The KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle states that most things work best when they are kept simple and not complicated. In a city of nearly 300,000 people, Malmö has a few dozen places to get a burger. You might find a burger on most menus, but unfortunately you might be better off going to a chain. There are only a few decent actual burger places, the shining beacons in a sea of hungry Malmöites. So why complicate your search, keep it simple stupid.
Casual Street Food in Malmö understood the plight for a good, simple, burger. Walking in is walking into a friend of a friends home, there's indie music playing, cool furniture, and you're wondering if you're hip enough to be there. The good thing is, you are - the staff is helpful, knowledgeable about the food, and a smile does go a long way. Besides, everyone else is so busy eating and taking photos of their meal, they don't notice you at all. Atmosphere, definitely casual. 4/5.
The menu is simple, burgers, fish taco, or lambdog (hotdog). There's fries, pickled items, or a slice of pie. To drink? All the usual suspects are there plus gluten-free beer! To top it off, the like to let you know all their meat is from local farms, their buns are locally made, their coffee is locally roasted, and the fries are made in house every day. Hipster-sustainable-trendy points? 5/5.
We order at the bar and the girl who takes our order says "Find a seat & we'll find you". The restaurant is a small room with limited seating inside and a few tables outside protected by awnings (because let's face it - it's always raining in Malmö). We take a high table and our mouths begin to water as we watch juicy burgers reach other guests. After about 15 minutes our order comes. Not a very long wait right? Definitely not "street food fast" but not long. 4/5.
Our full side order of Basket of Fries (50kr) & Garlic Fries (50kr) come first. The potatoes are local, pre-boiled, and fried until they're crispy and golden. There's nothing especially good or especially bad about the fries, they're pretty simple. Thick and tasteful, our only complaint was that our mouth was way stinky with garlic after. But that's kind of our fault.
The Cheeseburger (90-115kr) comes topped with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, and a chipotle ketchup sauce. The Cricket Burger (90-115kr) is cream cheese, jalapeños, and scallions. Theres nothing more and nothing less, definitely keeping it simple. The burgers are thick and juicy, with toasted buns and lots of sauce. Biting in we realize both burgers come medium-rare without us even asking, we're already happy. The caramelized onions were sweet but could have used a little more texture and the chipotle ketchup sauce was unfortunately a little bland. While we enjoyed the powerful spice on the Cricket Burger, we felt the jalapeños were just thrown on at the very end. Delicious and small, but satisfying! Taste? 5/5.
What we missed? The Milkshakes (50kr), available with local ice cream and sometimes liquor. We kinda kicked ourselves for not ordering one but it seems like one of the more popular items on the menu. And the dips? While tasty we felt the sauces were a little bland and missing key flavor.
Overall Casual Street Food has a good thing going. They're bringing tasty, simple burgers in a casual, hip setting in the trendy area of Malmö. I definitely recommend you come here if you're in the mood for something simple. But come early or be prepared for a good wait. Remember, keep it simple, stupid.
Casual Street Food is located on Spångatan 32 in Malmö
Prices: 50-115 kr per dish (6-12 euro)
Casual Street Food in Malmö understood the plight for a good, simple, burger. Walking in is walking into a friend of a friends home, there's indie music playing, cool furniture, and you're wondering if you're hip enough to be there. The good thing is, you are - the staff is helpful, knowledgeable about the food, and a smile does go a long way. Besides, everyone else is so busy eating and taking photos of their meal, they don't notice you at all. Atmosphere, definitely casual. 4/5.
The menu is simple, burgers, fish taco, or lambdog (hotdog). There's fries, pickled items, or a slice of pie. To drink? All the usual suspects are there plus gluten-free beer! To top it off, the like to let you know all their meat is from local farms, their buns are locally made, their coffee is locally roasted, and the fries are made in house every day. Hipster-sustainable-trendy points? 5/5.
We order at the bar and the girl who takes our order says "Find a seat & we'll find you". The restaurant is a small room with limited seating inside and a few tables outside protected by awnings (because let's face it - it's always raining in Malmö). We take a high table and our mouths begin to water as we watch juicy burgers reach other guests. After about 15 minutes our order comes. Not a very long wait right? Definitely not "street food fast" but not long. 4/5.
Our full side order of Basket of Fries (50kr) & Garlic Fries (50kr) come first. The potatoes are local, pre-boiled, and fried until they're crispy and golden. There's nothing especially good or especially bad about the fries, they're pretty simple. Thick and tasteful, our only complaint was that our mouth was way stinky with garlic after. But that's kind of our fault.
The Cheeseburger (90-115kr) comes topped with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, and a chipotle ketchup sauce. The Cricket Burger (90-115kr) is cream cheese, jalapeños, and scallions. Theres nothing more and nothing less, definitely keeping it simple. The burgers are thick and juicy, with toasted buns and lots of sauce. Biting in we realize both burgers come medium-rare without us even asking, we're already happy. The caramelized onions were sweet but could have used a little more texture and the chipotle ketchup sauce was unfortunately a little bland. While we enjoyed the powerful spice on the Cricket Burger, we felt the jalapeños were just thrown on at the very end. Delicious and small, but satisfying! Taste? 5/5.
What we missed? The Milkshakes (50kr), available with local ice cream and sometimes liquor. We kinda kicked ourselves for not ordering one but it seems like one of the more popular items on the menu. And the dips? While tasty we felt the sauces were a little bland and missing key flavor.
Overall Casual Street Food has a good thing going. They're bringing tasty, simple burgers in a casual, hip setting in the trendy area of Malmö. I definitely recommend you come here if you're in the mood for something simple. But come early or be prepared for a good wait. Remember, keep it simple, stupid.
Casual Street Food is located on Spångatan 32 in Malmö
Prices: 50-115 kr per dish (6-12 euro)