[The scene opens on an open restaurant with a line of booths on one side, tables with white chairs, and an open kitchen complete with ice cream and double-sided bars.  Four clocks sit on the wall bearing the times at different locations with a blank spot reading “Bermuda Triangle”.]

The Royale Magnificent Burgers is one of Plano’s newest burger joints from John Tesar, the Apheleia Restaurant Group, and Plan B Group with a decidedly literal Wes Anderson theme.  The basics: amazing burgers, badass adult milkshakes, and a full bar offering cocktails.

First and foremost … get your ass to The Royale and order yourself an adult milkshake.  We went for the Salted Caramel Shake with Nasau Royale Liqueur and it was ah-mazing.  There was just the right amount of alcohol to give it a kick without being a day-ruiner.  (You know … too much sugar and a bad proportion of booze to milk so you get the sugar rush and a bit of a buzz just to lose the buzz and hit the sugar slump?  Awful.)  The icing on the cake … err … the whipped cream on the milkshake was a slice of marshmallow, light whipped cream, something delightful covered in chocolate, and caramel, and, of course, a pinch of course salt.

The food at The Royale was delightful.  We couldn’t miss The Onion Ring Elevation after seeing it on a neighbor’s table served on the neck of a cast iron giraffe.  (We named him Steve.)  The tempura batter was light and perfectly spiced and the accompanying smoked paprika-chipotle aioli was the perfect pairing.  Also not to be missed: their poutines.  We went for the Lobster Poutine that has large chunks of quality Maine lobster meat atop crisp fries, cheese curds, and gravy.  They were pretty damn delicious once they remembered to add the gravy!

I have to say that I’m not “up” enough on all the Wes Anderson jargon to know why a lot of the names on the menu are funny, but I can appreciate the quality of these patties.  The  Burger Sauvage (a 6oz 80/20 patty with avocado, sprouts, swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms with a side of mushroom aioli), while standard ingredients, kicked other portobello swiss burgers’ asses with the bold addition of sprouts and avocado. We took the manager’s advice about the burger and ordered The Salmon Exhibition–a salmon patty green onion, lemon zest, olive oil,  lettuce, tomato, and kimchi aioli with a side of their house made pickles.  I’ll give him this, while I’d never had a salmon burger, this one was top notch.  (He told us that he’d love almost 30lb since they opened and he eats at least two a week with lettuce instead of a bun.)  Luckily they serve a Daily Slider Ensemble so you don’t have to go through the Sophie’s choice of picking your burger.

And yes … you can get a Royale with Cheese.

Their drink menu was going undergoing a bit of a revamp so I don’t go into too many of their cocktails, but they opted to rename some classics (a Moscow Mule was “The Czar”) and put a bit of an edge on others.  Don’t miss their selection of local beers and wines by the glass, bottle, and ON DRAFT!  I think the real winner in their bar is the physical bar itself.  The double-sided bar offered three or four seats on the internal bar side so you can eat at the bar and still face your friends.  (I’m not sure how they can get away with this with liquor laws, but I’ll celebrate while it’s a thing.)

I have to say that their bathrooms are perhaps some of the neatest I’ve come across … just don’t let the fact that they’re unisex take you by surprise.  (There goes checking your teeth for meal remnant or adjusting your rack in the mirror. ?)  Make sure to visit the facilities to see the faux unicorn heads and Hawaiian-feeling wallpaper!

 

THE ROYALE MAGNIFICENT BURGER
royaleburgers.com
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3310 Dallas Parkway, Suite 121, Plano, TX
972-781-0212