Black Tap: This is the flavor of the cult burger in Switzerland

“When we serve our Crazy Shakes, parents clap their hands over their heads and children cheer,” says Lorenz Hagenbüchle, Black Tap franchisee in Switzerland. The reaction is not surprising.

Crazy Shakes are huge and come with almost every side dish a candy lover could want. Cooking bits, cotton candy, rainbow sprinkles, brownies or chocolate sauce, and of course lots of ice cream and whipped cream – crazy smoothies aren’t really modest.

It is estimated that 1,600 calories are in a Crazy Shake, cost: 19 francs. “But it’s also so big that it easily feeds four people,” says Lorenz Hagenbüchle, head of Black Tap Switzerland. When it comes to calories and sugar, mega smoothies aren’t quite up to date. But in a relationship they are unbeatable: they are almost certain to take your Insta-Likes to heights similar to your blood sugar level.

On the advice of the chef, we order The Texan (Fr. 27.–), the classic of the black spine with a pie of 200 grams of Swiss meat that is prepared every day in the restaurant in Zurich. The burger is topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, a large fried onion ring, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise. There are also pickles and lettuce.

Another burger on the menu has a prestigious title. The Little Italy Burger (Fr. 28.–) with provolone, Parma ham, parmesan, chilli and garlic has just been voted the best burger in New York City.

Atypical for Switzerland, the Black Tap requires the level of doneness. We order a medium and we get the burger this way, well done. In terms of taste, it’s a stunner: juicy, strong in taste, the meat has a smoky, intense flavor, the roll is fluffy and looks like it came out of the oven.

With the quantities sold in the Black Tap, we were expecting a shallow industrial goût – it was surprising that everything tastes fresh and almost homemade.

We advise against our decision to order the chilli cheese fries (Fr. 12.–) as a side dish. Not because they are bad, on the contrary. Other than the burger, the portion is just too big. The same goes for the Crispy Cauliflower, fried cauliflower with Korean barbecue sauce and spring onions (Fr. 12.–), a super intense dish with a nice heat and acidity. But if you really want to indulge in these vitamins, share them.

French fries or a house salad are included in the burger price and special requests shouldn’t be a problem either. For example, you can order a gluten-free sandwich, a mini pie (130 grams, minus CHF 2.00) or treat yourself to a second pie (200 grams, plus CHF 7.–). Great: all burgers are vegetarians too (the only Swiss restaurant with Impossible Burger) for vegans there is a vegan burger salad (Fr. 26.–) on the menu.

If you didn’t know, you might feel like you’re sitting in a New York City burger shop. Hip hop blasts from the speakers, there are graffiti on the walls and the service is very attentive, good-humored and talkative, as you normally only know from the US.

There are many burger restaurants and the risk of opening “Just Another Burger Shop” is high. But Black Tap goes its own way in terms of taste and serves exceptional high-quality dishes, which are one thing above all: very brave!