/ Reviews / American
The Bistro is Back
by Zach Etkind
on Friday, January 20, 2012 12:00 AM
Whether you like them or not, hamburgers have become synonymous with Western comfort food throughout much of the world. Restaurateurs in Shanghai know this and as a result have opened plenty of burger joints around the city hoping to make the growing expat population feel at home. With so many places trying to essentially sell the same product to the same demographic, it’s easy for burger restaurants to get lost in the crowd. Fortunately, the new management team at Bistro Burger have taken this into account and have given their burger joint the ‘special sauce’ it needs to stay relevant.
For manager Xavier and Peruvian chef Hugo, the truly unique offerings that will help the new and improved Bistro Burger stand out from the crowd are their new signature burgers and their extensive spiked milkshake menu. One of the signature burgers is the The California (RMB70), topped with blue cheese, bacon, avocado, and mango chutney. While blue cheese and mango chutney are common toppings at up-scale burger restaurants, their combination is quite rare and ended up being a great culinary choice as the sweet chutney seamlessly balanced the salty sharpness of the blue cheese. Anyone who’s a fan of all-you-can-eat Latin barbeque restaurants will love the signature Argentine burger (RMB75), inspired by Hugo’s South American background and topped with cheddar & Mozzarella cheese, chorizo, and chimichurri, an Argentinean sauce used on grilled meat. The Mexican burger (RMB65), is topped with nachos giving it a pleasantly crunchy texture, however, its also the only burger on the menu not made with 100% beef and thus tastes of lower quality than the others.
Where Bistro Burger really differentiates itself from the competition is that its one of the only places in Shanghai to offer a variety of spiked milkshakes such as the Grandma’s Treat (RMB45) flavored with caramel & toffee liquor, and the Italian job (RMB45) containing Sambuca and coffee liquor. Both of these were delicious, although people looking for a more traditional milkshake will be happier with the Grandma’s treat. Anyone eager to try a milkshake should visit on a Wednesday between 7-9PM, as diners get a free milkshake with the purchase of a burger.
While the food at Bistro Burger isn’t necessarily cheap and some other burger joints offer better weekly promotions, the spiked milkshakes alone make this place worth visiting. Add the fact that it offers some exceptionally creative and high-quality burgers and the new Bistro Burger could reacquire quite a fan base in Shanghai.
