To stand out as a burger joint these days, you really have to be something special. Hipster, Hawaiian, Classed-Up, Make-your-own… It’s all been done. So why is The Beauty & The Beef making enough waves to expand out so quickly? The answer is more complex than a one-word title. This burger bar is quirky but serious in whatever it does. It creates weird-yet-delicious burgers and deliciously different cocktails. It is in fact… beautifully beastly.
The Beauty & The Beef is a great example of how burgers should be done. The best beef, choice of breads, and sides… and then a swath of interesting toppings. For example, the Cochon has your burger wrapped in a crispy bacon blanket, topped with onion jam infused with porto, and the whole thing drenched in peanut butter. Seems excessive? Sure. But does it taste good? Oh my yes!
There is also the Beauty: a brie and Monterey Jack topped burger with in-house fig jelly, arugula, and caramelized onions. The butteriness and sweetness is cut by the arugula’s sharp taste to make a perfectly balanced burger.
Despite these seemingly excessive burgers, at The Beauty & The Beef, these are the tame burgers. The Nuclear is so packed with spicy elements that you need to sign a waver. The Epic has four patties and a fried KitKat, among other toppings, and will earn you a bottle of Pepto Bismol and your picture on the wall of fame. Finally, the Spank Me is 5 pounds of beef and toppings that if not finished or shared, you get spanked with the paddle it comes on.
That’s kind of the charm of The Beauty & The Beef: it takes its silliness seriously. For example, if you’re waiting for your burger and sipping on your sweet, sour, or spicy drink, and you get bored, why not ask for a board game. They have all the staples like Jenga, Connect 4, and even those rock ‘em sock ‘em robots. It’s a great place to have dinner or a drink deep into the night on any given day. They also have some interesting themed days like Tattoo Tuesdays where you get a gift if you show your tattoo. Our favorite is the No Cell Mondays where you can save money if you don’t touch your cell once.
La Belle & La Boeuf (it just sounds better in French) is always a great place to eat a heavy meal and have great drinks. They’re continuing to push what they can do by introducing new dishes like Poké and Fish & Chips and constantly tweaking the menu to add seasonal quirks. All in all, it’s one of the stand-out burger bars that have popped up and continued to expand. They now have 8 locations including Downtown, Anjou, Laval, and both the north and south shores.
1620 Saint-Catherine St W, Montreal, QC H3A 1L9
(514) 507-8558
Photos courtesy of La Belle et la Boeuf.