One of the questions I get asked all the time in Barcelona is “Where should I go to eat?” Well, Kiosko might not serve traditional Spanish food, but it’s definitely one of my new Barcelona favorites. This small restaurant is close to the beach, and it only serves burgers and side dishes (fries, potatoes, and salad).
It’s always packed full, and I’d been dying to go for a while based solely on the long lines winding out the door and on to the street. This week, I finally got my chance!
After a long night of fútbol and discotecas (on, um, a Wednesday), I went with a couple of friends to celebrate the puente. We joined the long lunchtime queue, which went surprisingly quickly. And actually, having some time to wait wasn’t necessarily bad thing because it took us so long to decide which delicious burgers we wanted.
It was fun watching other people get their food. You could definitely tell who hadn’t been there before as we all had the same reaction – shocked laughter and gasps at the sheer size of the burgers!
At first I was unsure if we were going to get a seat because it was so full, but the system they have in place seems to work pretty well. We only waited a couple of minutes to sit down at the long communal tables, and our food was out quickly too. The burgers got delivered on faux newspaper, “Your Daily Burger”, printed with the Kiosko menu.
I chose the Asturiana (inspired by my recent trip to Asturias!), with blue cheese, caramelized onions, tomato, lettuce, and Spanish red onions.
My friend Diego chose the Burgos, which had a lamb and lechal (milk-fed suckling lamb) patty, topped with goat cheese, red peppers, tomatoes, onions, and Spanish red onions.
And my new friend Molly (who has her own BCN blog, See Molly Run Away) ordered the Vegetariana with a tofu and mushroom patty, peppers, tomatoes, onions, and Spanish red onions.
The biggest challenge of eating at Kiosko was that we didn’t get cutlery. All three of us stared at our massive burgers for a good minute or so, trying to decide which angle to best start the attack from. It was quite a task – my burger was literally as big as my face. We gave up on trying to be polite and dug in. The burgers lived up to their delicious reputation and then some!
Each month, Kiosko has a featured burger, so the menu is always changing. You can click HERE to see their menu (in your choice of Catalan, Spanish, or English). This month’s burger was a chicken burger with wasabi guacamole.
Kiosko was a great place for a cheap, good meal in Barcelona. The retro-style decor and cactuses hanging on the walls give the place a funky feel. It’s definitely a small place, and you’ll be rubbing elbows (quite literally) with your neighbors while you eat, as the seating is communal. They also have tasty homemade sauces on hand, like ketchup and spicy chili sauce. It reminded me a bit of the lengthy dining hall dinners I had in college – you just sat down, shared, and talked surrounded by a bunch of friendly people.
I really loved Kiosko, but if you want a quiet sit-down meal, this isn’t the place for it. Similarly, a friend warned me “Never go to Kiosko for a first date!” Or, if you do, be prepared to put all your dignity aside as you tuck in. 🙂
Oh, and there’s one other downside of Kiosko – you’ll be so stuffed after eating your burger, you won’t want to eat again for about a month! I swore I was never eating again after yesterday’s lunch. I’m still unsure if I’ll be ready to have a big Christmas dinner!
Here’s some practical information about Kiosko:
- Where: Marquès de L’Argentera 1 bis (close to Barceloneta metro stop)
- Prices: about €8 – €9 for a burger and a drink; €2 – €4 for fries or potatoes
- Hours: 1 p.m. – 1 a.m. every day
- Website: Kioskoburger.com
Anybody reading been to Kiosko before? Does anyone know of any other great burger places in Barcelona?
Besos!
-Jess
Oh my goodness these look so good, I’m considering a trip to Barcelona just to go here.
Worth it! 🙂 They are seriously delicious.
wow…. look at the size!!! yum yum
Yup, they were massive. Each one was literally as big as my face…and delicious!
that’s big! Could you finish it all by yourself?
Actually….all three of us managed it! I’m still not quite sure how. 🙂
I ate there!!! Amazing burgers yes and the sauces are amazing too
Agreed, this was a great find!
Café Schilling on Calle Ferran does a good burger too, albeit smaller!
Smaller wouldn’t be an issue, these were definitely more than enough! I’ll check out Café Schilling next time I get hungry…which I think at this rate will be sometime in March of next year. 😉
Gonna have to try this one out. There’s been an explosion of burger joints in BCN over the last two or three years. I’ve got a few in Gràcia to try out as well. Someone told me there’s a place called La Burg in Sarrià that’s supposed to be fantastic also. Burgers from the Corner Bistro in the West Village are one of the things I miss most about living in NYC.
You definitely should, it’s a good one. There are a ton of burger places in Barcelona though, you’re right – I keep seeing them all over the place in Gràcia. Those and quick wok places.
Never been to Kiosco… but I love Pim Pam Burguer at El Born. The hamburguers are very good (my favorite is the Roquefort cheese one), the prices are fair and the hand cutted potatoes are amazing! The place is tiny, though…
Hey Jess, did you ever read my burger post – http://www.homagetobcn.com/best-burgers-in-barcelona/. Kiosko is the best quick burger place for sure. But the don is La Royale!
I just had a look at it, and La Royale looks amazing! Thanks for the tip, I’ll have to check it out.
Hi Jessica, great post, I really feel like a Kiosko burger after reading this, shame I’m currently in Vienna 🙂 I run http://www.thebestburgerinbarcelona.com – I definitely need to update that site, when I started and last updated it Kiosko didn’t even exist. Bacoa is actually by the same chef, I guess when he saw how succesful he was he opened Kiosko. My tip for anyone that does not want to wait in the queue is to go to Kiosko. I do agree, Kiosko is the absolute best burger place in Barcelona. Rob – great job on that listing of yours, I’m gonna have to go to some of these places and test your claim for La Royale’s spot amongst the very top. I’ll try get my page updated over xmas. All the best.
Thanks very much! Bacoa is by the same guy. I haven’t been to that one, but if Kiosko is anything to go by I’m sure it’s delicious!
And Rob from Homage to Barcelona always has great, very extensive lists of stuff to do in Barcelona. His site is awesome.
Looking forward to seeing your site update! Too bad you have to test out all those ‘best burger’ claims, eh? 🙂
Hi Jessica!
We’ve been there also and you are right, the burgers are amazing!
If you want to know about some more places to go you can have a look to our blog. It’s in spanish but you can translate it! 🙂
HAVE FUN 😉
Great, thanks very much! I found your guys’ Facebook page earlier this week and you always post such great stuff. 🙂 I hadn’t seen the burger article yet though.
Hi there Jess,
This looks yummy! Hope all is good with you – I’ve nominated you for a blogger award – http://cabodegataphotography.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/awards-the-new-year-and-all/
I hope you will accept but I won’t be upset if you don’t!
Best wishes to you 🙂
Ooh thanks very much! I’ll check it out.
Happy new year, Martyn! 🙂
Hey Jess,
If you like Kiosko you should try the Bacoa restaurants – they’re all owned by the same person!