LE Burger, a burger joint filled with superheroes and pop culture, attracts geeks in SP

Upon arriving at the address, a full-size replica of Spider-Man welcomes you. Above him, a smaller version of Superman flies over space, surrounded by dolls of Super Mario, Buzz Lightyear and even an unexpected Louro José, who is trapped in a cage next to Gri-Li, the cricket from “Mulan “.

And look, we’re just at the entrance to LE Burger. The hamburger restaurant has a decoration dedicated to the universe of superheroes and pop culture and has been attracting the geek audience in São Paulo. Passing through the garage with its outdoor tables, one arrives at the hall and the even greater mix of references – which include a Black Panther wearing a scarf from Hogwarts, the school of wizardry from “Harry Potter”, and a replica of Jelly, the gluttonous green monster from “Ghostbusters”.

There are about 300 items related to movies, series, books, comics, anime and video games, which are spread across the three floors of the place in the form of dolls, paintings and posters.

It’s a geek paradise, in the words of Arthur Sauer, chef and hamburger owner. “The idea was to set up a teenager’s dream room,” says he, who opened the restaurant in 2017 alongside a partner, who also owns a toy store called Limited Edition — hence the name LE. Today he runs the space with his brother, Daniel Sauer.

“Everyone wants to have a room with an arcade inside, with toys hanging from it. It’s enough to drive any nerd crazy”, he adds.

Details follow with arcades and video games, plus lightsabers and miniature ships from “Star Wars”, a bust of Iron Man, an armor of Wonder Woman, a replica of the extraterrestrial from the movie “ET” and other superheroes. life-size, like The Flash and Batman. Not to mention the references to “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Power Ranger”, “Sonic”, “Game of Thrones” and “Friday the 13th”.

But we’re in a hamburger shop — not a junk shop. In the gastronomic part, the menu has about 15 options of snacks. For children, the main one is the combo that costs R$35 and includes two meat and cheese burgers, plus waffle-shaped fries and Coca-Cola ketchup — and, as a gift, a superhero keychain.

Among adults, exaggerated hamburgers are popular. One of them is Excelsion (R$45), which has two tall discs of meat, bacon, lettuce, red onion and four cheeses: Catupiry, cheddar, gorgonzola and mozzarella. To accompany, the tip is to order the french fries cut in waffle shape and seasoned with salt and lemon pepper, which costs R$ 14.

The menu also highlights the milkshakes, served in light bulb-shaped cups. One of the flavors, called Elvis, is made with banana, chocolate ice cream and peanut butter (R$25).

Sauer, the owner of the hamburger shop, studied gastronomy in France and worked in restaurants in that country, in addition to having passed through houses in Italy and the United States. In São Paulo, he was part of the team at addresses such as Cantaloup, Le Vin, La Tambouille and Parigi.

But his real passion is collecting objects. The craze arose when he was seven years old and inherited his older brother’s toys. “I still have a lot that I won and bought when I was little,” he says, adding that his private collection currently totals 4,500 items.

Part of the collection went to the hamburger shop, but most are kept at home. “There are toys under the bed, the sofa, inside the closets, in the wardrobe, in my wife’s closet”, she says. One of the earliest acquisitions is a collection of “Commanders in Action” dolls from the 1980s.

Although the objects are part of the decoration, you can buy some items – such as caps, cups and dolls. And references to pop culture from the 1980s and 1990s also appear on the speakers, which play artists like Michael Jackson and the Spice Girls, in addition to music from the movie “Ghostbusters”.

An unpublished part of the owner’s personal collection will soon migrate to another address and become available to the public. A second hamburger shop will open on Rua Augusta, just 350 meters from the main office. The restaurant, which will occupy a ground floor property, will have more seats and a menu with prepared dishes – in addition, of course, to a decor full of superheroes and pop culture characters. The new location is expected to open in mid-March.