What's the best burger in London? I've been fortunate enough to head to London quite a many times over the last couple of years. Usually staying in central London there are so many eating establishments just minutes away, this of course includes burgers joints. I've sampled quite a few from some of the more popular ones, and some not so popular, here's my take on London's best burgers...
Crusty, airy, soft bun, beautifully seared beef thats cooked to juicy perfection, hot, sweet and spicy relish paired with other quality ingredients that make a classic cheeseburger. You can even watch the burgers being created as you chug away at the many beverage options from the bar.
Interiors of burger joints are getting more attention these days and here is no exception. I loved the wood and brick feel of the place, the oak barrels some kinda south pacific totem pole, a nice little bar next to the big bright kitchen that you can peer straight into. As soon as I walked in here I knew I was going to get a pretty decent meat sandwich. Staff were friendly and quick, just they way I like it, so after a couple of warm up beverages I started to peruse the menu.
There's a fair few options of burgers here, I went with the angry which is jalapeno relish and ribman holyfuck sauce. I'm not quite sure the name stands up to the heat level, but overall this was a simply delicious burger with a great kick. You can clearly see how well the beef is cooked straight down the middle, you can also see the different layers of flavours that meld so well in your mouth. Perhaps my tolerance for hot food is above average as I was expecting to be significantly hotter but nevertheless it was still a great burger experience.
Clearly I have sampled quite a few burgers from around London, and it was getting harder and harder to find quality places to check out. After scouring google maps for a while with the search term 'burgers' I found Burgista Bros. Burgers made by brothers, let's hope they're not the fighting type.
While the white rectangular tiles reminded me of a bathroom when I first stepped in the rest of the metal and wood old theme style interior quickly made you forget that. It was early lunchtime and I was the only person there, I found a suitable corner to document the burger without interruption. 'Historically Good Burgers' is one of their main claims, British beef with Maldon sea salt, whatever that is. They also mention at the top of the menu that their burgers come on a brioche bun. You should know by now what I think of that. Wasting no more time I went with their Cheeseburger with some Hand Cut Chips.
Small, thats the first thought that popped into my head when it arrived. After some time inspecting I was happy to see what looked like quality mince, fresh albeit limited salad ingredients and a controlled amount of sauce usage. I was also quite happy to see the bun wasn't shining like the Thor LED headlights of the new XC90 coming at you on a dark wintery night. I started nodding when I first bit into this burger, it was pretty good, the meat was very tasty and grilled nicely, I love red onion on a burger and the pickle, although quite thin was detectable, these together with that delicious melted cheese were great. Another nicety was the bun, it wasn't terribly sweet thankfully. There was one problem with the burger though, dryness. About half way through you do notice that the use of the sauce is perhaps a little too sparing, maybe that much sauce on the top and bottom would have worked. Overall though this was a solid entry which I would definitely have again if I'm in the area, the accompanying fries with the rosemary salt are good enough to mention as well.
Another establishment that is now closed at the time of writing this. Lucky Chip are still alive and kicking at three other locations around London, but the one I went to in Dalston, on Ridley Road is now closed. I must say, when I headed out there I wasn't that impressed with the location and wondered how they'd do well there. It was again a Saturday early lunch and the place was empty, I sat myself down at a booth by the window and sipped on a bloody mary while looking through the menu, occasionally watching the people walk by the market and the odd fancy car drive past.
While I was tempted to go the double, I thought my lesson from five guys should be applied here too, so I decided on the single cheeseburger, and had to have some jalapeno coleslaw along with my fries as a side. When the food arrived at my table I was so happy to see it wasn't on a brioche bun, the burger was quite tall and looked very appetising. In addition to the mustard and ketchup, I could see there was mayonnaise on it, the menu didn't mention that, didn't bother me, but it's worth nothing. A big disappointment was the coleslaw, this should be called a plate of mayonnaise with some vegetables through it, absolutely drenched in creamy mayonnaise, I didn't touch that disgusting plate.
