We kick off our burger world tour in Stockholm. We had originally planned on visiting the Texas Longhorn steakhouse after hearing so many great things about their burgers; however, we arrived there only to be told at they only serve burgers on the lunch menu. It was 5pm and it was our last night in Sweden, so we tried to find an alternative to review. Several people told us about Max – Sweden’s answer to McDonalds/Burger King. While they still have McDonalds and Burger King there, you won’t find Max outside of Sweden and Norway and family and friends there described it as ‘a better version of the fast food burgers you’d find in the UK’. We don’t normally review fast food, but after hearing about Max from several people, we decided to give it a shot.
Described as the most profitable restaurant chain in Sweden and offering up the best burgers in the country, Max was founded by Curt Bergfors and his girlfriend Britta Andersson in 1968. Fast forward to 2012 and they now have over 86 restaurants all over Sweden and a turnover of 150 million Euro.
So, how was our experience?
We opted for the Grand Steak Deluxe, described on the menu as a premium steak patty topped with BBQ sauce, mayo, cheese and salad. The first thing I noticed was that the burger was pretty big – much bigger than a Big Mac, Whopper or anything else we’d get from McDonalds or Burger King on our shores. It was also dripping with cheese and BBQ sauce and got pretty messy very quickly.
But how did it taste?
For a fast food burger, it was pretty good – juicy, messy and very filling. It was described as a steak patty, but to be honest, the actual patty itself, despite being juicy, tasted no different than what I’ve had from other fast food chains. The Max secret recipe mayo was delicious and by the time I’d finished the burger, I was wishing that I had more to dip the fries in.
We also bought a side of Max’ special hot cheesy bacon fries and to be honest, I enjoyed them more than the burger itself. They were as you’d expect – fries covered in cheese, bacon, mayo, onion and jalapeno peppers. I’m surprised that places like McDonalds and Burger King aren’t offering these in the UK and US, as people would no doubt go crazy for them.
Overall, I enjoyed Max for what it was – a decent fast food burger that was slightly better than what we’re used to in the UK. The patty didn’t taste like steak whatsoever, but it was big, juicy and great value for money. The hot cheese and bacon fries were outstanding and all kinds of wrong though. Delicious!
Price: 65 Kroner (£6)
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Website: www.max.se
James vs. Burger 
After visiting New York and eating many burgers there, my husband has become spoiled and complains about every burger he eats here in Sweden. Whenever we go to a new restaurant he orders a burger just to see and compare, but is never satisfied and insists that Sweden can’t make a decent burger, always squishing the juice out of it. I’ll have to ask what he thinks of the Max Burgers!