Bunga Burger Bar

Went to Bunga Burger Bar at about 7 pm with my girl friend experience escort for a date night. Okay place; I’m glad that it’s nearby the hospital as I could definitely see myself checking in to the ER after a late night burger and domestic fight. Anyways, the beer selection was ok, but, then again how would I know. I don’t really drink beer I just feel it’s something I should comment on. I ordered the pineapple jack burger with pickled okra despite my inclination to order the hot pig tail sandwich in honor of my date, and my escort/​date ordered a kiddie burger meal with a side salad, onion rings, pork rinds, macaroni salad, and cookie dough milkshake. The server, who obviously had somewhere better to be, informed me that burgers are always good but I would have to put a pair of pants on if I planned to dine there. Apparently in this part of the country the Boxer shorts as formal wear movement hasn’t arrived yet. Thus, after issuing a few choice curse words I wandered out to my bicycle and put on a pair of trousers that I had in my back pack. By the time I wandered back into the place our food had arrived. My first bite of my burger was quite good; then I looked up to see my escort eating as though she were at a trough and my appetite turned. See, her buns were not toasted, sadly, so I didn’t think she’d hold up for the rest of the evening. Then, it hit me! I snuck into the kitchen and I was thrilled to see that the pineapple rum salsa was made with canned pineapple instead of fresh. I’m so sick of these pretentious food network watching clowns who believe the horses*** that is thrown at them on the shows. Trust me, those ‘great’ diners are as authentic as Guy Fieri’s hair! The flavor combination worked very well with the pork rinds and mozzarella, and I was satisfied overall. My escort’s beef with me though was huge. And it turned out that after eating everything in front of her including the paper doilies she waddled out of there before I could finish paying the bill. So, to wrap it up: Non-​Fresher ingredients, toasted buns, better company; this is me being nitpicky. I’ll go back, especially to try some of those adult pornographic milkshakes I hear about and the sweet yucca wedges!

Great burger, ordered medium rare and that’s how it came which was nice. Seasoned well. Sides were good, get the onion rings. Nice atmosphere. It’s got a bar, but we brought the kids with us and were fine.

I was excited to try this place after seeing some IG posts. I checked out their menu online and my husband and I decided to check them out and get some adult milkshakes.
The place is tiny but it was empty when we went so we were seated immediately and ordered quickly after. After our waitress dropped off our food, she disappeared.
Both of our burgers were incredibly salty. It was overwhelming. My husband’s burger was dry and overcooked, but mine was rare and mushy. We decided to just eat our fries, since we hadn’t seen our waitress.
After we finished our fries, our drinks, and only had our uneaten burgers on our plates, our absentee waitress came over with to-​go boxes in her hands. She didn’t once ask how anything was, she just assumed we wanted to-​go boxes.
She also brought our bill without asking if we wanted anything else, so after all that we didn’t even get our adult milkshakes.
There was nothing redeeming about this visit — poor food, poor service, definitely not worth the money.

