MANERO BURGERS

Dishes mentioned

• Pomodori Fritti

  These fried tomatoes are a limited edition and they're incredible. The breading is perfect, with a thick coating that's crunchy, and inside there's sweetness from the tomato pulp and seeds. The tofu hummus, peanuts, and chili give it a slightly spicy kick. It almost tastes like a piece of focaccia barese, the part with the tomato, but fried and crunchier. If I close my eyes, it takes me back to Puglia. A total hit.

• Manero Burger

  The bread is clearly homemade, made every two days by their baker. The beef patty is excellent — fatty but not too much, and it's the first thing you taste when you bite in. The bun holds up perfectly, very Italian-style bread, well-toasted and leavened. The sauce, pickles, fermented red onion, and lettuce are all balanced. I would have liked a bit more onion, but overall it's like a McDonald's cheeseburger on steroids, a real level up. Nothing to complain about, a truly great hamburger.

• Kimci Veg

  This vegan burger is very tasty and flavorful. The kimchi is made really well, all fermented vegetables. The marinated zucchini, kimchi sauce, cheddar, Mexican mayo, and mint work together. The bread is well-toasted with different textures. My only criticism is that there's too much bread and not enough filling — I'd like more thickness inside. But the flavor is amazing, better than some other vegan burgers I've tried. Really well thought out.

• Chicken Caesar

  This is a chicken Caesar sandwich on their homemade bread, which is golden and beautiful. The fried chicken is very crunchy, one of the thickest breadings I've ever had. You get a strong Parmesan note, like a Caesar salad. But the chicken is a bit dry inside for my taste — I've had much juicier chicken elsewhere. The bread shape makes it hard to get all the ingredients in one bite; you often just get bread first. It's a good chicken sandwich, but not one I'll remember.

• Soldout Pastrami

  The pastrami is completely homemade and has a different recipe from any I've tried before — more delicate, fresher, more summery. It's cooked well, quite melt-in-your-mouth but not too much. There's a lot of fermented purple cabbage which is very good and crunchy, but it covers the pastrami flavor a bit. The honey mustard is really interesting, reminds me of the Ikea mustard with salmon. The bread shape is scenic but you end up biting a lot of bread before getting to the filling. Overall it works together, but I'd prefer less bread.

Dishes mentioned

• Pomodori fritti verdi

  These fried green tomatoes come with a tofu mousse, peanuts, soy sauce, and a salsa called 'Madonna' — which is actually a Mexican salsa. You get the freshness of the tomato inside, the heat of the frying outside, and all these spices that make it work. It's something you've never tasted anywhere else. I don't know how they came up with something like this. It's not just food porn, it's genuinely good.

• Manero Burger

  This is the Manero Burger: bun, beef patty, mayo, Manero sauce, pickles, fermented red onion, and lettuce. It's like a smash burger but lightly smashed — Maillard reaction on one side. The bun is very good, homemade, a step above commercial buns. This is the burger I'd eat often. It's a solid 9 out of 10. The pastrami was an 8, the chicken an 8.5, but this is a 9. Definitely the best of the three sandwiches.

• Pastrami

  This pastrami sandwich uses the brioche bun from the lobster roll, buttered, with pastrami, pickles, honey mustard, fermented cabbage, and lettuce. The pastrami is very thick, and there's a lot of stuff inside — the cabbage on one side, pickles on the other — so when you close it to bite, the bread doesn't hold it well because it's not as soft as the lobster. The experience of picking it up and eating it is a bit difficult. The fermented cabbage and pickles are amazing, the pastrami and bread are less so. They could make a vegan sandwich with just the cabbage and pickles and I'd pay for it.

• Manero Chicken Sandwich

  This is a chicken sandwich with Taiwanese marinated fried chicken, kiwi relish, lettuce, and mayo. Even after a few minutes, the breading stayed crunchy. The chicken is very good, well marinated and spiced. The kiwi gives a sweet contrast, but it's a bit overwhelming — it dominates everything. The iceberg lettuce is the weakest part because it shreds when you bite. It's a cool sandwich, more 'figo' than good. I'd eat it, but not often. Constructive criticism: I'd use less kiwi because right now my mouth is destroyed by kiwi — a good kiwi, like a Sun Gold or Zespri, full of juice.

• Friggidello 2.0

  These are fried friggitelli peppers sliced, not whole, in tempura with mint, miso sauce, and maple syrup. The maple syrup gives you that sugar hit to the brain that makes you flip out on the way home. The mint gives it a kick. These are insane, a 10 out of 10. Just these are worth the trip. Finally something new — a place with personality that doesn't just copy others but does its own thing, and does it well. This is innovation done right, not like the pistachio drizzle trend.