BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger at Honolulu Burger Company

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Restaurant Info

See for Yourself

Burger Breakdown

The Visit

Rolled up to the Honolulu Burger Co. in Kaimuki smack dab in the middle of lunch. Traffic was a little light for lunchtime; only two other customers in the restaurant. I was worried it would be a bit more crowded, but it was Tuesday and University of Hawaii, Manoa was on spring break.

At Honolulu Burger Co, they provide both table service or ordering at the bar. If you sit at a table, the bartender will come out and take your order. If you walk up to the bar, the bartender will take your order. Either way, they bring it to your table.

No reservations available here, It is on a first come, first served basis.

At the time of my visit, there was no wait. There were plenty of tables. Not sure of how it worked, I walked up to the bar, grabbed a menu, and gave my order to the bartender, She instructed me to grab a seat and she would bring my food out when it was ready.

Nice layout. The restaurant has a large room with tables in the front of the building, a table-lined section heading towards the back of the building, and ends with a smaller section with tables in the back. The building faces the street and has two large windows so you can watch the world go by.

So...tell me about your burgers.

So, the Honolulu Burger Company is definitely a burger joint that doesn't mess around. They have 14 different burgers on the menu. It is tough making a choice because they all sound so good.

I went with the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. This was an unusual choice for me as I typically shy away from burgers that have bbq sauce as that type of sauce can easily over-power the burger and hide the flavors of the meat and other components.

After ordering, I noticed that Honolulu Burger Company offers a three-slider sampler. I wish I would have seen that. I would have gone that direction and would have been able to sample three burgers for the price of one.

The default condiments on the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger are of course, American cheese, bacon, and bbq sauce. This cheeseburger also comes with grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and a house-made chipotle mayo.

Burgers at the Honolulu Burger Co. come solo. You can upgrade to a combo meal, side and a drink, if you would like. Combo sides include regular fries, garlic fries, truffle fries, garlic-parmesean fries, sweet potato fries, or salad. Prices of the combo sides vary.

The BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger will run you $14.

Let's See What We Have Here

Since I just arrived on Oahu and had some time to burn before my hotel was ready, I opted to eat at the restaurant. It had a cool vibe and I wanted to enjoy the cheeseburger experience rather than trying to navigate Honolulu with a gooey, juicy, saucy burger in my hand.

The cheeseburger arrived at my table resting on a 1/8 sheet pan which was covered with a red checkered paper try liner. The presentation was perfect. The open-faced layout made it easy to see the ingredients and the portion size. Nothing to hide here. Simple, straight-forward burger presentation. Made me hungry just looking at it. And I could tell I was in for a treat.

Have you tried the bread?

Nice and fresh burger bun. It appeared to have a quick toast on the inside of the top and bottom bun. Good flavor. Tender and tasty. Good choice for the cheeseburger.

oof aLet's look under the hood of this baby.

The BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger arrived at the table with the hood open. The top bun had their chipotle mayo, lettuce, and tomato. The bottom bun had the patty, cheese, grilled onions, and BBQ sauce. All it took was a quick flip to get this cheeseburger ready to eat.

Nice swirl of sauce on the top bun. No sauce on the bottom bun. This was just fine as the BBQ sauce was the real star of the show.

Chipotle mayo was tasty. Not too spicy. Plenty of flavor. Just the right amount of mayo. They didn't go overboard on the application of the sauce and drown the cheeseburger in mayo.

Lettuce was crispy. Tomato was sween and juicy. 

 Good amount of melted cheese. Single slice. Two slices would have been too much.

The bacon was cooked just right not underdone and not overly crispy. Nice bite and nice chew. 

I din't specify the cook on the burger patty when I ordered. Actually, I wasn't asked. I expected the burger to come to the table well-done. Fortunately, the burger patty arrived at the table cooked to just under "medium." I was extremely pleased with the cook. Burger had a nice crust on the outside with a niche band of pink on the inside. The chef did a great job reading my mind. 

The burger smelled delicious and was nice and juicy. The meat was nice and tender. Decent bite and definitely not rubbery.

So, who are your your friends here?

Burgers at Honolulu Burger Company come solo. If you want a side, you have to order it. You can also make it a combo meal. Check the menu for options.

It's a Wrap

The BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger at Honolulu Burger Co is AMAZING. All of the ingredients come together for a truly wanderful burger experience. The fresh produce adds a nice crunch. The bacon adds that smokey/salty vibe. The grilled onions with BBQ sauce are right out front and are the stars of the show. The meaty, juicy, well-cooked burger patty and the creamy cheese are showcased by all of the ingredients. And everything comes together while wrapped in a deliciously soft burger bun.

Wow!

Final words...

The BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger is a tremendous value. The taste v. cost ratio leans dramatically towards the taste. It is certainly not a value burger. But, it is well worth the price of admission. I can't eat cheeseburgers everyday. However, if I could, this cheeseburger would be in the top three of my list.

Will definitely be back to Honolulu Burger Company in Kaimuki.