Valencia Eats: Burgers at Mediterránea de Hamburguesas

May 16

May 16 Valencia Eats: Burgers at Mediterránea de Hamburguesas

The gourmet burger trend has hit Valencia, and Mediterránea de Hamburguesas is a major player with two branches in prominent locations, one in Ruzafa and the other near el Mercado Central. I really like the concept, as the menu claims that the beef is free-range from Valles del Esla of the province of León, and the bread is handmade, 100% all natural and baked in a wooden oven. You can choose from four types of bread, and beef or veal patties.

Unfortunately, the execution fell short of the concept.

I ordered the "Chicago," which is basically a bacon cheeseburger. Out came a burger topped by a mountain of streaky bacon. The bacon was floppy like in an English breakfast, and there was too much in relation to the size of the burger. The burger itself was dense, deep brown on the outside sharply transitioning to a solid disk of pink inside. It's as if someone took a frozen patty and cooked the outsides while pressing down to make the raw meat inside solid. The fries weren't memorable.

What I liked least about the experience was that while we were eating, we saw some posters that ordering certain menu items entitled us to free dessert as part of a promotion. The waitress never told us this, and once we found out, we went and asked about it. Indeed, we were finally asked what we wanted. I did like the brownie and ice cream, but wish the staff were proactive in offering this rather than keeping it a secret.