Hamburguesería Donoso
Out of all the places we’ve visited Don Oso is the least restaurant-ish of all, but it’s also the place truest to the idea of hamburgers for lunch. Hamburgers are the quintessential fast-food; Quick to prepare and quick to consume, there is no need to dither with pointless formalities. Don Oso is one single room approximately 6m wide by 4m long with a bar, a few standing bars on the walls, and nowhere to sit. In a little hole in the wall the size of my bathroom (and I have a very small bathroom) stands the cook preparing the hamburgers in view of everyone. What makes this place so peachy is the price of the meal and the distinct ambiance, Don Oso is mostly filled with students from the nearby university campuses, a few working class folk and the occasional suit.
The prices are as small as the possible selection, big hamburger is €3.45, fries are €1.10, small hamburger is €2.10 and the hot dog is €1.10. The extras you can ask for are limited to bacon, cheese and mushroom. All hamburgers come with the usual tomato, lettuce and onion; if you want fried onion you have to ask for it, which I didn’t, hence I had to bear the consequences of an after-lunch heart burn. Service is lighting fast, you can literally watch your burger being placed on the grill together with the buns and the decoration process takes less than 5 minutes.
As usually, I won the who-orders-first competition got to pick the mushroom hamburger which left Hermzz with bacon burger. The burgers aren’t spectacular but it really is a rather filling meal. And I have to tell you, those guys certainly know how to grill a burger. It was crunchy on the outside and juicy meat on the inside. Apart from the meat, everything else was medium rated. Maybe less mustard, that stuff is a killer if you overdo it! Subtlety isn’t one of their stronger points, if you ask for ketchup you get it served straight out of a 5 litre bottle.
So my recommendation is, if you are in the neighbourhood and want a quick cheap bite, Don Oso is definitely the place to go.
Impatient Kika couldn’t help herself.
Not sure why the place is called “Donoso” if the sign clearly says “Don Oso”
