Alison Bailey

There’s a place in Westmount that claims to serve eight-inch burgers. Burgers the size of my hand, a small pizza, or a cabbage. Intrigued, I decided to find out if I was up to this gastronomic challenge. I didn’t eat all day and after going for a run, I was ready for whatever freak show burger was about to land on my plate.

Copoli is a quaint little restaurant located at 4458 West Saint Catherine Street. It’s designed like an old-fashioned diner, complete with booths and old school knick-knacks including a large statue of a knight in armour for character and zeal. So far, so good.

When the legendary piece of meat landed in front of me, I was somewhat disappointed. Maybe I went into the restaurant a little cocky, confident that I was going to be able to tackle the 8-inch monstrosity without a problem, but it seems that the fine people at Copoli weren’t so sure of my capabilities. For starters, they cut my burger into quarters. Furthermore, the burgers aren’t as thick as normal ones. They’re manageable, and I’d even go so far as to say I could probably have finished two. If you had put a time limit on me. it might have started to hurt a little

Taking our time and making small talk, it took me 23 minutes to finish my burger and salad, and 18 for my male friend to finish his.

Size aside, the burger was actually lovely. Despite being a little dry, it was well-seasoned, and was accompanied by a Dijon sauce. On a scale from one to 10, I would give it a seven, despite being a little pricey (around $12 per plate).

Although having eight-inch burgers is a good selling point, I walked away only slightly full, like I had just eaten a small grilled cheese. You never have just one grilled cheese.

If you’re skeptical, I challenge anyone who reads this article to engage in a burger eating competition with me. Maybe I talk a bigger game than I can eat.