While on my way to grab a cheap meal at Muji Cafe on Koto Dori, my curiosity was piqued by this interesting new food outlet.  ‘The 3rd Burger” does burgers as only a Japanese burger shop could—in a refined, stylish way.  No smell of frying fat or gaudy clowns here—just burgers and smoothies in a cool, minimalist environment.

Photo by Gregory Lane

The burgers range from ¥300 for the Gobo Salad Burger up to ¥640 for the ‘Double Burger’.  Other burgers include a ‘Hamburger Midori’ for 460 yen, Fresh Tomato Burger for ¥480, Avocado Wasabi Burger for ¥520, Edamame Beans Burger for ¥490 and Bacon Cheese Burger for ¥580. Smoothies are all ¥500, while there are ‘set’ packages such as +¥600 for a smoothie and french fries.

Photo by Gregory Lane

Unfortunately for you meat lovers, I’m the wrong person to review the actual burgers as I don’t actually eat meat.  While there are no seafood burgers on the menu (my usual fallback), they do have a couple of non-meat options on the menu including the Gobo Salad Burger as shown above.  While not quite the same volume of the American fast food chains, the size was good enough for me and the lettuce, tomato and gobo was beautifully crisp and fresh. If I had to fault it, I’d say they should have gone a little easier when dousing my burger in thousand island dressing, but it tasted pretty good.

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Aside from the food, the interior of this place with bare concrete walls and floors, simple furniture and a verdant garden covering an entire wall is a relaxing oasis. The terrace too, looks like a great spot to enjoy a cool evening breeze on a hot summers day in Tokyo.

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