Winner of the Best Burger in Ireland, 2021 is a high honor, especially when Flipside Burger Bar is competing with every pub in the land, plus many finer restaurants, and has only been open since 2018!
While food awards are great for business and righteous recognition of hard work and passion, Flipside is almost like someone’s vision of a perfect burger AND burger joint. Food and fun, atmosphere and energy — a great meal, especially as a solo traveler in a new city.
Having had burgers from nearly every corner of Ireland, including the North, the award was justified but left out how the atmosphere and energy were as tasteful and fun as the burger and rosemary fries. Just so we have the credentials here: I love In-N-Out burgers in the American West, hate McDonald’s, have a soft spot for Five Guys, and had disdain for the once famous 21 Club burger in NYC … after a great steak, burgers are perhaps my favorite meat meal.
Paul, founder, and owner, tall, broad-shouldered, beaming with a contagious smile, looked like he never touched anything fattening, seated me and hearing my Yank accent, gave me an extra smile of pride when he slipped the placemat-as-menu in front of me. “Angus beef, the best.”
The menu had several options that made me feel like I was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in some hip burger joint. VERY creative menu, give it a look, with several items I had never heard of with mixtures of special sauces and chicken and vegan items…made me regret I’d only had one visit and one stomach.
I went traditional burger. The American Dream, it was called. I’d never heard of rosemary salted french fries before and they were a good counterpoint for the voluptuousness of the burger; big bun, pickles, sauces, cheese, tomato, and lettuce, placed on top of the menu. The chicken and vegan menu also looked great.
How did I find this amazing burger? I was only in Sligo for a few hours, having missed out on the Yeats collection to opt for the city’s tourist office next door — a lucky choice. There I met Sean, a man one could say was larger than life but as we spoke, it became clear his life was larger than most. Our conversation ranged from Irish Celtic history to the joys of Sligo and famous Americans with a connection to the city. Everything was wrapped in a deep, deep pride for Sligo. As he said to me, “When people here go to Heaven, they just shrug and say what’s the big deal? Sligo is that great!”
He directed me to Flipside. Another example of where great conversation can lead to great food.
W.B. Yeats is one of my favorite poets of all time. And I gave him up for Flipside. https://www.flipside.ie/
Flipside burger and rosemary fries; https://www.flipside.ie/menu-1
Outspoken Traveler 
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