Garnished with FIRE!

• The new Flaming Burger at Elevate restaurant upgrades a beloved dish in style

By Uditha Jayasinghe 

Burgers are a staple in most menus because it is hard to get them wrong. The meat, tomato, cheese, bun combination has become a cross cultural icon and has been adapted to so many different palettes that it rightly deserves its universal love. Its very popularity has also made it attractive to creative chefs and restaurants worldwide. 

When Elevate, located atop Access South Tower, was looking for dishes to include in their new menu, a burger was an obvious fit. Being a fine dining restaurant with a causal touch it was then a natural next step to decide that the burger was going to be high-end and taken beyond its typical franchise reputation. The restaurant has in fact ended up taking it several levels above what most of the burgers a diner would typically find in Colombo. 

The patty, which really makes or breaks the burger, is made up of quality beef or lamb imported from Australia, seasoned with a deft touch and topped with a slice of cheddar to temper the richness slightly and give that essential umami, gooey taste. The bun, baked in-house of course, gives the perfect pillowy exterior. The whole thing is then set on fire by pouring cognac and the sauce over the burger. 

“We wanted the diner to experience a bit of theatre and also engage with what we were presenting. That was why we thought of setting the burger on fire,” said Elevate Restaurant and Bar Manager Yemindra Udalagama. 

It certainly delivers on both these points. The burger is brought to the table, along with the cognac, which is set on fire while in the glass and then poured over the burger with the sauce, coating it in a shining mahogany coloured glaze with a flickering, almost translucent blue flame dancing on top as the garnish.  The sauce deserves a special mention as it really delivers on flavour. While basic spices are used to flavour the top quality burger patty, the sauce has more depth and layers of taste to it. It is rich, unctuous and smooth, perfect for dunking the thick cut fries also served at the restaurant and a worthy accompaniment to the burger and coleslaw. 

It is best to apply the burger to face as soon as the flame dies so the sauce has the chance to soak the bun but not make it soggy. It is certainly a potent conversation suspender.

The Flaming Burger at Elevate is unique because it has upgraded the standard burger without taking away from the casual, welcoming, inclusiveness of what a burger essentially symbolises. It delivers on quality, taste and engagement without pretentiousness. 

The Flaming Burger at Elevate is exactly what it promises to be – a beloved comfort food, made with quality and care, and comes loaded with charisma.

Pix by Ruwan Walpola