Freshness Burger フレッシュネスバーガー022-399-7130

Website: http://www.freshnessburger.co.jp/

Address: 仙台市太白区長町7-20-5　ララガーデン長町２F.

Located on the 2^nd floor of the LaLa Garden Shopping Mall above the Nagamachi-minami Subway Station.  LaLa Garden is not The Mall, but it does have connecting walkways to The Mall on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors.  There is also a Freshness Burger on the 1^st floor of Sendai JR Train Station, among other locations.


Map:  Click “Location” link below.

Special Half-Price Campaign running now thru March 1, 2012!!!
Well, not exactly half-off your order, but still not a bad deal if you plan to eat here again within the next month or two.  It works like this:  for roughly every 200 円 you spend now you get a 100 円 coupon for your next order.  

This evening, my Classic Burger (480円), large Onion Rings (350 円), and tall Orange Juice (400 円) with tax came to a grand total of 1230 円.  I received seven 100 円 coupons!  And I can use these all at the same time until May 31, 2012.  But, it looks like this offer is only valid at the LaLa Garden location.  If a Freshness Burger near you has the same offer, please let me know.

Classic Burger, Onion Rings, Orange Juice

And now on to the food … it’s pretty good, probably the second best burger in Sendai (Teddy’s Diner has tastier meat in its burger, but I’ll write a post on that later as soon as I get some photos).  But like the name says, it is fresh … mostly.  The Classic Burger has fresh tomato, lettuce, and onion, as well as a quarter-pound (113 grams) Aussie beef patty (more on this below).  Add ketchup, mustard, and other spices from their spice rack to your own liking.  When taking a bite of this big boy, be careful that the dripping grease doesn’t end up on your lap.  

The onion rings are usually great!  On a bad day they’re just okay.  Again, being Japan and all, the large size is probably equivalent to a medium back in your home country (unless your home country is Japan).

My wife likes the fish burger (shouldn’t it be a “fish sandwich?”), the hot dog, and the chai.  I used to order the regular Freshness Burger, which has a special sauce that is tasty, but now I prefer the Classic or Classic WW Burgers.  Their sphere-like doughnuts are also pretty good (actually, I just like the plain one, not the chocolate).

Oh, a couple of items that you don’t see on a McDonald’s menu that you will at Freshness Burger: 7-Up! and Lowenbrau.

The LaLa Garden location is quite spacious and has a separate enclosed smoker’s room.  The Sendai Station location is quite small and cramp, with the smoking seats divided only by an unenclosed glass window.

LaLa Garden in Nagamachi-minami

But I do have a couple of gripes about this place.  This used to be one of the few places where you could buy Pepsi.  Not any newfangled Pepsi concoction, just plain, good old-fashion Pepsi.  But not any more!  They’ve switched to Pepsi Nex.  Also, they used to serve a fantastic hot yuzu drink that really went down well on a cold winter night.  Again, not any more!   And last but not least … the beef.   On my trips back to my hometown I can’t wait to eat at my local In N’ Out Burger where the beef is “fresh, never frozen.”  I think it’s ironic that the restaurant is named Freshness Burger yet their meat patty is frozen.

That being said, I highly recommend Freshness Burger if your jonesing for an American-type burger!