After an incredibly tiring day (one hour, haha) at Altitudes Trampoline Center, our party of 10 decided to go out for a bite to eat. Everyone settled on burgers, and so this is where we went.
Food: We all had a very wide variety of things. They have burgers that range from a classic cheeseburger, all the way to a jalapeño mac and cheese burger, to a poutine burger, to a buffalo burger, and beyond. All in all, most of the burgers were on the dry side, and a couple were overcooked.
Classic Cheeseburger: This is what I ordered as a means to get a baseline for what their burgers taste like, prior to going exotic. I wanted to taste their food for what it was — the original burger, if you will — and it disappointed. My meat was in between Medium-​Well and Well. As in, there was sooo little pink there, that I cannot call it a true-​medium-​well. Now, this is partially my own fault, but any self-​respecting burger place asks their guests what their desired burger-​doneness is. I would have answered ‘medium’.
Pickles were great, and the veggies were fresh. The romaine … or green leaf lettuce that came on my burger had not been dried-​off. Do you like extra water on your veggies? Whether it be a salad, or a burger, this is an execution error. Bad form. Despite the over-​doneness, despite the watery lettuce, and despite the dryness of the burger, the flavor was still good. This goes to show you that they likely have a quality product, when it is executed properly. Unfortunately for me, they did not.
Buffalo Burger: This was eaten by my wife, she also mentioned how the burger was on the dry-​side. Despite that, she said the flavors were on-​point, and that the bun was the highlight. I second this opinion. The bun was excellent. Light and airy, but with a nice crispy texture. Yet firm enough to hold its shape and the weight of the burger. One of the best buns I have had.
Poutine Burger: The person who ate this said their burger was moist, but I suspect it is a result of the gravy on the burger.
Mac + Cheese Burger: The eater of this burger added pickled jalapenos to add some heat. He said he would not order this again as it was not very good.
Sides: My chili cheese fries were average. Didn’t really bring much to the table. The regular fries were much better. The onion straws were average, the Chips (thinly sliced potatoes fried) were over cooked and under-​seasoned. Tasted like slightly burnt potato and oil.
Food: (²⁄₅) (3 – 1 for bad execution on nearly every order)
Service: This is where the biggest of the problems lay. Where to begin? First, for our party of 10, they dropped off one extra growler of water when we first sat down. We did not get a refill on drinks until after we started eating our meals. Those who had water, soda, or other beverages were all empty for 10 – 15 minutes. We were thirsty! And, in that time, no one came to check on us.
Overall, the server was nice, and it did seem like they were understaffed, but that is a poor excuse for substandard service. I haven’t yet begun. Our burgers were all cooked an entire degree of doneness too much, my burger came without a top bun, My burger was not cut in half as requested. Slow, slow, slow service. From not getting beverages, to wait time for food, to wait time for the check… it was all just slow. Over 2 hours for our party from start to finish. Add to that when we paid we split it into three checks and handed her our checks separately. Yet when she dropped the checks off, she just plopped them all in the middle of the table with one pen. Come on…
There is more, I am just running out of space…
Service: ²⁄₅
Atmosphere: Small, with a hipster vibe. Clean, comfortable, well decored with a large selection of local brews.
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅
Price: For what I paid, I did not get my money’s worth. I was expecting a high quality burger executed properly. Although I could see where this burger may be high quality, the lack of execution made me wish that weO just went to 5 Guys. It would have been a better experience for less and better food than what served to us on this day.
Price: ²⁄₅
Final Thoughts: This is a cool concept, with some pretty good looking burgers. Unfortunately, on this particular day, they severely let us down with service and the execution of our food order. I would not come back, and am very disappointed that we spent so much money here. Definitely not worth it.

I’ve gotta say, the food was great. I ordered the California burger and sweet potato fries. Both delish, especially the lemon basil aioli and the honey on the fries. However I would only return based on that fact alone. Service was horrible. She forgot all about us. Apologized and gave a discount, but then upon leaving the check, proceeded to take another 15 minutes to pick up the payment. Just seemed very disorganized and it didn’t appear to be super busy. We arrived at 6 and didn’t leave until 7:45. But the shakes are good! I would recommend ordering and eating at the bar, as it wasn’t that busy and he looked like he needed something to do. Ps this all comes from a server herself. So I understand the business.

I was looking forward to checking this place out after catching a glimpse of some pics on IG. The place looked trendy and the burgers looked good. We made a last minute decision to grab dinner here while we were in the area. The décor is catered towards college youth with it’s neon lights, large flat screens and filled mostly with high bar tables and chairs, which is not so kid/​pregnant/​elderly/​short people friendly. Only a handful of regular tables were set up outdoors, but it was chilly on this particular night. It looks like a cool place to grab some adult drinks, but I was here for the food.
I ordered the Whiskey Burger, which was limited in sauce and flavor. My sweet potato fries nicely drizzled with honey were overcooked and gave that old oil flavor. My 4 y/​o stepdaughter didn’t touch her mac and cheese. It was overloaded with thick, oozing cheese with an overwhelming butter flavor. Clogged arteries.
The service were mediocre as well. I’m not sure if it was just an off night and we were the last group coming in, but it definitely felt like we were getting the end of the night blues by the taste of the food and service provided. I may stop in again if taken here, but unfortunately, I don’t have any plans on returning.

