Burger Bar probably wouldn’t be my first choice for a lunch destination, but the hubby likes a good burger, and I love Hubert Keller. Not to mention that the Burger Bar was within view of our hotel room at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, San Francisco, in the beautiful, Christmas-decorated Union Square Macy’s.

We were seated promptly for our 1:00 reservation and had a great view of Union Square and the Christmas tree setup, not to mention great food photography lighting!

Hotels in this story

Price Dates

Kimpton Sir Francis Drake Hotel

Since burgers and beer go so well together, I started with an Eel River Organic Porter. It was yummy!

For lunch, I had the veggie burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, jalapenos, and garlic aioli. Burger Bar’s veggie burger is no frozen patty out of a box. It is made of caramelized onions, lentils, mushrooms, peas, brown and white rice, potatoes, and pumpkin! I immediately wanted to recreate it at home.

On the side, we shared the jalapeno fried pickles. If fried pickles are on the menu, I have to have them!

My husband had the trio of different sliders. He liked them all, but gave a big thumbs up to the buffalo slider.

My burger was huge and very filling. All of the healthy ingredients, plus the toppings I chose, made for a tasty and substantial meal.

As you can see, I had to resort to eating with a fork because the burger was half the size of my face

I barely ate half of it and was completely full. The food at Burger Bar is great, especially for you burger-lovers. The service, however, was a little pushy, and spurred a conversation between my husband and me about our eating speeds and restaurant service. He is a super fast eater, and I am verrrrrrrry slow. Once our server saw his plate mostly empty, she returned repeatedly to try to take it, but I had not even made a dent in mine. I hated feeling rushed on vacation and probably ended up eating less than I would have if I felt more relaxed. I am sure my slow eating can be annoying, but I really like to enjoy eating and never end up way too stuffed because I am always conscious of how full I am. It works for me!

Overall, Burger Bar was worth a visit if you like burgers, a great view, and are a fan of celebrity chef Hubert Keller. Perhaps sitting at the bar might have resulted in a less fast paced meal, and I would probably go that route next time.