Gui's Burger — Restaurant in Ashiya

Um, it's slap the taste out ya Mama's mouth good, and that's no disrespect to your mother, but I'm sure she could still taste the burger after the incident. That's how good it is. With that said, I'm about to sound a little "complainy" for a five star review.

Before continuing, you should know that before eating here, the day before I had a "premium beef" meal, and previous to that I had a "premium seafood" meal (I don't want to spoil those reviews).

For a burger this meal ranks among the previously mentioned ones as one that makes me feel like it's only downhill from here. The difference is that each of my other two meals included a mechanism for not spoiling the meal.

The mechanism enables restaurants to slow down the process and forces the client to enjoy the experience and prevents them from falling into the trap you might fall into here, which is eating so fast you barely taste the meat.

The meat is so tender that it melts in your mouth, and for those non-foodies, you may not know that chewing is usually when you taste your food. The burger meat is so soft here that you barely have to chew, which can result in you eating the entire burger in four bites.

The burger wasn't small, and I even ordered the slightly larger patty, which I would recommend. It did matter. Once I picked up the burger, I never put it down. I looked up and still had a cup full of fries, which at that point seemed almost like a punishment.

The fries are battered, which I feel like a lot of restaurants do when the burger completely overshadows them. I would actually recommend trying something like the previously mentioned experiences and serving them with the cheese sauce and burger juice. It will add the meat's flavor to the fries and possibly keep them from being a total afterthought. I would have paid extra for the cheese dipping sauce as well.

I ordered the "bacon burger," which isn't made with bacon, but wagyu brisket, so this was not a pork related event for those that avoid the meat. For bacon lovers, this was actually better.

They serve a specialty burger here that changes regularly, but I wanted to order something regular to make the experience repeatable, and it definitely didn't disappoint. There are three burgers on the menu, but after eating this one, I wasn't even curious if I missed out on something.

Oddly, this place is only open for lunch, and there can be a line, but I saw the staff kick into Gear 5 when a line started to form, much appreciated. I would say that I have nothing to complain about, but technically I think I did, but it's worth the Japan line ride if...

I went to Gui’s Burger in Ashiya with my wife, and this was hands down one of the best food experiences I’ve had in Japan. We shared the Wagyu Cheeseburger, the Wagyu Bacon Burger, and the Guga Special Smashburger, and wow, that Guga Smashburger was honestly the best smashburger I’ve ever had in my life. The crust, the juiciness, the flavor, absolutely unforgettable. The other burgers were excellent too, but that smashburger stole the show.

And the fries… I’ve never eaten fries like that anywhere before. Perfectly crisp, golden, and packed with flavor, they weren’t just a side dish, they were a highlight on their own.

Two fun facts made this visit even more special:

We originally decided to go after seeing Gui’s Burger featured on GugaFoods, so it was a really pleasant surprise to find the Guga Special Burger on the menu when we arrived.

The owner, Gui, is Brazilian, and since my wife and I are of Portuguese descent, it was such a warm and unique experience to chat in our native language in Japan. Even better, two of the cooks are also Brazilian, which gave the whole place a welcoming, homey feeling. And a shoutout as well to the Spanish cook from Barcelona, it was fun to practice some Spanish too, and sorry for any mistakes I made.

All in all, this was much more than just a meal. It was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had since coming to Japan, incredible food, lovely people, and a truly special atmosphere. If you are staying in Osaka or Kobe, making the trip to Ashiya just to try these burgers is definitely worth it.

Like Guga always says, 10 out of 10 would...

I love the location of Gui's - it's not in the main area of a well known city, and you do have to kind of get out of the way to find it; and I would say it is worth the little detour out of Kobe to go here and experience it for yourself.

Staff were great and super friendly, and the service was excellent.

The burgers themselves were really tasty and unique. Though, on the day I went, my family and I did find that the buns were a bit dry and perhaps stale/overcooked? To be fair, we were the last customers to be served and seated for their morning/lunch opening times.

Also, I recommend you order the extra meat or order a double party to really taste the Wagyu, we kind of mainly tasted the bread that over powered the Wagyu. We did have lunch in Kobe prior, so we weren't super hungry, but had to try this place as a little detour on our way back to Osaka, so we only had the single patty.

Overall, tasty and juicy burgers, with lots of flavour and umami bombs for your tastebuds. Gui and crew definitely will look after you, and I look forward to my next return back and order the extra patty/double!

Also, love the thin shoe-string fries that come with the...