Excellent service and great food! The waitress was cheerful and patient as she answered all my menu questions, brought out my food, and delivered extra condiments. I also had the fish and chips which was cooked to perfection. The fish was wonderfully crunchy and the fries were crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. This place is everything it promises to be.

Just had lunch here with 8 pals. We had a variety of menu items, and every one was more than pleased with the food and service. Not only was everything prepared just right, but the portions more than ample. Look for Bertie to serve you; she too is more than ample. Kudos to the owner who was hands – on in seeing to our needs.

Went on a Sunday afternoon. Not packed… waitress was very attentive… food served fast BUT… it wasn’t very good. Mac and cheese bacon burger was super greasy. I mean obviously all of the ingredients equal grease but this was way overboard. Got a side of gravy for the fries… watery. Side of hot sauce… greasy. my husband got the egg burger and it was a runny mess. The fries were underdone. A few hours after we left I felt sick. Like I’m gonna throw up kind of sick.
Now let’s talk about the place itself. Really nice. Clean. Family friendless atmosphere. I really like the look of this place, I just wish the food on this visit would have been better. My husband was there for lunch 3 days prior and raved about it. Took me back and we were both very disappointed. I will give it another shot so we shall see.

I’ve had very mixed experiences with Bunga Burger. When I’ve visited the restaurant, the food tends to be good– solid, but not outstanding. I had their California burger, which featured avocado, and was messy but yummy. The one time I had their food when it was catered for an office event, it was terrible. The meat was so undercooked that even after throwing it in the microwave for awhile, it left me queasy for the rest of the day. You’d think medium would be the default option for catered burgers, not rare. I haven’t been back since.

Service was 5 stars!
We only realized after we got our food that we were never asked for how we wanted our burgers cooked. Mine came out well done and the girlfriends what burnt and dry. With as fast and the burgers came out. The grill was either way too hot or the party was cooked ahead of time and sat on the grill. Bacon on one of the burgers was also undercooked.
Our server was nice and apologized for the food. She’s informed the manager and she apologized and offered to immediate make another. By this time we didn’t want to wait around any longer.
We will be half in hopes for a better food as the atmosphere and staff were fantastic.
To the cook, get yourself together and cook a good burger. Plenty of other reviews say the same about the overlooked burger pattys. Would much rather the food take longer and be right.

For a place that is supposed to specialize in burgers, this place fails in every aspect. I asked for my burger medium-​well and it came back burnt to a crisp. My friend ordered one medium and it was under-​cooked. They clearly do not care about the food they are putting out to their customers.
Also, the service was awful. Don’t go here if you have plans after, because you’ll be late. We even told our waitress that we needed to be out by a certain time, but she took her time getting our check to us.
The beer selection is decent and the place looks and feels like a nightclub. They might just want to stick to that and not promote themselves as a burger joint. Huge disappointment, since this place is right around the corner from my house and I thought I’d be a regular customer. I won’t be back.

Really casual bar. Very chill crowd. The staff were really friendly and patient with us while we made our orders even though the place was pretty crowded and the wait staff had to run around to keep up.
Pretty decent selection of beer. The food is really tasty and the serving sizes are HUGE. My fries were quite oily, my plate had a small pool of oil. But the fries tasted great! Maybe that’s what it takes to make good chilly fries!
I went during karaōke night and had the pleasure of witnessing an absolute star! Thankfully there were a bunch of UR students who were really plastered. They brought down the quality of the karaōke enough to give me the courage to go up to the mic and butcher Buddy Holly. Messing up a Weezer song. Shameful.
Its a really nice bar, with lighting straight out of a nightclub. Generally full of UR students from around the neighborhood. Good food. Decent beer. Good times.

