BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, Planet Hollywood - Paris, France

I had to eat somewhere at Disney Village during my Paris escapades. The hope was that it would be cheaper, with more variety, similar to Disney Springs over in Florida. However, making any assumption the French parks will come close to Walt Disney World is fundamentally going to lead to disappointment.

Disney Village looked tired. Building exteriors were clearly both aged and outdated and nothing really stood out to me. The shops fell short in delivering anything original, with much better merch available within the parks. Aside from Earl of Sandwich (that place is awesome!), no restaurants greatly lured me in either. For this reason, we opted for Planet Hollywood.

I can imagine when this restaurant first opened, it radiated style and originality. Whilst the concept is still cool, I think, like the rest of the village, it just needs renovation. This statement can be applied to the interior too, which I would describe as a more in-your-face Hard Rock, but lacking the feel of authenticity -- coming across gimmicky instead.


This was my first time at a Planet Hollywood, so I was excited to see the menu. Upon being seated, I was handed something closer to a brochure than a menu, with pages and pages of dishes to choose from. With about eight burgers on the menu, most of which sounded very similar, I decided to go for the staple American classic 'BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger'; a beef patty, hickory smoked bacon, tangy sweet barbecue sauce, cheese and salad in a brioche bun.

It was a long wait -- in just about every aspect of the meal. Granted, it was a Saturday night, but we spent over two hours in the restaurant in the end and actually missed the fireworks in the park as a result. You would think they would be doing everything they can to get you out of there to free up space for more customers, but evidently they were simply too disorganised and perhaps understaffed. Never-the-less, when the burger finally arrived, I was impressed by the appearance; big, bold and very appetising.


This unfortunately was the highlight of the meal and proves appearance is not everything. I had requested a medium rare cook as I was adamant it would be overcooked anyway -- and I was right. It was well done. This does not bother me as much when the waiter does not pose the question in the first place. I realise in many restaurants cooking a burger well done is the norm and I do not have a problem with that. However, if the question is asked and I am served a well done from a medium rare request, you may as well be slapping me in the face. Still, had I sent it back, I would have likely been having my burger for breakfast, so I accepted this disappointment.


There were good layers going on in this burger; perhaps a little overdone on the salad, but otherwise nicely balanced throughout. The bun, whilst not the freshest I have tasted, did its job of holding everything together. The bacon was perhaps the highlight as it is often the ingredient within a burger that there is typically not enough of, especially with American burgers. It is also often too crispy to deliver much flavour. This was not the case here, as the hickory smoked taste shone through and enhanced the overall flavour. The tangy sweet barbecue sauce was also tasty, but lacking in quantity due to the size of the burger.

The patty boasted its origins through 'Elivia Professionnels and Bovendis', claiming it to be 100% fresh French beef, making it 'delicious' and 'succulent'. I did not agree. The size of the patty was spot on, but unfortunately it was dry and simply lacking in flavour. The fact it was cooked well-done certainly did not help it, but I think this meat would have been underwhelming regardless.

Planet Hollywood does nothing outstanding, which is evident with its burgers. This is not to say that I did not enjoy my meal; it was very much run-of-the-mill and uninspired. With an overcooked bland patty and a lack of sauce, this burger had to be salvaged by the tasty bacon and cheese. Give it a go, but do not expect to be blown away... by anything.

Patty Master Musings:

  • Our photograph was taken whilst we were waiting. I am not sure why I would want to pay £15 for a picture of myself sitting at a table. I couldn't muster £15 for my picture on the Buzz Lightyear ride, so you have zero chance Planet Hollywood!
  • Stick to Earl of Sandwich if you want a quick meal or lunch. If only this was a sandwich blog...
  • Did I Dip It? I did towards the end of the burger. As much as I tried to convince myself that it was just to get through the remaining ketchup on my plate, I know I needed it.

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