Port Hope Visitor Guide 2019

port hope feature
Olympus Burger
55 Mill St. S.,
olympusburger.ca
George Kallonakis
Have you eaten the best burger in Canada? A truly
epic burger, named after the Greek gods of Mount
Olympus, that will delight your taste buds and satisfy
your cravings. Because does it get any better than the
Hades (shown here!) with a fresh beef patty topped
with roasted red peppers, jalapeños, house-made
chipotle sauce, lettuce and tomato on a perfectly
toasted bun.
Zeus and his gang are well-represented and
appreciated by fans of the Port Hope gourmet burger
restaurant, Olympus Burger, where all the magic on
the grill happens. “Burgers are the ultimate comfort
food. They’ve always been a passion of mine,” says
restaurant creator George Kallonakis who studied
(and loved) Greek mythology as a kid growing up
in Greece.
He opened Olympus Burger with its signature
thunderbolt logo over five years ago alongside
his dad and head cook, Emmanuel, and his mom
Georgina. It’s a proud family business that takes crazy
long hours and entrepreneurial drive.
Not to mention standout fresh local food that’s
brought national attention—and regulars who bring
visitors from Arizona and overseas. Olympus Burger
was recently voted one of the top 10 burgers in
Canada by Big 7 Travel. It was featured on the Food
Network show You Gotta Eat Here in September 2016
and voted the best burger in the country in 2017 by
Canadian Living magazine.
The crowd favourite is still the Zeus, with peameal
bacon and caramelized onions (and more). And
the most popular on the secret menu online is the
Morpheus with an unforgettable combo of crispy
bacon and peanut butter. He’s the demigod of
dreams, so the burger is addictive with “flavours you
dream about,” George says. He’s also got delicious
vegetarian and gluten-free options—and the
forward-thinking to make his burgers better for the
environment.
George was snorkelling last year in Belize when he
saw a baby nurse shark spit out a piece of plastic.
“That triggered a few things and made me think
about how much plastic is polluting the world. I
knew I had to take action.” He introduced paper
straws and paper takeout containers, biodegradable
cups and cutlery made from sustainable bamboo.
Then in April 2018, Olympus Burger became the first
restaurant in Canada to be Carbonzero-certified.
The annual emissions from the ovens, deep-fryers
and operations are offset by his support of a forest
management on the Niagara Escarpment.
So your best burger experience is clean and green.
“The feedback has been positive and it’s great to
shift toward the bigger picture and think about the
future for our kids,” George says. The gods of Mount
Olympus must be smiling!
14 | 2019 Port Hope visitor Guide | Advertisement