I went to Bunga Burger Bar for dinner with friends maybe a week or so ago, and ultimately was a little let down. I guess it’s not too surprising because it’s in the sea of College Town restaurants which probably cater mostly to the U of R crowd, but that’s no excuse to make some really sloppy mistakes with burgers.
The first disappointment by far was the cooking of the meat. Our waitress was extremely gracious and friendly, and asked us how we wanted our burgers cooked, and 3 of the 4 of us asked for them to be cooked medium. When they came out, the temperature of every burger was so far past well done that the ground meat inside was gray, lifeless, and devoid of any moisture whatsoever. Chewing on mine was arguably similar to chewing to gummies that had too much gelatin cooked into them. It was really not great at all.
That said though, the combination of the ingredients chosen for the burger I selected, the Cuban, was bang-​on awesome. Despite the burger patty itself being awful, when you pair it with provolone, bacon, pulled pork, and pickles on a pretzel bun, you’re going to get flavor, and I definitely did. So props for that! The pulled pork’s sauce was sadly too sweet for a «sweet-​and-​sour» sauce and it did completely seep through the bun which forced me to use a fork and knife to finish it, but that said, I still can’t knock the tastiness it brought to my mouth.
So if I were to rate Bunga Burger Bar, I’m afraid I’d probably have to give it a 2.5÷5, rounded down. If the patty was cooked better and the pulled pork sauce was balanced, and the plate wasn’t overdressed with it, it’d probably be a ⁴⁄₅ for flavor and cooking. Sadly based on other people’s comments, it doesn’t look like this is going to change, but maybe there’s a glimmer of hope for the future?

Burger was big and delicious — I got the bourbon street bunga with the BBQ sauce on the side. French fries are tasty, but next time I’d ask for no salt.
We also got the White Russian shake. Really yummy! But it’s $ 9. Feel like I can easily make at home. Ha! One of those — you really can’t screw it up even if you try.
Our server was really nice. Checked on us a number of times. Food came out promptly too.
Atmosphere isn’t anything I’d personally rave over. Neon lights inside. TV’s throughout on sports and news.

Cute little place with very attentive and genuine staff. We started out with the life changing onion rings. Gigantic portion and made to order. Fantastic. They were served with a yummy horseradish dipping sauce. I got the bourbon street burger but substituted the burger with chicken. It was really tasty but the wheat bun was way to soft. I like a bun to have more texture and substance. The fries with my sandwich were hot crispy and delicious. They have a full bar and adult milkshakes! Looking forward to our next visit!

Bunga Burger is more like a bar than a burger place. It’s got a cool, very clean atmosphere and a huge bar. They have a nice beer selection and also make adult shakes (they sounds good but I stuck with a beer). Beer list has some local and unique brews but no description on what to expect with the beers-​for an out of towner, I would have liked a local brew but wasn’t going to order something without knowing what it would taste like.
The server we had was very sweet. When she brought out beers, however, she messed up everyone’s beer and we had to sniff out drinks and guess which was ours. Ok because I was with friends (thankfully) but kind of odd.
The menu to me was kind of confusing. I normally like to share an appetizer with friends and their appetizers are on the bottom of the menu so I didn’t even realize they had them until we had decided on our main dishes-​this is probably not an issue for most who can easily read menus I just didn’t
like the layout lol. I was surprised that they did not ask us how we liked out burgers done, I normally order a burger medium and they all came well done. Again, this is fine and I probably should have specified how I wanted it but I thought it was odd.
I ordered the bourbon burger on a pretzel
Roll (50 cents extra for specialty roll). The burger was very flavorful and the roll was delicious. The BBQ sauce, however, was extremely tangy. I like mine sweeter so had to add ketchup to the sauce in order to enjoy it. The fries were ok. My friends ordered the sweet potato fries and said they were great-​drizzles with maple syrup.
I was there with friends I hadn’t seen in a while and so we were there to enjoy a long dinner (it was pretty empty so we didn’t feel rushed). I found it very odd that upon the completion of our burgers our server just dropped off the check. I don’t know if they offer dessert but we would have ordered some. We also were not offered another round of beers or any other food. It was just odd! We sat there for like thirty more minutes talking without anything to eat or drink-​not an ideal way to run a business.
Overall, burgers were good but I don’t think I’d be back until they have things running a little smoother :)

When you walk in, you think you should be at a martini bar or nightclub based on decoration. However, you’re at a burger bar. Luckily, the name of the restaurant matches the food served and gosh is it good. The burgers are some of the best I’ve had. Lots of flavor, juicy, delish! I’ve been back a few times and look forward to being in the area again soon to grab some to go.

