Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers

location: 3344 steiner street (at fillmore), the marina

j treated me to a sunny sunday evening at barney's and it was such a pleasant dinner surprise. we wandered into barney's when the cheap mexican restaurant we wandered to chestnut for was closed. from the outside it looks like a small, overpriced hamburger joint, but it is so much better than that. the outside patio is bright and airy and this weekend was covered with blackbirds, but i enjoyed them more than i was annoyed by them. the extensive menu of burgers (beef, chicken, turkey and veggie) is overwhelming with options and they all made my mouth water. j and i were like kids in a candy store with all of the appealing options. i started with a root beer float and we shared a basket of the garlic skinny fries. most of the menu items are a la carte but the portions are so big it's worth it to have to order them separately! the basket would have been enough for 3 or 4 people and my burger was the size of my head.

i went with the baja burger which had the juiciest chicken and crispiest bacon i've found out in a long time. and i'm always looking/trying. the burger also had melted jack and avocado with the toppings on the side. along with what i can only guess was thousand island dressing as the sauce option, whatever it was, i liked it. the portions were well priced, less than i was expecting for a marina restaurant with "gourmet" in the name. barney's is comparable to the burger bar, but with half of the pretentiousness.

our waiter was a different person every time they came out and we had to wait a while between seating and ordering and finishing and getting our check. and had to ask for water, which is always a little annoying. especially in a restaurant that's not bustling, but they were all very friendly. bonus points for having lemon water waiting in cute carafes.

testimonials:

"simply amazing" - j referring to his blackberry chocolate shake

recommendation: get over there for a cute date but don't make it a first date, you'll eat everything in sight.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: okay!