Located at the new Shibuya Stream commercial complex is a popular burger shop known as The Great Burger Stand. The younger brother of the popular Harajuku burger restaurant, The Great Burger.
There is no doubt that owner Kurumata Atsushi wanted to bring is an American style of flavor to create a vibrant hub for friends to eat and have a good time.
Where the original The Great Burger is modeled after a Southern California-style diner, The Great Burger Stand is no doubt capitalizing on the prime location taking some aspects from The Great Burger but minus the large servings of alcohol and couch.
Known for its crispy buns and delicious burgers, I decided to check out the Great Burger Stand, once by myself and then twice with a few friends to experience the location.
The decoir of The Great Burger Stand has a western feel.
The fact that you can get sliders, bacon cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, avocado mozzarella burger, ham & egg cheese sandwich, New York pastrami sandwich and more is pretty cool!
If you want doughnuts, sweets, sundaes, you can get that as well! Including breakfast items such as waffles and omelets!
It’s important to note that the doughnuts are courtesy of it’s sister company, Good Town Doughnuts, located not far from The Great Burger and the doughnut shop is located right on Cat St.
While a burger shop, The Great Burger Stand offers a lot of variety, so anyone, may they be a picky eater, someone who wants to eat something heavy or light, The Great Burger Stand offers a lot.
I decided to eat outdoors for the first time and indoors with friends for the second time.
The first time, I tried their Bacon Cheeseburger.
Part of the reason of wanting to try this burger was most bacon cheeseburgers in Japan, they use a Japanese style of bacon that is different from America.
The goal is having smoked bacon with fat but served similar to how many prefer their steak to be medium-rare.
American bacon is from pork belly, Canadian bacon is from the loin of the pig, British bacon is from the loin but with the fat left from the pork belly in tack. Japanese bacon on the other hand is cured, smoked pork belly but unlike the US, the meat is not sold raw and is processed, precooked and has a ham-like consistency when cooked.
So, many places you eat a bacon burger, it may look like this (my review for another burger restaurant). But The Great Burger Stand uses the type of bacon that many people in America are used to!
But I will say, they weren’t kidding about the buns. They are crunchy and are delicious and compliments the burger remarkably well.
When I went with friends, I went for the avocado mozzarella burger.
For the most part, the burger was absolutely delicious and friends also loved it!
Now the question I get asked by Japanese is if the burger experience is similar to America. While The Great Burger Stand in Shibuya does a great job of presenting a burger shop in America, there are key differences:
- Americans are used to a lot of fries
- Americans are used to paying under $8.00 (US) for a burger with fries and a large self-serve drinks.
With that being said, The Great Burger Stand prices are on par with a lot of burger shops in Tokyo. The average price for burger, fries and a drink at a burger shop is around Y2000 (about $18.56 US). So, for those in America who complain that a good size burger at Wendy’s, Carl’s Jr. or Burger King or a diner is too expensive at under $10US with fries and a drink, just know you are paying much less than in Japan and also other countries.
But overall, I do feel the Great Burger Stand is one of the top 10 burger shops in Tokyo and the fact that it emulates that American dining experience offering burgers, sandwiches, omelets, waffles, etc. is pretty cool and is understandable why it has a line full of Japanese and tourists wanting to eat at the location.
It’s really that good!
Overall, I definitely recommend The Great Burger Stand in Shibuya (@ Shibuya Stream).