I came here to meet my dad for lunch at the recommendation of a coworker who has been here a few times. When you first walk in there is no hostess, you can just sit wherever you please. They have both high top tables and regular tables. I wish they had a few more lower tables for if it was busier but I got to sit at a lower table which made me happy.
Our waitress was really kind but a little slow. I don’t think she put our order in right away as people who were seated after us got their food before us. They had a different waitress.
The food was good. My dad got a regular cheese burger. I got a burger with bacon and mac and cheese on top. Our burgers and fries were delicious. I was impressed with the food.
The prices were just what you would expect for the food we got.
Overall, I would come here again but if the next waitress I got did that same thing as here I would have to skip this place. Customer service is too important for me.

I drive by Bunga Burger Bar on daily basis during my commute to and from work. I witnessed the gradual construction of Rochester’s College Town and eagerly anticipated dining at this new burger joint. I had high hopes for Bunga Burger Bar, but left a bit disappointed.
First of all, i’m not sure what «Bunga» means, but it sounds dirty. Maybe i’m just immature, but I wouldn’t be able to order a «Naked Bunga» with a straight face. The alliteration is cool and all, but yeah I just don’t know. I guess it’s a fun and goofy name, which appeals to its main demographic of UofR students. Their slogan is burgers, brews and booze. Enough said…
The atmosphere is modern and casual, albeit a little cold and industrial. The high ceilings and dim lighting make the restaurant feel a little impersonal. My group of 3 sat at a bar table, which made the dining experience a little less comfortable. I would opt to sit at a regular dining table. (Atmosphere — ³⁄₅)
Like others have mentioned, Bunga Burger Bar doesn’t really feel like a sit down restaurant nor does it feel like a true bar. The bar area is small, the dining area is a bit Chipotle-​ish and there is random jukebox that seems out of place.
The service was friendly and the food/​drinks came out in a timely manner. For a relatively new restaurant and staff, I was impressed. As busy as the restaurant was, our waitress came back multiple times to check on us and had no problems splitting the check 3-​ways. (Service — ⁴⁄₅)
I ordered the Pineapple Jack burger which consists of pineapple rum salsa, bacon, mozzarella cheese, lettuce and tomato. Perhaps not the safest choice, but i’ve had pineapple in a burger (and pizza) before and I enjoy the added sweetness.
Unfortunately, the pineapple doesn’t work well at Bunga Burger Bar. The pineapple is more sour than sweet. Instead of adding to the burger, it’s more of a distractor and masks the meatiness of the burger. It’s also served in big chunks, which makes it more difficult to eat.
I prefer the more traditional pineapple burger with a single slice of grilled pineapple. It seems like BBB is trying to be more original with its «pineapple salsa», but sticking to the formula with Teriyaki sauce would result in a tastier burger in my opinion.
The patty itself was just okay. I didn’t mind the greasiness of it, but I was surprised by the general lack of seasoning and taste. Perhaps the sour pineapple overpowered the taste of the patty.
I must say, the sweet potato fries are good. They are thickly sliced, but maintain an excellent crisp after being deep fried to perfection. The fries are finished with honey drizzle, which add even more sweetness. To be honest, they were a little too sweet for me. (Food — ³⁄₅)
Overall, Bunga Burger Bar is a nice addition to the area. It’s definitely a step up from fast food burgers without being «gourmet». They have decent happy hour beer specials and also adult milkshakes that I will have to try. I still prefer the burgers at Red Robin, but BBB’s convenient location will bring me back.