Just earlier this year it was named one of the best burgers in Europe
It’s amazing how you can drive up and down a street countless times and completely miss a hidden gem.
Tucked away within an award-winning burrito shop on Bangor’s High Street is a delicious burger spot serving up buns packed with flavour.
We were invited down to try out Bangor’s Phat Bastrd, a tongue-in-cheek name that you’re sure not to forget.
The burrito side of the business, Bebe Adrianos Mexicanos, has been winning awards since it opened in 2016, and now it’s companion is also getting noticed in award circles as well as on social media since it opened in 2021.
Just earlier this year it was named one of the best burgers in Europe by Global travel site Enjoy Travel coming in the top 20 at number 17, being praised for its “in-your-face burgers” which they called a “pure delight”.
We popped in one Thursday evening to try out the much-hyped New Zealand Wagyu Beef burgers which we have heard so much about to see if they lived up to expectations.
Phat Bastrd is located within the Bebe Adrianos Mexicanos premises so it is one of those that you could walk past and miss if you didn’t know what you were looking for.
Owner Fraze is as welcoming as they come and chatted us through the menu and explained why he decided to diversify into burgers as well as chatting about his new venture into The Bot in Belfast.
The menu is pretty impressive with plenty of choice as Fraze has seven different serves for his Wagu burgers as well as a spicy breaded chicken fillet option and a cauliflower and quinoa burger.
The Wagu burgers range in price from £11.95 for the standard Phat Bastrd (which comes with gem lettuce, beef tomato, red onion, hash brown and caramelised red onion marmalade) to £19.95 for The ATM which has some eating in it.
As well as the Wagu burger it also comes with a spicy breaded chicken burger, crispy serano ham, cheese, gem lettuce, beef tomato, red onion, bash brown and caramelised red onion jam in a brioche bap.
We opted for the Cheesy Phat Bastrd (£12.95) and the Porky Phat Bastrd (£14.95) as well as the salted chilli fries (£7.75) to share.
The great thing about Phat Bastrd is that you can sit in and enjoy or take home to feast on at home.
These are proper burgers so there’s great care taken in the preparation of them and although it is a takeaway, this isn’t your usual fast food. Our chips came out first and I couldn’t resist having a nibble while we waited. They certainly packed a punch as they came over covered in their salt and chilli mix and tossed in sweet chilli, lime and coriander.
There is something very addictive about these chips but there’s no way I could have handled them on my own.
Our burgers came out and I was very impressed with the look, these are not smash burgers, these are proper thick burgers and they came packed with everything else as well as the signature Phat Bastrd stamp on top.
The burgers are so stacked it is hard to know where to begin so we cut them in two and decided to each try both. The juices were running out as we cut into them and my mouth started watering. It looked delicious.
I went for the cheesy burger first, which comes with all the same toppings as the standard but just with cheese added. That caramelised red onion marmalade is something else and really added to the flavour of the burger. I was also a fan of a cheeky hash brown in there as well.
The Porky version comes with crispy serano ham, cheese, and the same toppings as the standard and probably edged out the cheesy as my favourite as the crispiness of the serano ham was a lovely contrast to the juicy burger.
By the time we were done we were absolutely busted, I totally understand where the name comes from now. Those burgers are powerful and there’s plenty of eating in them.
So if you are looking for a burger which just has an edge on your bog standard restaurant then I would recommend a trip to Phat Bastrd in Bangor. And the good news for those in Belfast is that they now have a base at the Bot and they also deliver.
These are quality burgers and Fraze has really gone the extra mile to make them stand out from the crowd. This side of the business certainly stands on its own two feet outside of Bebe Adrianos Mexicanos, so don’t miss out.
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