This article was first published by the handsome men at The Bombay Report. It has been republished here with their permission.
[Disclaimer: Since certain governmental decisions were made, all burgers listed below are now in fact ‘buff’ not beef. We’re so sorry.]
Bandra has long been a centre of social progress, cleanliness and fun; with its clubs, cafes, celebrities and 24 hour water supply, that’s why they call it the Queen of Suburbs. And by ‘they’ I mean only the people of Bandra. It’s the sole suburb in the Eastern Hemisphere that statistically has more hipster run restaurants than human beings and more overpriced tea rooms than drops of water in the ocean. But for all its flaws, Bandra’s greatest contribution to our great nation is its absolutely delicious beef burgers.
We’ve put together a comprehensive list of places in Bandra that serve the most exquisite hamburgers (beef, of course) for less than 200 bucks. You can thank us later. Here’s the list, in no particular order of deliciousness:
I. Imbiss
What To Order: Hamburger (with extra cheese)
Price: Rs 220
I’ve been a regular at Imbiss ever since it was a miniscule establishment run out of someone’s garage. Today it’s a well established chain, run out of someone’s garage. Despite its extremely uninspired name, the Hamburger with Extra Cheese is one of the tastiest, cheapest beef burgers you’ll find anywhere in the city. It’s big enough to be filling but not so big that you end up hating yourself the next morning. The patty is succulent and impressive in its own right, adding bacon and cheese seems like a bit of overkill. Of all the complimentary fries we were served, Imbiss’s were clearly the best.
II. Kobe Sizzlers
What To Order: Hamburger
Price: Rs: 150
Kobe Sizzlers is best known for its for its well, sizzlers, what’s completely overlooked are its array of hamburgers, and that’s quite a shame. Starting at just Rs. 150 Kobe’s burgers are an absolute steal, not only are the delicious as hell, you get to eat them in a reasonably fancy restaurant with water so delicious you’ll think it came from the fountain of youth, and not out of the back of a truck as you’d expect for a price that low. It might not be the most spectacular burger on this list, its patty isn’t the thickest and is so overlooked, even by its own makers they didn’t bother to give it a name, but damn son, it’s good. We ordered the 200 rupee variant of the burger (with egg) because we were in a splurging mood. The complimentary fries weren’t too shabby either.
TBR Insight: If you tell them you don’t want coleslaw with your burger they’ll double your portion of fries. Health is good but fries are better.
III. Gondola
What To Order: Steak Burger
Price: Rs 180 Gondola came as a complete surprise. Nobody in their right mind would expect an established restaurant that’s so old it’s owned by the Parsis to sell a hamburger for the price of a deeply disappointing cappuccino at Starbucks. But here we are. The burger is exceptional in its own right, it comes with omelette and some pretty good fries, but the real wildcard is their in-house schezwan sauce that tastes like heaven. If you’re a student and happen to have an id, you’re entitled to a 15% but let’s be honest, asking for a 15% discount on a 180 rupee burger makes you look like a bailya. Even though it’s called a steak burger the patty isn’t technically a steak, it’s minced. Not that it makes it any less amazing.
What To Order: Junior Buffalo Bill Burger
Price: Rs. 200
Yorricks is the only contender on the list that you can’t actually go to, aside from being the only contender who was nice enough to give its burger a real name. But just because it doesn’t exist doesn’t mean it can’t forge some of the best hamburgers in the city. The Buffalo Bill is my personal favourite from all the burgers on the list, for starters, it’s massive, and I’m guessing not having to pay for a restaurant really lowers your overheads, then there’s the flavour, the patty, which is almost divine is soaked in a delicious barbecue sauce, bacon and gherkins. While the regular Buffalo Bill Burger is priced at Rs.320, they offer a junior one for 200. Don’t be fooled though, it’s large enough to compete with any of the burgers on this list, unless you’re a family of four, in which case go for the regular size. Plus there’s the added advantage of eating from the comfort of home and not having to pay the government Service Tax.
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When they aren’t having deep conversations or being great with children, Rohan & Andrew roll up their advertising degrees into a straw and use it to drink cheap beer at sidey bars. Although they’ve lived in Mumbai all their lives, they’re only just starting to discover all that this great city has to offer. Join them at The Bombay Report, on their relentless journey to find ways to get wasted and eat delicious food, all for the price of a large meal at McDonalds.