The best burger in Paris*

*Out of the 3 tried.

I surprised my wife with a trip to Paris for her 30th birthday, but with the all the romance and sights planned, there were a couple of burger places I wouldn't be able to walk past. 

Big thanks to a host of other restaurants and burgers recommended via twitter whilst travelling.

Cantine California

Burger: Cali Classic
Price: €11 with fries

Location: Roaming street food truck

Website: http://www.cantinecalifornia.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CantineCali

We arrived just as they were closing and ordered one of the last burgers. Californian burgers are all about fresh ingredients with punchy flavours, so was good to see the West coast staple avocado included in their signature burger.

Despite it being quiet, it took almost 20 minutes for my burger and fries to arrive. Unwrapped the burger is very colourful with the guacamole, red onion and caramelised onions tipping over the burgers side. The bun was quite heavily cut off centre.

The beef, whilst cooked right the texture of crust and a moist middle, ultimately lacked any flavour. With a lack of seasoning and a high beef quality it became quite dull.

Forgiving the cut, the sesame seeded bun was slightly above average with just the heaviness being the downfall, but maintaining all the toppings is some feat.

With 9 toppings, it was all a little crazy and I fail to recall a burger with so many. It turned a bit sloppy and wet with nothing complimenting each other. Less is more people. Less is more.

Not my nails..

Overall a bland, wet burger with a few too many topping. Not something I would recommend.

3rd Place (5/10)

Blend

Burger: Signature
Price: €10

Location: 44 RUE, Argout, 75002, Paris

Website: http://blendhamburger.com/

Twitter: 

Blend was THE place I had to go to in Paris. I was sent a book by the publishers in September 2013 and was blown away by it. There are some of the best pictures of burgers you're likely to see and it's presented in such a classy book that'd be the envy on any coffee table. 

Buy it Hamburger Gourmet

They're are now two Blend restaurants in Paris and we went to the original (location above). 

I always try to review the signature burger from a place and appropriately, they had one called signature. Easy choice today.

  

It comes halved and after some failed attempts to recreate their photographs I took my first bite.

I've eaten probably close to 500 burgers over the last few years and I'd never eaten something so perplexing. The texture and cooking seemed perfect, everything was exactly how you would want it. But there was no flavour. Like none. Even picking apart every element of the burger and eating it, gave, nothing. The place should be called BLAND. So, so strange and I'm not sure how it's technically possible. The fries were the same with no seasoning.

How do you score a burger that's texturally perfect but zero flavour. Best burger recipe book, but a burger that doesn't hit any high notes.

2nd Place (5/10)

Frog burger

Burger: Cheeseburger
Price: €11

Location: 18 rue St-Séverin 75005 Paris

Website: http://www.frogburger.com/

Twitter: 

We have some seasoning finally!!!  But no actual Frog on the menu...

The patty comes out of a supermarket style packet and is thrown on flat top, seasoned on one side and then splashed with mustard. Thankfully this finally gives some flavour to the otherwise mediocre tasting patties I've had in Paris.

The bun had a very familiar feel and taste, but it wasn't until looking around after I'd finished my meal seeing the a picture on the wall it was confirmed. It was London's very own Miller's bakery! So a fine bun that does the job.

A coarsely ground SEASONED patty was a pleasant improvement from the others and despite it being quite lean, it was quite rare in the middle giving some much needed juices.

The cheese has slightly less coverage then I'd like with the patty sitting on crisp shredded iceberg lettuce and finely-chopped red onion.

Fries had been seasoned well, but had been sitting there under a heat lamp and I wouldn't be surprised if they'd been fried from frozen but were still the tastier of the 3 burger joints. It just shows what a little salt gives you.

An enjoyable burger and I'd definitely return if passing by again.

Winner (7/10)

Ps. I'm not so uncultured that I only ate burgers.

Brewberry - If the beer you want isn't cold, they'll chill it and bring it to you when ready. NICE.

Paris far exceeded my previous visits from 10+ years ago and I'd highly recommend it. The weather (which was fantastic) certainly helped and whilst the burger boom has definitely hit Paris, it's not up to the London standard.

Or did I miss somewhere? Add a comment below for future readers.