Hidden Treasures - Salt and Butter

Coming from New York and experiencing amazing burgers like Shake Shack, finding a good burger in Korea is extremely difficult. Of course, there's always that one spot that all the foreigners know about, the real deal where you can get a real burger. Salt and Butter, one of the top casual American restaurants on the list, except this has a special terrace that overlooks Apgujeong rodeo, perfect for the warm season to enjoy outdoor food without pollution passing you buy and hitting your food. 

With so many options on the menu, there are a handful of suggested ones which include their legendary Dallas Burger, Salmon Burger, Sliders, Fried Chicken Thigh Burger, Sweet Potato Fries, pretty much everything on the menu. Many rave about the burgers and travel distances for it.

With a focus on hand crafted homemade burgers, Salt and Butter also offers pastas, steaks, and salads which takes this all American restaurant over the top. Although the burgers are to die for, their seafood pasta if extremely light in taste and uses big chunks of shrimp. What does that mean? The full on taste of actual seafood in your meal and not the small coin size ones which enhances their seafood pasta that much more.

The ingredients from Salt and Butter are extremely fresh and unique to taste. The reason for that is that they have their own smokehouse for the restaurant, whipping up their own batch of bacon every two weeks using Korean pork which is more expensive than the imported meats. With so much tender, love, and care that comes with their bacon, the rest of their ingredients are not ignored. Salt and Butter actually has a farm where they grow a lot of the herbs they use for their menu, which includes parsley, basil, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and even sweet potatoes for their fries!

Another special touch the restaurant offers is their homemade aioli sauce which is a lemon garlic mayonnaise mix that they serve with their burgers and fries instead of ketchup. The reason for that is the amazing combination and flavor that it gives to the fries, making it that much better. Speaking of fries, they also offer truffle oils that it used after salting their freshly batch of fries. Salt and Butter goes for ingredients to be the core of their menu, but not too much of a flashy pile high burger, accentuating the taste to the max.

Pair your meal with their variety of drinks which include the milkshakes, the Rogue draft beer which is extremely popular in Itaewon and even a freshly squeezed Strawberry Basil Lemonade that is over the top and true to taste. They don't use Sprite like many other restaurants in Korea which helps to give you that refreshing kick needed. 

The one thing that I am absolutely in love with, other than the food of course, is the environment. A chill place for you to enjoy a meal  not only over a terrace, but with open windows for you to overlook the busy street and the many people that passes by. In addition to this, the restaurant is one of the very limited with an open kitchen in the heart of the restaurant, centered where customers can see their food being cooked up. Their industrial interior with dimmed lighting matches the more urban and modern touch which makes it the perfect setting for any lunch or dinner. 

Hours of operation currently fall under Monday to Thursday from 11:30 AM to 3 PM and reopening at 5:30PM. Friday through Sunday from 11:30 AM to 11 PM with a change in schedule to open until midnight within the next month or two. 

Directions to the restaurant: Taking Apgujeong Station exit 2, it is roughly an 8 minute walk to the Galleria Department Store. Take a right at the Paris Croissant into Rodeo STreet and the restaurant will be on your left above the NBA store. There are also many buses that go to the Galleria Department Store Station that leaves you right in front of the Paris Croissant. 

Address: Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Sinsa-dong 663 (right above the NBA store building)
서울 강남구 신사동 663
Phone: 02-512-2667

Hidden Treasures - Deli HeinzBurg

Deli HeinzBurg is one place to rave about for their amazing brunch, cold cuts, burgers, lunch, dinner, and everything included menu options. Deli HeinzBurg takes a traditional menu and cooks up everything that is anything but traditional. The way they are able to incorporate fresh ingredients of holidays and cultural foods is amazing. 

They break from the cliche sandwiches and burgers, even the drink menu is something amazing. The one thing that Deli HeinzBurg is a true staple for is their dishes that are over the top, literally. They are stacked in a way that makes it impossible to consume with one bite. Eating a sandwich or burger from Deli HeinzBurg involves you to get down and dirty. Break from the fork and knife that they offer you, you need to take a big bite in to get a full blast of flavor that they cook up. This is no place for you to be cute and eat girly.

The most recognizable sandwich from Deli HeinzBurg is the turkey cranberry and cheese sandwich that is piled on top of an amazing bread and bed of salad. You just might have to pull out a knife and fork and consume this as if it was a salad. Nonetheless, it is absolutely amazing in taste, the perfect blend of all things good. In addition to their Thanksgiving holiday sandwich that you can get on any day, their Dracula burger is also to die for. This burger is it's own take on the traditional bacon burger with melted cheese. An addition of onions, lettuce, and a spicy sauce that takes it over the top makes you crave for its juicy goodness. With so much more on the menu, ordering everything from their soups to salads is a recommendation to make. There is just a wide menu that makes you want to go back.

In addition to the amazing food, the drinks are over the top. Served in a mason glass, they offer a selection of ades that are meant to be shared between two. It is the cutest way to promote a date setting and an excuse to get close to your significant other. Although the atmosphere does not call for a date, it is one place that you should take a date. The food is amazing and there is almost always a wait. Locals and foreigners jump on the opportunity to get in line for a seat at Deli HeinzBurg to sample their goodies which range from $10-20. 

Address: 534-1 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu Seoul

Phone: 02-541-8780

Straight from exit 8 of Sinsa station of the orange line 3, take a left when you reach the Tous Le Jours bakery on the corner. Go straight along the

Garosu-gil shopping street until you see the Fossil store and take a left into the small block. Deli HeinzBurg will be at the next block on your left, right on the corner with indoor and semi-outdoor seating.