Ban Ban Burger
Hamburger restaurant · Sawtelle ·
Thai-inspired smash burgers, sandwiches, and fries with bold flavors
Thai-inspired smash burgers, sandwiches, and fries with bold flavors
"We had the brilliant idea to rank smashburgers in this city and experienced a minor crisis: do these all taste the same? Surely, they don’t. But then we tried Ban Ban Burger, a Thai-influenced spot on Sawtelle from the Tuk Tuk Thai people, and our palate for lacy-crisp beef patties was reinvigorated. We love the punchy wagyu laab burger that zaps the sides of your mouth (in a pleasant way) with minty-garlicky gremolata, but our favorite is the fried-egg-topped grapow burger. The basil chili sauce sizzles on your tongue, cooled down just enough by american cheese and a runny yolk. Just maybe don’t wear white if you order this drippy burger—there’s a lot of sauce for the delicate potato roll." - brant cox, cathy park, sylvio martins, garrett snyder
"From the team behind Tuk Tuk Thai and Chao Krung Thai comes Ban Ban Burger, a Thai-inspired burger restaurant along Sawtelle. The wagyu laab burger comes with three ounces of American wagyu, seasoned with lime, rice powder, and bird’s eye chile flakes, while the grapow smash uses Australian beef, garlic, holy basil, and Thai chiles. The spice levels here pack a punch, but never overwhelm the rich flavors of the burger and its toppings. A panang fried chicken sandwich, laab fries, a Thai tea shake, and more are available to complete the meal. What to order: The grapow smash, a spicy and garlicky patty served on a potato bun with fried egg, house Thai pickles, American cheese, and wild garlic aioli" - Eater Staff
"Like probably many of you, we also suffer from chronic smashburger fatigue. That’s why we appreciate that this counter-service spot from Tuk Tuk Thai is mixing things up with riffs like garlicky wagyu laab burgers, pale green pandan milkshakes, and spice-dusted fries with curry ketchup. Everything on the short menu grabs your attention, but we say prioritize the peppery grapow burger finished with a runny egg or the fried chicken sando on toasted milk bread with panang mayo." - brant cox, sylvio martins, arden shore, cathy park
"We’ll admit it: if you ate every burger on this guide (like we did), they all start to taste pretty similar—even the ones we love. But the smashburgers at Ban Ban stand out like a pair of Crocs at a wedding. This casual, Thai-influenced spot on Sawtelle from the Tuk Tuk Thai people does a crisp-edged wagyu laab smash and a grapow smash kicked up with garlic-chile paste, plus pandan milkshakes and spice-dusted fries. Everything on the short menu grabs your attention, but we'd prioritize the grapow burger with a runny egg. It’s spicy, tangy, and salty, though maybe arguably a little saucy for its delicate potato bun (expect things to get messy)." - garrett snyder, sylvio martins, nikko duren
"From the team behind Tuk Tuk Thai and Chao Krung Thai comes Ban Ban Burger, a Thai-inspired burger restaurant along Sawtelle. The wagyu laab burger comes with three ounces of American wagyu, seasoned with lime, rice powder, and bird’s eye chile flakes, while the grapow smash uses Australian beef, garlic, holy basil, and Thai chiles. The spice levels here pack a punch, but never overwhelm the rich flavors of the burger and its toppings. A panang fried chicken sandwich, laab fries, a Thai tea shake, and more are available to complete the meal." - Rebecca Roland, Eater Staff