unburger

The health factor at Unburger is three-fold. They only use the freshest ingredients, and source locally wherever possible. Their patties are fresh, never frozen, and patrons choose between multigrain or ciabatta buns, both of which are baked daily in the open concept kitchen. Lastly, Unburger provides some of the tastiest veggie burger options found outside a dedicated vegetarian restaurant.

The Great Falafel, is a homemade veggie burger of chickpeas, caramelized onions and roasted garlic. Banana pepper salsa, cucumbers, lettuce, tomato and lemon oregano yogurt are then added to the delicious foundation for a full-on flavour burst. The Bella veggie burger uses a whole Portabella mushroom as the patty, topped with blue cheese, tomato, balsamic onions, lettuce and homemade herb mayo. Main course options are complemented by an entirely vegetarian side menu. Some of the most notable items are the “Sweet Sweet Yam Fries,” “Edamommy” beans, Asian Slaw, and the humourously dubbed “Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod 8-Grain Salad,” which pays homage to the infamous ‘90s Body Break commercials.

When constructing the menu the owners enlisted the help of Chef Östen Rice, who has worked at Amici’s and is now the head chef at Wasabi Sabi. “He’s a very talented chef and understands food like no one I have ever met,” Matheson says. “He treats it like art and that shows in the results.” Rice, Matheson and Priestley also created a plethora of tantalizing beef and chicken burgers to satisfy any meat lovers taste buds. More adventurous eaters can build their own sandwich concoction combining any number of Unburger’s offerings to satisfy even the most diverse craving.

The décor at Unburger is a cross between chic eatery and modern spaceship. Eye-catching red cord lanterns hang above the bar seating and a flat screen TV is mounted on the wall in the order area. The walls are painted stark white, adorned with catchy phrases like, “Top of the Burger Chain” and “Oh my, that Unburger looks slimming on you.”

Contemporary finishes include complimentary wifi throughout the building and even a few free parking spaces out back that frequenters of Osborne Village know to be coveted. On top of all the modern conveniences, there are nostalgic touches such as the glass Coke bottles and toy figurines that take the place of traditional diner ticket numbers.

And where did they get the name? Matheson and Priestley chose Unburger because they wanted to people to know their restaurant was the anti-burger chain and that they can still make healthy lifestyle choices while enjoying good quality food. Try your own “unburger” at 472 Stradbrook in Osborne Village.