Kendall's New Burger Spot Brings Burgers Back to Basics

No gold flakes. No lobster. Maybe some guava sauce.

Photo courtesy Lala’s Kendall

Once upon a time, a burger spot was a place you went to get…burgers. You met up with your friends from third period AP History, spent a little longer than you should have in the car, devoured burgers the size of your head, and got change back when you paid with a 10. Somewhere along the line, burger joints decided they needed to look more like a Restoration Hardware with milkshakes, and started topping burgers with gold. Gold. Like your burger was a Dubai hotel room.

But I’m happy to report the stripped-down, lunch-after-little-league burger joint is proudly back, in the only place a stripped-down burger joint belongs in Miami anymore: West Kendall. Lala’s Burgers – once a popup inside Apocalypse BBQ – opened its doors last week, with a menu of creative, approachable smash burgers topped with crazy things like “sauce” and “cheese.” And while the meat is high quality and a meal here is as good as any place endorsed by a tire company, you can still pay with a 20 and get change.

Are these burgers really worth driving to Kendall?

Front row tickets to a raised-from-the-dead Michael Jackson wouldn’t be worth driving to Kendall in rush hour. So no. But, if you happen to live on a SW street with triple digits, or find yourself in the area, Lala’s Burgers is an absolute must. It’s a throwback to the unpretentious burger joints that Miami had before it became a “foodie” city, but still gets creative enough that you don’t say, “We coulda just done this at BK.

The space: Is a simple strip mall spot with a wraparound counter and a handful of tables and folding chairs. Walls are decorated in aluminum siding, colorful art, and albums cover from the ‘80s – the budget here went to burgers, not buildout. You won’t find many people taking pictures of their food, or livestreaming their lunch. You’ll find families, dudes stopping in for a burger at the bar, and old Cuban men complaining loudly about “that Latin music” at the Super Bowl. The staff already seems to know most of the guests, and treat you with a kind of small-town friendliness you don’t see east of the Palmetto.

Photo courtesy Lala’s Kendall

What to eat/drink: The burgers, duh. The chef here is the same as Apocalypse BBQ’s, so you’ll find Cuban twists on the classic burger like the Timba with cream cheese, bacon, guava sauce, and potato sticks. The most impressive (aka Instagrammable) is the Maxwell, topped with hot honey, queso fresco, chopped pepperoni, and American. But the low key stars of the show are Lala’s hot dogs, made in-house with high-quality beef (not by-products) and fresh seasoning. They’re expressed best in the Classic, but if you’re feeling frisky go for the bacon-wrapped Danger Dog with onion tanglers and hot relish.

Perfect for: Affordable family dinner; after-school lunch when you want something better than the drive-thru.

Expect to pay: About $20 a person, though the classic burgers and dogs are only $10.

Pro tip: Go for the specialty burgers. I’m a burger purist, and always get the plain burger with LTO to see how a place does it. Don’t do that here – the meat is high quality but pretty plain (and greasy), meant to be more of a canvas than a main attraction. The point of the place is to experience the creativity, so look further down the menu.

How’s the parking: Good, this is a Kendall strip mall after all. But coming here from the east is tricky, and you’ll need to make a U-turn on Kendall drive then pay close attention to the driveways or you might end up driving around the block a few times. Not that that happened to me.

@lalasbrgrs // 13750 SW 88^th St., Kendall