A Talk With Side Street on Their Juicy Burger Cup 2024 Win

Katie Coy, Managing Editor | Jun 18, 2024 4:59 pm | Add a comment | 129 reads

Last Thursday (Jun 13), Side Street was crowned the 2024 Juicy Burger Cup Champion, their second time winning this illustrious title, having also won the crown back in 2020. After the win, we talked with Side Street manager Saurabh to find out more about their path to victory and what the win means to him.

Firstly, congratulations! How does it feel to win the Juicy Burger Cup this year?
Thank you, it feels great. Our manager Daulet, our Chef Awei, and all the front and back staff have been working really hard to make us the best burger place in Beijing so it feels amazing to see all our hard work paid off, it was about time. I hope more people get to know Side Street through this win and get to try our amazing burgers.

How does it compare to when you won back in 2020?
In 2020, during Covid, it was a tough time and our goal was to just sprinkle some excitement and happiness in every Beijinger's life. This time, with more exposure and four years of growth, things are different. Winning now offers new opportunities and participating in the Juicy Burger Fest this year, with Covid behind us, feels different. People are back, including newcomers to Beijing. It's our chance to showcase our burgers and let everyone know that we have something for every taste.

How do you think Side Street has changed since your last win?
Quality has always been our focus, which has driven our success. Since our last win at the Juicy Burger Cup, we've expanded our menu to cater to diverse tastes. We understand that not everyone likes the same flavors — some prefer salty, some sweet, or others spicy. Our goal is to offer something for everyone.

We engage actively with both the local Chinese and expat communities, hosting numerous events. Our chefs make everything fresh daily, including our handmade patties. We uphold the highest standards of food freshness and kitchen cleanliness.

Our staff are dedicated and skilled, ensuring every customer has a great experience. We strive to provide a variety of options so everyone, including those who don't often eat burgers, can have a memorable dining experience.

As you’ve said, you have a whole variety of different burgers on your menu, which is your personal favorite?
My current favorite is the Squatter, mainly for its balanced flavors. It has sweet barbecue sauce, spicy jalapenos, and crispy onions, making it crunchy, spicy, and sweet all at the same time. Also, as a small eater, I find its single patty just right. Another top choice is the Country Roads, which is severely underrated. Most people opt for beef or chicken, overlooking this vegetarian gem. And for most of the staff here, I realize they'd just love a K.O. at any given time of the day.

For the Juicy Burger Fest you created a new exclusive burger, the Hanoi Heat. Where did the inspiration for this burger come from?
Well, it's that time of year when people crave summer fruits like pineapples and watermelons. Pineapple, in particular, is a great addition to burgers, despite mixed opinions. We wanted a burger that screams summer and that's how our pineapple burger came to be. To make it unique, our own Beijing famous Chef Michael [formerly the chef at the now closed Four Corners], with his experience in Vietnamese cuisine, put it all together. After several trials, we perfected it, creating an ideal summer burger.

Is there any chance you would consider adding it to your permanent menu?
Yes! We are adding it to our permanent menu this week. It’s going to be our "burger of the week." For those not in the know, our burger of the week deal is where each week we pick a burger that sold really well the week before and then sell it at a discounted price for a week. We decided to make the Hanoi Heat the burger of the week for its launch because we want as many people to try it as possible and get over the stigma that pineapple doesn’t taste good on a burger. So from Tuesday [today, Jun 18] to Sunday [Jun 23] it’s going to be only RMB 65 instead of RMB 88.

Last question, aside from the burgers at Side Street, what's your favorite burger spot in Beijing?
Home Plate.

Wow, that was a fast answer! Why Home Plate?

Home Plate do these pulled pork burgers and brisket burgers that I just love and are hard to find at a lot of other places in Beijing. My other favorite burger spot is Slider Nation, run by my friend Henry. Those are some sliders definitely worth trying

However, I would definitely like to try Dosh. I’ve never had their burgers but I just want to give them a shout-out for doing so well. It just gives other small places, who are working as hard, hope and a fair chance to get out there and show their work.

Dosh's Stout and Smoked Cheese Burger was a big hit at the Juicy Burger Fest

Last week we also did a rundown of the Top 16 Burgers from this year's Juicy Burger Cup. Below you can see a complete rundown of the top 100.

