Burger joint announces second Belfast location due to unprecedented demand, creating 13 new jobs

Bunsen, the Irish burger restaurant known for its minimalistic business card menu, will open its second Belfast restaurant this Friday (October 20).

After enjoying phenomenal success following its 2017 opening in Hill Street, Bunsen stormed the Belfast foodie scene and now its famous burgers will also be available on Botanic Avenue.

Founded 10 years ago in Dublin in 2013, Bunsen pride itself on its minimal menu which hasn’t changed since the first day of business. Bunsen’s formula is super straight forward; hamburgers and cheeseburgers delivered in the form of perfectly sized prime beef patties, especially baked buns, toppings and three types of fries to choose from for customers. The simple concept of high focus hamburgers and cheeseburgers has led to the opening of eleven restaurants throughout the island of Ireland, and even Chat GPT recently decreed it to be the best burger in Ireland! The brand has attracted worldwide praise with Big 7 Travel ranking Bunsen as the 7th Best Burger in Europe in 2019 and 2020. Condé Nast also recently featured Bunsen in its article outlining 15 of the Best Dublin Restaurants for 2023.

Having lived in New York, Bunsen’s founders and Dublin cousins Tom and Finn Gleeson returned home frustrated with the burger offering locally in comparison to the US, and so decided to make their own. Black Aberdeen Angus Beef will be ground in house every day, as it is throughout all Bunsen restaurants, to ensure product quality stays consistent. The burgers are made using three fore-quarter cuts that Bunsen work to their specific ratio to give the signature flavour.

Opening in 78 – 80 Botanic Avenue, Bunsen opens itself up to a different area populated by students and young professionals, due to its proximity to both Queen’s University and Belfast city centre.

Speaking on the opening, co-owner Tom Gleeson, said: “We are delighted to be opening our second restaurant in Belfast this year! The high demand for Bunsen in Belfast is something we never expected, so opening a second restaurant was a no brainer. We can’t wait to welcome our customers, both old and new to our Botanic Avenue restaurant and offer even more of our delicious burgers.”

The restaurant fit out was undertaken by Macron, working with the award-winning LUCA architects and is in keeping with their relaxed and thoughtful ambiance that is not typically associated with a burger joint.

The new restaurant sees the creation of 13 new jobs, which adds to Bunsen’s existing 24 Hill Street staff, and will be the company’s 11th restaurant after opening eight in Dublin, one in Cork and now two in Belfast.