One of the most recent smash burgerspots in the city is Ugly, which uses a special ingredient in its cooking that really makes a difference when compared to all the competition, of which there is already more than enough in Lisbon.
Ugly is a name that really lives up to the crushed and pressed appearance of these burgers. But the taste is “beautiful”, delicious, appetizing and all the other adjectives you can think of to describe the pleasure of eating a smash burger.
This place is on one of Lisbon’s busiest streets for services and tourism, Calçada do Marquês de Abrantes, between the Santos neighborhood and Rua da Boavista, one of the city’s most gastronomic streets, where it always smells good.
The Secret Lisbon experience
Ugly’s very minimalist space is small in size but big in personality. It opened its huge front door to us with a very interesting proposal, three in fact, one of which stands out from the rest of the competition.
Right at the entrance, the ambience reflects the “eat and go” concept : the service counter, which also serves as a table, takes up a large part of the room, while a long table run along the walls, accompanied by high chairs, invites you to have a quick meal.
Forget decorative flourishes and spacious tables. Here, the focus is on the food.
At Ugly there are three offers: the Classic (€9.90), the Bacon (€10.90) and the Ugly (€10.90), all of which can be made into a Combo (with fries and drink) for an extra €4.
The smash burger that gives the place its name was the one that surprised us the most. And herein lies the difference with what we’ve had elsewhere: the meat is pressed directly with onion, which gives it a sweet aroma and notes of caramelization that elevate every bite.
This smash burger also comes with American cheese and the house sauce, which divided our opinions: it’s not the star of the show, but it fits in well, without taking the lead from the meat.
The Classic, on the other hand, although more predictable, surprises with the extra crunchy texture of the meat that goes beyond the edges of the bread, a detail we noticed in our experience: either the bread is smaller, or the patties are generously larger. The second hypothesis seems the most correct to us.
We’re fans of good side dishes and no, not all fries are the same. For example, the ones we had at SmashVille are in our top of the best. As for the ones served at this Ugly, there are no surprises: they’re just “plain”, both the normal ones and the Spicy ones, which add a little spice, but nothing that steals more than three seconds of our attention.
You don’t leave Ugly without a sweet souvenir, and here the partnership with the salami brand O Lisboeta is another plus point for this house, with the offer of two sweets: Milk Chocolate and Salted Caramel, at €2.50 each.
Is it worth going to Santos to visit Ugly?! Absolutely, especially if you’re looking for a really different smash burger, with unique flavors that only the combination of meat and onion, pressed together, can offer.
And even if the fries didn’t leave us longing, a visit to the sweets is a must.
Address: Calçada do Marquês de Abrantes 9A (Santos)
Opening hours: every day from 12pm to 11pm
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