Teddy’s Bigger Burgers

When Ted Tsakiris and Rich Stula grew frustrated with the quality of food in fast service restaurants, they decided to open their own! Founded as a single unit at the base of Diamond Head in 1998, Teddy’s Bigger Burgers has since become a Hawaiian food institution, with multiple locations across the islands as well as restaurants on the US mainland and in Japan.

But whilst the company may have grown, the technology may have changed (an app-based loyalty scheme ‘Teddy’s Big Rewards’ is now available) and the menu expanded to include plenty of options beyond the burger, the mission remains the same: simple, quality food from local ingredients, always made fresh to order, cooked to your liking, served with a smile and a healthy dose of Aloha!

All the burgers here are made using the finest double-ground steak seasoned with the house’s signature seven-spice blend, topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and a dollop or two of Teddy’s sweet and tangy special sauce! There’s a choice of ‘Big’ - five ounce - and ‘Bigger’ - seven ounce patties - and you can opt for a single or double stack depending on how hungry you are (that’s a full pound of meat for those with a large enough appetite!)

Speciality burger options vary between locations but almost always include the ever-popular Kaneohe Burger (garlic seasoning, cheddar cheese, crispy bacon and half an avocado!), the somewhat messy but worth it Kailua Burger (teriyaki sauce, Swiss cheese, mushrooms and grilled onions), and the seriously spicy Volcano Burger stacked with jalapeños, Pepper Jack cheese and Kileuea Fire BBQ sauce. There’s also a four patty food challenge named for one of Hawai’i’s most famous landmarks, ‘The Aloha Tower’!

But if burgers aren’t your thing, Teddy’s extensive menu offers something for everyone. There are plenty of veggie options from the house salad to the Beyond Burger (vegan patty so good you’ll swear it’s meat!), and a full range of chicken tenders, fries and sides to complement the main event. (Unami fries - crispy, skin-on fries coated with garlic butter, drizzled with sriracha and topped with furikake - are a personal favorite of ours!)

And as if that’s not enough to have you rushing to find your nearest Teddy’s, the popular chain is almost as famous for its shakes as for its burgers! Not surprisingly, they do things the old school way here with hand-scooped shakes in a wide variety of flavours, all made using locally-produced Dave’s Ice Cream. Options range from the classics (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, Nutella) to the unusual (root beer!) and the island-inspired (pineapple, Haupia - that’s traditional Hawaiian coconut pudding - and Kona coffee from the Big Island).

No two Teddy’s restaurants are identical but they invariably offer a casual, no-frills dining area and a friendly vibe, often with outdoor seating, sometimes with American sports showing on the big screen and a bar area for those who prefer a beer or a Mai Tai with their burgers. Just as popular with locals as it is with tourists, Teddy’s quarter-century reign as Hawai’i’s favorite burger shows no signs of coming to an end…