where jess ate

When I was in Vancouver, I was craving a good burger. White Spot is a childhood favourite of mine and when I suggested it, my friend Dave said it was too “vanilla” for his liking and took me and Mike to Romer’s Burger Bar instead.

As its name suggests, it is an actual bar that specializes in burgers. Although it’s a sports bar with tv’s around the space, it also has a dim lounge-feel to it. Most of the seating is in dark booths, but there is also some seating around the U-shaped bar. Romer’s has several local beers on tap, including Rocky Mountain pilsner, Stanley Park amber ale.

I had eaten dinner before coming and thought I was going to have room for a late night snack at Romer’s. Definitely underestimated how much I was going to eat of my mom’s home cooking! So, I just mooched some burger off of Dave, who went with the Man’s Man Burger – thick-sliced applewood bacon, local creamery amber ale cheddar, onion strings, smoked alder salts, vine-ripened tomato, whole grain mustard ($11). Man’s Man burger, eh? Girls like bacon and cheese burgers too! Name aside, I had high expectations since the description sounded so great on paper.

All the burgers are served on a brioche bun, which held up quite well against all the ingredients. The patty itself, made from fresh and local meat was seasoned nicely, but it wasn’t quite as juicy as I would’ve liked. The onion strings on the burger was a nice touch as it gave the burger a nice bit of crunch. Overall, it was a pretty good burger but I wouldn’t call it one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. And at $11 without sides, I’m not sure it was worth the price.

My other friend, Owen ordered the Righteous Rib Burger – thick-sliced applewood bacon, braised short ribs, sweet onions, gorgonzola garlic sauce & fresh thyme leaves ($12). It sounded amazing on the menu and looked pretty darn good too, but Owen inhaled it before I got a chance to try a bite of it. So, I think it’s safe to assume he enjoyed it!

Since the burgers didn’t come with any fries, the four of us ordered three different fry dishes to share. The first one I tried was the Gorgonzola Garlic Sauce Fries – with Serrano chili & applewood bacon ($7). Honestly, this wasn’t anything special. The gorgonzola garlic sauce wasn’t as flavourful as I would’ve liked and the fries alone were just decent. I wouldn’t order this again.

Another fry dish we ordered was the Poutine – with cheese curds & real gravy ($8). They certainly weren’t very generous with the cheese curds, one of my favourite parts about poutine. The “real gravy” was decent, but overall this was just an okay poutine. The last set of fries we ordered was the Sweet Potato Fries. They were on the thick side and came with two types of dipping sauce. Just like the other fries we ordered, this was just okay.

One thing that caught my eye was the Famous Drunk Doughnuts – “decadently fried, powdered sugar, Kahlua Nutella, Limoncello & maple whisky dip” ($5). When they first arrived, I was a little unsure about them since they were covered in a thick coating of powdered sugar and didn’t look too appetizing. Thankfully, this was one of those cases where I couldn’t judge a book by its cover. They were fresh out of the fryer and were delicious! They came with three different sauces as indicated in their menu. My favourite was the maple whisky, which had a nice sweetness to it. It would’ve been nice to have a cold glass of milk to wash these down.

Overall, I thought Romer’s was decent. The Man’s Man burger I tried was pretty solid, but price-wise, it was on the high side since their burgers don’t come with any sides. But maybe that’s a good thing since I wasn’t a huge fan of their fries. I’d skip the fries and save room for the delicious doughnuts! 

At a glance:
• Large selection of burgers
• Prices on the high side; burgers don’t come with sides
• Ordered 3 different fry dishes – none were particularly memorable
• Upscale sports-bar/lounge feel
• Save room for the doughnuts

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 3 stars
• Service: 3 stars
• Atmosphere: 3.5 stars