The Edinburgh Blog

Wannaburger has an orange sign hanging over their premises on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and a few tables nestle on the pavement outside. During good weather, like this past Sunday, the front of the restaurant opens up creating an airy alfresco diner. The layout of Wannaburger is fairly modern and light, and exudes casual, relaxed eating. Wannaburger’s slogan reads ‘irresistible burgers and shakes’. On Sunday I only sampled their burgers, but irresistible wouldn’t be an unfair term to use.

The burgers are listed in the menu with their name and ingredients. We chose the following for a late lunch:-

• the MOS: sauteed mushrooms and onions, melted Swiss cheese, salad, mayo and relish. Cost £7.50
• the aussie: fried egg, fresh pineapple, beetroot, mature cheddar, salad mayo and relish. Cost £7.95

When ordering, you specify whether you would like a beef, chicken or bean burger. Lacking adventure, we both chose beef.

Service was friendly, quick and efficient; our server was Australian and I think most of Wannaburger’s staff are students or seasonal workers. Cold fizzy drinks (Sprite and Fanta) were the order of the afternoon and these cost £1.95 each, but you did receive a large glass that lasted the whole meal.

Both burgers were totally huge and consumed the whole plate. I attempted to eat the burger conventionally, but soon found myself cutting the toasted bun in half and using my knife and fork; fingers alone were not up to the challenge. The beef burger was cooked to absolute perfection and was 100% quality beef, exhibiting true quantity and unequivocal quality. My MOS burger was stuffed with quality ingredients and the mushrooms/onions made a great, albeit messy, combination. The Swiss cheese had melted just enough. My dining partner’s Aussie burger was fantastic, with the brilliantly fresh pineapple providing a welcome and refreshing tint. The beetroot and fried egg worked really well and this was a great burger for such a Summers day.

The bowl of chips we had ordered to share (£1.95) were the chunky cut variety and were, like the burgers, very good. I was pleased that Wannaburger’s chips were the thick cut variety and not the thin and frail frozen fries that many Edinburgh eateries serve up.

Our server asked if we could muster the chocolate brownie or baked cheesecake on the desserts menu. The answer was a resolute no, and I’d be surprised if the dessert menu was called into action very often given the humongous size of the burgers. Our bill was promptly delivered along with a small glass full of M&M’s. A loyalty card, complete with one stamp, was also delivered. Six stamps, or approximately £45 on burgers, and you receive a free one.

Just one aspect of my visit to Wannaburger was not enjoyable and that was the huge dome sitting over the cobbles of the Royal Mile directly outside the restaurant. This is Edinburgh Council’s 1.5 million pound revamp of the Royal Mile where the cobbles are being cleaned, repaired and relayed. I can’t imagine it’s good for business and even though the works are due to be suspended in time for the Edinburgh International and Fringe festivals, it still detracts somewhat from eating on the Royal Mile; who wants to sit on the pavement tables seeing and hearing a building site no more than a metre away?

So in conclusion, even though Wannaburger does not provide the cheapest burger you will find in Edinburgh, though it’s not overly expensive by any means, it’s certainly one of the best and comes highly recommended.