After enlisting as a soldier in the ongoing Budapest Burgerwar™, the first question my commander asked was what I thought about Iguana. Apparently, most of the other members of the BB army already had strong opinions, positive or negative, about the Pest-side Tex-Mex Mecca. I had only been there once, and only for a margarita, so it therefore fell to me to infiltrate the joint and report back on what was going on there, burger-wise.
Arriving on a hopping Thursday night, my two accomplices and I were greeted by a hostess who said she could “squeeze” us in as long as we promised to leave within an hour. I joked, “sure, but that depends on how fast the service is,” expecting her to lighten up. Instead, she tightened her grip around her clipboard. Not a good sign.
Our waiter was attentive – at first. He took our order in one go and brought our refreshments in under ten minutes. I ordered what I assumed to be the restaurant’s “signature” burger, coined the “La Hamburgeresa” (Ft 1,350/€5.36) and accompanied by a generous side of fries. But it came without cheese, bacon, zingy sauces or other things you might expect on a house burger at a place like Iguana. The waiter dutifully noted my special requests: onions on the side, no mayo. He then asked, politely, how I wanted my burger and I had an admittedly pesky cook-time demand: “Medium-well,” I said, “bordering on the well side.”
When the onions came on the side, and there was no unwanted mayo on the bun, my eyes glowed bright with happiness. Ah! Finally, a big, fat, good juicy burger. But disappointment ensued after my first bite; the burger wasn’t close to being either medium or well done. Instead, it was downright raw at the center. (See pic above.) Worse, our waiter did not appear eager to deal with the problem. I barely had “I’m sorry, could we cook this a little longer?” out of my mouth when he retorted with “but you ordered medium.” He then took mine away for a re-fire so fast that my companion didn’t get a chance to get her own raw patty medium-ed up. She had to wait another 15 minutes for him to return.
As for the burger, once it was actually cooked – or slightly more cooked (see above pic) – it wasn’t bad. The meat seemed to be infused with some sort of seasoning that was tasty, and the fries were more or less like I like them. The bun, however, was barely toasted. And even if the burger had been perfect, it’s hard to go easy on La Hamburgeresa given the above-mentioned lapses in service. Especially in a place like Iguana, the staff should know how important it is to cook a burger the way it is ordered. Either that, or don’t bother asking.
All in all, I can’t say I was very impressed. But I love margaritas and a hopping place, so I’m keeping an open mind about the non-burger items on Iguana’s menu – as long as I don’t have to track down my waiter in the crowd to tell him how to cook my food.
How They Stack Up:
Meat: (6/10)
Bun: (5/10)
Trimmings: (7/10)
Service/Setting: (4/10)
Affordability: (6/10)
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Total Score: 5.6/10
