WAY COOL & FUNKY

 Trying to define Stacked turns into an exceptional gourmet journey !

Let’s get something straight. Stacked is unique. You’ll try, but you just can’t label it. The sign outside says ‘Stacked Burger’ but a disc in a bun is not where it’s at. It shows sport on TV but a ‘sports pub’ it isn’t. It sells hipster micro-brews, but that’s just a part of it. It’s wonderfully comfy, with just a touch of the rustic, but it’s not a lounge either, although it’s got one. The only way to work out quite what Stacked is, is to go there and do it for yourself.

At the heart of it all are the burgers. But not as we know them. To hang such a trite title on these gourmet happenings is like comparing lunch at The Ritz with a frozen TV dinner. These burgers are the real thing – the pinnacle of the American way of life, where the ‘burger’ has taken on a life force all of its own.

All the beef at Stacked arrives as huge slabs of chilled premium imported meat – New Zealand pasture-fed; Australian Wagyu; grain-fed prime Aussie beef – there’s not one frozen flat-pack of little round discs to be seen anywhere. And then it’s carved, cut and sectioned into handy hunks, prior to being diced and minced on the spot when needed, freshly made each day, with added savoury herbs and spices. Put all images of fast food out of your head. This is the opposite. It’s . . . food well built.

Stacked caused something of a sensation when it turned up right in the middle of Chaweng, next to OZO Resort on the beach road – bright, lively, modern and inviting, with its big outside lounge and decks looking down onto the road below. When they put this place together they really hit all the right tropical notes, with deeply laid-back seating outside and acres of warm, glowing wood on the inside, hinting faintly at the kind of modernistic tree-house that Crusoe might have built had he been some kind of an exiled king-pin and not a mere castaway.

And the service is similarly superb, evidencing a level of personal attention and awareness that many other places are still struggling to create. Your waiter guides you to your table and returns with a set of menus, glasses of iced-water and cold table-towels. The burger choices alone are extensive, intriguing, fascinating: it’s hard to pick just one. And then there are the scrumptious starters and the to-die-for salads . . . but this is one place where there’s never any dash or rush. And so while your drinks are being put-together, a culinary booster-pack in the form of a bowl of salted popcorn, a jar of playful pickles, and an assortment of breads with herb butter appears – presumably to stave-off the malnourishing pangs of indecision.

There’s an art to excellence. It’s an across-the-board kind of thing that leaves nothing out. And so it comes as no surprise to discover that as the big bright sun starts to fade, the harmony of décor here extends into the subtlety of evening lighting also, painting glows and tints and pools which gently separate the big-screen area from the bar and lounges, seamlessly enhancing the ambience. Stacked is a super place to sit and chill during the day: at night it’s simply sublime.

Dining and wining are the heavenly twins, and the Greeks had gods for them. Thus the range of wines, both classical and New World cheerfully suffice to keep the Ancients happy (and more than a few younger people, too) plus the local beers cost less than you’d expect . . . and some of the one-off cocktails will surely seduce you. But whatever way you swing, you’ll just have to have a go at beers by the name of Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale, Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA, Tuatara Bohemian Pilsner or Rogue Dead Guy Ale. And, whether you’re eating or not, just get yourself perched up on the raised-deck bar with a Dead Guy and watch the street at sunset. (Then brag a Samui selfie on your Facebook page and count the likes!)

Wagyu beef cheeks dripping in demi-glazed gravy. Baja fish tacos. Pan roasted Alaskan salmon. Mashed potatoes spiked with garlic and chives. Italian sausage with slow-roasted cherry tomatoes. Oh! Did somebody say “burgers”?

I’ve deliberately kept away from throwing menu items at you because 200 words of that and you’ll turn the page. Anyway, take a look at the link below; it’s all there. But a picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s what I’ve painted – the feeling the fun, the vibe, the excellence and the 5-star-cool that is Stacked. Now all you gotta do is – just go do it!

Rob De Wet