Loona Rossa (closed): 3.9/5

Cheeseburger
Score: 3.5, $5.25

Mushroom Burger
Score: 4.3, $5.45

Bacon Hamburger
Score: 4.1, $5.45

Bacon Mushroom Double Cheeseburger
Score: 3.8, $7.70

Loona Rossa is nestled on the banks of the Red looking just like a romantic prelude to Frank Sinatra's Blushing Moon - a loose translation of Loona Rossa. There’s no flashy façade and it’s easy to miss the little restaurant nestled up against Guay Park behind all the shrubs and trees. The interior mirrors the exterior – cozy with memorabilia and brimming with a jungle of plants.

The restaurant at 460 St.Mary's Road has been in the family for 30 years. The day we visited for lunch dad Dimitrios was cooking and daughters Nia and Tina were serving. The small restaurant filled up quickly with regulars that included retired people and police officers – both indicators of good and reasonably priced food.

Loona Rossa is best known for their gigantic pizza and liver and onions – but we were there for the burgers. The menu offers eleven different permutations and combinations ranging from a $4.75 Hamburger to the massive $7.70 Bacon Mushroom Double Cheeseburger. At lunch you can have the burgers by themselves; for supper they're served as a platter.

Two tables of four were pushed together, and with an adjacent booth, the twelve of us could sit as a group. Waters, cutlery and menus were waiting for us and Nia was quick to take our orders. We only had a few minutes to visually explore the kitschy adornments before our meals started coming out of the kitchen. Russ squeezed into the corner booth and exclaimed “People must have been tiny when this place was built … tiny people with HUGE mouths!” Les observed “The flower in the window is très belle! The tree in mid-restaurant is impressive.”

I was in awe when Nia set down my Bacon Mushroom Double Cheeseburger . Much like the cliffs of Greece, the stack face seemed to have eroded back showing me all the layers of fresh fried mushrooms, grilled onions, curly bacon and two very well crusted beef patties. The American cheese was still skinning over and the assembly was topped with a sesame seed egg bun speared with a frilly cocktail stick. Thick slabs of red tomato, plenty of shredded iceberg lettuce and standard toppings of Thousand Island, mayo, mustard and relish peeked out from between the strata. It was messy!

Other burgers delivered on large plates were equally impressive. One of the first things you noticed was the little break wall of sweet pickles arranged in front of the sandwich. A number of our group were so moved they took a “pickle shot”. The Greek salad side was equally massive and dwarfed the already large burger. Golden fries filled the plate. Stan wrote “Loved the burger; very nice patty and bun. The fried onions were perfect. The side of coleslaw was also excellent and generous.”

Much as we've come to expect from Greek restaurants like Olympia Diner and Tuxedo Village, the burger was very mildly seasoned without much distinctive flavouring or spice. It’s comfort food and won't offend any palates. Loona Rossa prepared a diner style patty that was well cooked, seared and crusted on a hot grill versus a thicker home-style baked patty.

If there was any criticism about the sandwich, it was that the bun was a little large. I had the double and the burger:bun ratio was right, but single patty variations were a bit bun heavy. Karen noted “Loona's burger seemed to be all about the toppings which were plentiful and very tasty. The burger patty was a bit small for the bun but it had a nice crust on it. Plenty of bacon cooked to perfection. I tasted pepper as a seasoning which was nice.”

Stephanie dug into the fries and wrote “Homemade fries were superb!” Karen scribbled “the Greek salad as a side was generous with tons of feta and green olives.” She ate half of it, took the rest home and we shared it for supper. Russ echoed “awesome Greek salad.” Russ also took salad home.

Nia and I had a moment to talk burger restaurants and she commented that every place has its own aura. Certainly for the many locally owned restaurants we've visited that’s true - I think the most chains can hope to imbue is a unique “décor.” Loona Rossa definitely had a distinct quality – I liked it!