Review: Jacoby’s Burger

We are great burger lovers here at World Flavor. We’re always looking for the next great burger, or revisiting delicious ones. We thought we found Korea’s best burger when we found Burger B, but we have now tried a place that rivals it for the title. That place is Jacoby’s Burger in Haebangchon (close to Itaewon).

There are many burger options, from the basic to the not-so-basic: a 22,000 Won monstrosity known as the Gut Buster, which contains just about every imaginable topping.

We went instead with simple cheeseburgers. But don’t think there weren’t any choices! Even the basic one-cheese cheeseburger requires you to choose a bun (white or wheat), whether you want to add cream cheese (I can’t figure this one out), your cheese type (or types, in my case), your patty seasoning (rosemary or garlic), how you want your burger done (medium or well done only), raw or grilled onions, if you want a tomato, and if you’d like any extras or side dishes. Phew! You can at least use the wait for a table to think about it.

It doesn’t have too many tables, but it’s popular. On a Saturday evening we waited about 30 minutes or so. I expected longer but it really wasn’t too bad. There are large airbrushed celebrity portraits on the wall. Kind of a strange decor choice, if you ask me.

These aren’t fast food burgers; they take a little while. A little less time if you get yours cooked medium. Which you should. As far as I’m aware, this is the only place in Korea that will allow you to choose your cooking temperature and actually leaves some pink in the middle of a medium burger! Now that’s what I’m talking about.

I got mine with Muenster and cheddar; Jeff got his with cheddar. The cheese was flavorful, and was a nice addition to the garlic Wagyu beef patty. The meat is the best quality I’ve found in Korea.

Jeff and I can’t agree (or maybe decide) whether Jacoby’s is really better than Burger B, our favorite up til now. In my opinion, Jacoby’s has a much higher quality burger and that is very important. Jeff agrees with this fact, but says that Burger B’s more excellent toppings (truffle aioli, pesto, etc) make it a better all round experience. I suggested that we should try a more complicated burger at Jacoby’s to really decide that. So we’ll be coming back, and sharing a Gut Buster burger.

Whether Jacoby’s is better than Burger B or not, it is still an excellent burger. You can’t go wrong with either place.

Details:

• Location: Noksapyeong Station (line 3), exit 2. Walk straight and take a left when the road splits (there are tons of kimchi pots on your left, and you are following the wall of the army base). Go up the hill and it’s on your right in a couple blocks.
• Hours: 11 AM – Midnight
• Price: Burgers run about 10,000 Won to 14,000 Won (there are plenty of more expensive options too) without any sides. I didn’t think to write how much the sides are, but you probably only need a burger.
• Other Info: Veggie burgers are available.