Quick Verdict: “Nice view…”
Bun: 9/20
Quinta Dos Santos serves their signature burger on a brioche bun. The bun looks great and provided enough structure but it had not discernable flavor, and did not contribute to a pleasant structure. The menu advertises the bun as toasted but it certainly was not, though toasting would have added to a better flavor and structure. Instead, the bun was cold, like it was just out of a bag, as reflected in the score.
Toppings: 6/20
Standard toppings for this burger are caramelized onions and crispy lettuce. I will hope that burger toppings are farm fresh from their quinta, maybe serving as the inspirational force for branding it Hamburger Da Quinta. Inspiring maybe but hot caramelized onions are difficult to make work with lettuce. The result was a blend of the two toppings into a less than impressive mix.
Condiments: 5/10
The sole condiment was BBQ sauce. On many burgers a single condiment can work and BBQ sauce is my preferred sauce of choice, but in this burger the strength of the sauce disrupted the burger. Maybe if the sauce had a stronger vinegar component or a different blend of flavors, it might have helped? But no, unfortunately the BBQ sauce did save this burger.
Cheese: 2/10
The menu claims to put Serra cheese on this burger, but I have no idea whether that is true. Serra is a Portuguese cheese, semi-soft in nature and with a touch of sour. Whatever cheese there was left not noticeable taste signature. Personally, oveja (sheep) cheeses are amongst my favorite though for this burger I would have preferred a selection more cured and sharp.
Beef: 9/20
The beef patty on the Hamburger Da Quinta appears to be high quality. Yet, the score given is below passing. Ultimately, the quality of the beef was wasted with improper seasoning and cooking that left the patty tasteless and with an unappealing texture.
Taste: 2/20
Overall taste was shockingly poor. It looked so good, but yah it was not good. Two main culprits to blame here, for this disappointing burger; texture and flavor combinations. For some reason, when you bite into the Quinta Dos Santos burger creation it feels a lot like indistinct warm wet mush.
