Ban Ban Burger — Restaurant in Los Angeles

So I ate here for the first time last week while waiting for a meeting. The burger was pretty good and the fries were good. The coconut shake was good too. I’d give it a 4/5 then.

Came back yesterday and ordered the same thing and noticed the fries were different than the first time. To me they were not fresh, most likely sitting in the heating tray for a while, but something was definitely off. They were pretty hard, not as fresh as the first time and when I asked her about it she said “ they are warm right?” Come on lady, I was a GM of a restaurant - warm doesn’t always equate to fresh. So thanks for serving me old fries. I appreciate you trying to downplay it and if you really wanted to retain a customer who spent around $85 on lunch for me and others you coulda done the right thing, which in customer service you know what that is.

Purely because of the way she responded, how she acted and didn’t rectify the situation, I’d never go back nor would I tell anyone to patronize this business. Go elsewhere, where they care about you, and serve you fresh fries. The fries are $4 guys it’s about the principal really. You coulda served fresh fries or just...

The Baseline: For a Burger-joint the burgers, fries, and drinks are prepared well, done with properly applied ingredients that should taste good, and any unique offerings should not take away from the basis of the burger itself.

Food: I had the Grapow Smash (double patty) with shoestring fries and a Thai Iced Tea shake. The burger was excellent with a crusty fried coating you expect from a smash burger. It had some spicy elements which made it very good with the runny egg. The fries I will skip. They were cooked but weren’t very tasty as it felt too oily. I will probably try the sweet potato fries next time. The Thai Iced Tea shake was awesome and there were little bits of coconut in the mix. It is a must try.

Service: Straight forward service which is friendly and on-point taking your order and delivering your food.

Ambiance: This is a fun fusion Thai-burger stand on Sawtelle. The inside is decorated but mostly no frills hamburger stand. Comfortable seating set up to enjoy your food but not comfortable enough to hang out long term. There is an outside patio seating for eating outside while nice west side weather makes...

At a time where smash burgers are everywhere, Ban Ban Burger offers a delicious Thai twist.

Was super excited to try this place but hesitant because I wasn’t sure if it would work. It’s a small, cute place on the west side. Service is friendly and quick.

Got the double grapow smash burger but I think a single would be just as satisfying. So many places nowadays are overly smashing their patties to the point of destruction (looking at you Easy Street) but here, they’re smashed just enough and yet are still meaty. The patty is lightly marinaded from what I can tell but it isn’t overpowering and there’s a savory sauce on top with Thai basil leaves. They all come with a perfectly fried egg. No ketchup or sauce needed as the egg yolk and Thai sauce on top create this perfect umami concoction that saturates every bite. I was afraid it might be over seasoned to the point where the essence of a burger would get lost but not at all. It works so well.

Didn’t try the sides but I will for sure next time as I’ll...