A Michelin-recommended Toronto restaurant just opened an unexpected new concept
The team behind a Michelin-recommended Toronto restaurant just made an unexpected move: opening a new burger joint in the city.
Names like Rasa and Sara — at least in the context of food — usually conjure up images of chic interiors, artfully plated dishes, and pristine cocktails served in paper-thin crystal glasses. It’s that exact commitment to refinement and luxury that has earned them both spots on Toronto’s Michelin Guide, after all; Sara with a recommendation and Rasa with a Bib Gourmand.
The latest venture from The Food Dudes Group, the team behind both celebrated spots, is treading into more casual territory, though. How juicy.
For their next trick, The Food Dudes have launched Rasa Burger, an offshoot of Rasa based entirely around a dish (and I bet you can guess which one it is) that’s been one of the restaurant’s best-sellers since its inception.
“RasaĀ has been around for over a decade, and two dishes have really stood the test of time: theĀ RasaĀ Chopped Salad and theĀ RasaĀ Burger,” Adam Minster of The Food Dudes tells Dished Toronto.
A few years back, the group capitalized on the chopped salad’s popularity by launching Chop Hop, their quick-service salad chain that now boasts four locations in the city.
“Weāre incredibly proud of what we built,” Adam says, “but we also realized that not everyone eats salad.”
Enter Rasa Burger, the group’s new burger joint that has soft-opened at Chefs Hall as of Thursday, June 19.
The new concept takes their other best-seller from Rasa, the Rasa Burger, and gives it a life of its own, offering three different burgers anchored by the thick, juicy patty that made the original a household name.
There’s aĀ classic option, topped with the usual suspects; the Sara, with fontina, Szechuan lotus root, pickled jalapeƱo, five-spice barbeque sauce, and kewpie mayo; and the almighty Rasa Burger, with provolone, caramelized onion, pickles, kimchi and gochujang mayo. Not your grandma’s burgers and fries, to say the least.
“Our goal is to make burgers that feel like they were cooked in a real restaurant — because they are,” Adam explains. “Thoughtful, flavourful, and satisfying.”
Something else distinguishes Rasa Burger from the scores of other burger joints lining nearly every street in the city, though. While much of Toronto has come down with a chronic case of smashburger fever, Rasa’s offerings feature dense, thick patties and equally substantial buns; a difference that the group is leaning into with Rasa Burger’s tagline, “We don’t smash, we respect.”
Adam explains that, despite the obvious temptation to give in to the food fad, the group had absolute faith in Rasa Burger’s ability to convert devotees of the paper-thin patty.
“The RasaĀ Burger was around long before the smash craze, and weāve never felt the need to chase trends,” Adam tells Dished Toronto. “We trust the quality of our ingredients, the care in our technique, and the experience of our chefs to speak for itself.”
While the burgers are, without a doubt, the star of the show at Rasa Burger, the menu contains plenty of other comfort food classics you’ll be eager to sink your teeth into, likeĀ fried chicken with scotch bonnet hot sauce, somewhat spicy mac n’ cheese topped with crispy onion and chives, and some particularly indulgent lookingĀ waffle fries.
For dessert, you can dig into aĀ Rich n’ Retro, the burger joint’s take on the good old-fashioned McCain Deep n’ Delicious chocolate cake, though this one comes with caramel ganache, custard cream, and cereal clusters.
As for the question of whether the team would ever open a devoted Rasa Burger brick-and-mortar, Adam responds with an emphatic “absolutely!”
We’ll just have to see how the metaphotical cookie crumbles on that one, but, given The Food Dudes’ Midas touch on the Toronto food landscape, the outlook is pretty good.
Rasa Burger
Address:Ā Chefs Hall, 111 Richmond St. W., Toronto
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