By: Bella McDonald By: Bella McDonald | July 12, 2022 | Food & Drink, Community,
Hamburger Hut has reopened in Encinitas, bringing San Diego’s popular burger and beer restaurant back to life, now complete with a new tiki theme and full bar. Enjoy the dining spot’s classic SoCal bites, swim club-inspired atmosphere, laid-back party games, and occasional live music from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekdays and 11:00 a.m. to midnight on weekends.
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The new location marks San Diego Hamburger Hut’s return to North County. Encinitas-based restaurant group Leucadia Co., known for Valentina, Moto Deli, and Corner Pizza, relaunched Hamburger Hut earlier this summer after several months of absence.
Executive chef Alex Carballo crafts the restaurant’s well-known smash burgers and cheeseburgers, still 100% grass-fed, with the choice of a single, double, or triple flattop charred beef patty. Placed on a King’s Hawaiian roll, the burgers are topped with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pickles, and doused in chef Carballo’s house-made thousand island dressing. On the side, try Hamburger Hut’s funky twist on carne asada fries, renamed Jabba Fries.
For a vegetarian-friendly option, try the Hut Salad, made with spinach and arugula mix, spiral cut beets, manchego, puffed quinoa, dates, Great Northern beans, and topped with champagne vinaigrette.
Enjoy the sunny weather with frozen cocktails, like the Hurricane or the Negroni Slushie, or direct cocktails, like the Neptune Sunset, made with rye whiskey, rhubarb honey, braulio, and grapefruit oil. For a tropical twist, try the Space Monkey, mixed with overproof Jamaican rum, banana, lemon, oat milk, and nutmeg.
Teaming up with partner Jimmy Moldonado and sommelier Ricardo Zarate Jr., founder Mario Guerra has redesigned the space, still capturing the laid-back swim club vibe while adding mid-century modern furniture, turquoise trim, bamboo paneling, stylish tropical wallpaper, and tropical plants. The most prominent feature, the classic red and white burger branding, holds true to the restaurant’s namesake.
Encinitas’s Hamburger Hut is not just a casual dining spot, it also serves as a community hub. The restaurant’s mantra, “Take a seat on the patio and relax… hospitality is our game,” according to their website, can be seen in the many additional amenities, like ping pong tables, firepits, live music, the family-friendly patio, and more that Hamburger Hut provides free of charge.
Visit Hamburger Hut at 576 N. Coast Hwy 101 Encinitas, CA 92024.
For more information about Hamburger Hut, visit www.thehamburgerhut.com. For more information about Leucadia Co.’s other restaurants, visit www.theleucadiaco.com.
Photography by: Kimberly Motos / Hamburger Hut