San Francisco burger spot responds to viral photo of raw meat left outside
FILE PHOTO: Close-up of gourmet cheeseburger with ketchup, French fries and toppings at a California restaurant on February 12, 2026. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco burger restaurant is responding after a photo circulating online appeared to show logs of ground meat and a jar of mayonnaise sitting outside in the warm sun.
Photo sparks online backlash
What we know:
A photo posted to Reddit on Sunday showed four logs of ground beef next to a jar of mayo outside Hamburger Project’s Guerrero Street location.
"Raw hamburger left in the sun on the sidewalk. Ewww! Double Ewww!!," the Reddit user captioned the image.
The comment section quickly filled with criticism and jokes.
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"Eating there is gonna land you in the Mayo Clinic," one user wrote.
"Our new premium burgers $34.50 because we cook them with 100% solar energy!" another added.
Others raised food safety concerns.
"I used to work with food inspectors. This is a big no no. You’re not even supposed to leave product in areas that aren’t temperature controlled unless you’re actively using it or putting it away," another commenter wrote.
Restaurant explains what happened
What they're saying:
Hamburger Project said it became aware of the photo as it circulated online and moved to address concerns about why the meat was left outside.
In a statement posted to social media Sunday, the restaurant said a delivery driver dropped off the meat but left it outside because the restaurant was closed.
"This was the result of a delivery driver leaving the product unattended after being unable to access the restaurant — something we would never authorize or accept," the restaurant said.
The business also shared a screenshot of communication with the driver, who said they did not have time to wait.
Food was discarded, restaurant says
Big picture view:
Hamburger Project emphasized that the meat was never used.
"When our team arrived at the restaurant and found the product outside, it was immediately discarded, as it was obviously compromised by being on the ground, without proper temperature control," the restaurant said.
"We take food safety extremely seriously and have already updated our delivery procedures to ensure this does not happen again."
The Source: Reddit, @HamburgerProject on Instagram