Bareburger has barely been open one month in Toronto, but it is the 20th location in the “micro-chain” that started in 2009 in New York. Many of their loud claims on their website and in their restaurants are “Fair Trade n homemade”, “Hell no, GMO”, and “There’s no pride in pesticide”, so I knew that this would be worth the visit. Any organic burger restaurant with options for meat eaters and vegans alike is somewhere that we need to eat at!
Bareburger is in a great location here in Toronto, as it’s quite centrally located only about a block from the Eaton Centre and subway, and walking distance to many theatres and the Art Gallery of Ontario. The interior decor is worth noting as it’s made from sustainable and eco materials. There are signs throughout the restaurant showing off different facts about the restaurant, the ingredients, the furniture and even the ceiling, made from reclaimed tin from barns. It’s really nice and very thoughtful and they have every right to brag, in my opinion.
If you check out the Bareburger menu for Toronto (scroll down), you will notice that they can cater to everyone, with burger patty options from beef, bison and elk to quinoa, sweet potato and black bean. You can build your own burger by choosing from one of their 9 patties, their 4 bun options (brioche, vegan sprout bun, gluten-free vegan hemp milk bun or even a collard wrap), and then choose from a myriad of choices including veggies, spreads, sauces and cheeses. They take your order on an iPad, and are very accommodating with modifications, and almost encouraged it! There are also other sandwiches, tons of huge salads (we enjoyed the Guapo Chop with lots of avocado and pico), and aside from just simple sides of fries and onion rings, you can order sharing platters of them and a variety of pickles and slaw – the portions are huge!
My parents shared a quinoa burger with chickpea onions, wild mushrooms and hot sauce on a hemp milk bun and a collard wrapped sweet potato and wild rice burger with cauliflower hummus, tomatoes and baby kale. They were both very happy. I quite enjoyed the “El Matador”, a bison burger with pickled jalapenos, guacamole, pico and green leaf on a sprouted bun. The dill pickles in mason jars and carrot wasabi slaw were both big hits too. My brother’s favourite part of the meal was making layers out of blue corn tortilla chips, crispy lettuce, pico de gallo and guacamole – he called them “sandwiches”.
For any of you who follow my blog, you may know that my biggest pet peeve is when clean, organic restaurants serve Heinz ketchup. I am happy to say that Bareburger did not! They get their ketchup and mustard from a company called “Sir Kensington“, which is Non-GMO Project verified and awesmazing!
To note, they serve beer and wine and a dessert menu that features organic ice cream milkshakes and “sammies” from New York State, and also a vegan gluten-free carrot cake.
I also got to meet the super-nice owner, Raghu, who took the time to come over to our table and introduce himself. I did suggest a few more locations in Toronto, and he said that they are a possibility, so I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed.
I definitely recommend Bareburger for everyone. Not only will you enjoy your meal and the atmosphere, and the great service from a very eager to please team, but you will also support the kind of food system we all need!