1. Side Street 街旁
2. DOSH GASTROPUB 到时精酿餐吧
3. SLOWBOAT 悠航
4. Wild Kite Brewing 野风筝
5. Q MEX 库迈
6. Burge's Bistro & Bar 小伯格酒馆
7. Great Leap Brewing 大跃啤酒
8. Jing-A 京A
9. Home Plate BBQ
10. Beersmith Gastropub 鲜啤吧
11. Slider Nation 小堡邦
12. Shake Shack
13. blue frog 蓝蛙
14. Goose Island Taproom 鹅岛精酿啤酒餐厅
15. Circle Urban 圆场
16. Ye Brewing 野鹅微醺
17. Wolfgang's Steakhouse by Wolfgang Zwiener 沃夫冈牛排馆
18. CAMP4 岩肆
19. SOLDOUT
20. Overtone Taproom 弦外之音
21. Benlo's Burger 本楼汉堡
22. He Burger He Burger手工汉堡
23. Tough Tongue 硬舌酒肉
24. Rich Burger 发财汉堡
25. Arrow Factory 箭厂啤酒
26. BA Burger 棒啊汉堡
27. FATBURGER 特富客汉堡
28. MEAT by Ernest 吃肉餐厅
29. The Cheesecake Factory 芝乐坊
30. Take A Bite TAB汉堡
31. Whynot 歪脑呆
32. COMMUNE RESERVE COMMUNE RESERVE 幻师臻选
33. Nashville 乡谣音乐餐吧
34. FUNYOUNG 放羊精酿餐吧
35. Plan B
36. NBeer Pub 牛啤堂
37. Tastiens Chinese Burger 塔斯汀中国汉堡
38. COMMUNE•X COMMUNE•X幻师主题店（北京太古里）
39. The Great Outdoor 野友趣精酿餐吧
40. TRIPLE B 3B
41. TIGERS 老虎西餐
42. Famous 肥猫墨西哥餐吧
43. LARRY THE BIRD
44. TSINGTAO1903 Taproom 青岛1903 酒馆
45. Lily’s American Diner 莉莉斯美式西餐厅
46. Messy Burger 汉堡探索中心
47. LA PLATEA 兰蒂地中海餐吧
48. Paddy O'Shea's 爱尔兰酒吧
49. Mustard Canteen Bistro 弥芥小食院Bistro
50. CARBON CARBON汽水
51. BreefAnd… 美式精酿餐吧
52. Burning Wood BBQ 灼木熏房
53. Q Bistro Q Bistro墨西哥餐厅
54. Deli NYC 纽约三明治
55. Malbec & Beef 阿根廷牛排馆
56. Cow Hamburger 大牛汉堡
57. Notos 楠风炭火牛排&南法菜
58. House of Hamburger HOH 汉堡屋
59. HUNGER DOG 饿狗
60. Colorful Life Brewing 彩时精酿
61. BUR BAR 犇儿堡汉堡精酿
62. B-TURF EATING HOUSE 必特福汉堡包
63. Samies Samies.澳洲汉堡炸鱼
64. KFC 肯德基
65. SUSU 苏苏
66. The Local
67. The Cowfish 萌萌牛鱼融合餐厅
68. Hammy Burger
69. Spacelab 失重餐厅
70. STAGE ONE
71. PUNK BURGER 朋克汉堡
72. The Rug Café
73. LIONK 狮王
74. APOLLO 阿波罗餐厅
75. LUSH
76. THE ROOTS 欧伴
77. Let's BURGER plus 非常创意汉堡
78. Paulaner Bräuhaus - Kempinski Hotel Beijing Yansha Center 北京燕莎中心凯宾斯基饭店 - 普拉那啤坊
79. Ibarrel bistro and brunch 爱杯
80. Park Side 园景
81. Panorama 葩诺
82. Kitty & Daniel Hollywood Grill & Bar 大牛好莱坞餐吧
83. Peking Yard 北平花园
84. Mel's Restaurant&Bar Mel's Restaurant&Bar
85. WasPark
86. Nord grill&bar 诺德西餐
87. Peach
88. VINN 维恩餐吧
89. Wiggly Jiggly‘s 欧也
90. Red Eye Bono REB红眼波诺西餐厅
91. Vinup Brunch & Bistro 薇葡
92. T-FOUR
93. Shang Brew 香啤坊
94. RidgeMate RidgeMate 咖啡西餐精酿
95. ye lounge 野路子
96. MORROW 墨佬墨西哥餐厅
97. Bistro 108 巴黎餐吧
98. Grandma's Kitchen 祖母的厨房美式西餐厅
99. Burp 堡嗝儿
100. Market Cafe, Hyatt Regency Beijing Wangjing 咖啡厅•北京望京凯悦酒店