Back to the burger, holding this warm, toasted burger in my hands was nice, it felt weighty and kept together well. And what a difference a traditional bun makes, it felt so refreshing to bite into a meaty burger that didn't have a soft buttery sweet bread confusing your taste buds, this was clean and ever so slightly crunchy it supported a quality bit of beef that had been cooked bang on, pink in the middle, still juicy, but cooked enough not to be raw anywhere. The red onions, the pickles and other salad, went superbly with the sauces and melted cheese to dance with that beef on your tongue. As you can probably tell I really enjoyed this burger, and I put it down mainly to it not being on brioche. The whole burger was great, the burger bun just made it better. While not the absolute best burger I've ever had, it's a strong contender and defintely one I'd go back for.
Dipping a burger into a gravy? Not for me, no thanks. Having said that Dip n Flip is rated quite highly and I'm quite sure that no one has a gun to your head making sure you dip your burger so I thought I'd give it a go, especially considering it's apperance on numerous blogs for best burger in London.
Smashed burgers, with a cabbage slaw and other stuff on the oh so predictable brioche bun. As they had a green chilli variant of their cheeseburger I definitely went with that. There's no mention of gravy on the burger part of the menu, so perhaps they mean dip OR flip, either way we all know there was no dipping going on here for my burger. After it arrived on the table I totally get what they mean by smashed, this burger patty looked like it had the shit kicked outta it, kinda flat and battered. Apart from the abused patty the burger presented well, fat slice of pickle coming out of one side, meat and cheese protuding from another, bits of sauce visible and the brioche didn't look too bad. Under the hood the green chilli slices melted into the cheese looked quite inviting, however I wasn't sold by the pale yellow, milky looking cheese. And sure enough a small bathtub shaped container of gravy came along with the burger and fries.
Having just one bite of this burger made me realise this wasn't going to be the best burger I'd ever had, nor was it going to be the worst.The absense of lettuce and tomato, that being replaced with the slaw was different, the slaw was somewhat bland but with the combination of the pickles and the chilli turned out to be a decent combination. Mustard and ketchup with grilled meat and bread is always a winner, and yes I did notice the different consistency of this patty, it was a little more pasty, luckily not to the point where it was resembling pate, it was still nice and felt like minced meat. My worry for the cheese turned out to be unfounded, it went well enough with the meat and of course chillies, I still think a sharper cheddar would have suited this burger better though. And that bun, thankfully another rather unobtrusive brioche, but I can't help but think this burger would be much better with a nice toasted sesame seed one. As for the dip, well I had some with the fries, it was rather underwhelming, I've had better gravy on pies from pubs, was far too thin and laked depth.
Five guys is an interesting beast. One of the most debated burgers, you have your diehard fans, you got the people that don't mind them and just go along when it's the chosen place to dine and you have those that while they don't hate them just think they are way overrated. Personally I'm a fan, I love the burgers these guys churn out, the assembly line seems like an organised mess, and in the end, you get your burger with all the trimmings you requested.
Double is default, unless you ask for the 'little' burger, forcing yourself to look like a wimp, you will automatically the regular which has two (roughly) quarter pound patties, you then have your choice of toppings from a huge selection which are all free, no matter how many you choose. I typically go for lettuce, tomato, fresh onions, pickles, green peppers, mayo, ketchup and mustard. The burger is then cooked in front of you and you can munch on the unlimited amount of peanuts available to you, but why you would when a massive burger is about to come to you is beyond me. After the burger makes its way through the assembly lines you get your small fries which is in reality a gigantic portion that dwarfs the large fries at most other establishments, not because the container is big, but they end up putting more fries in the actual bag along with your burger than what the cup can hold.
Whether you eat in or takeaway the burger comes to you wrapped in foil, this makes the cheese steam and melt even more all over the burger, and often when unwrapping a five guys burger they do look quite messy, this however is soon forgiven and forgotten the moment you dig in. The sensation beef that is cooked so bloody well, the soft sesame seed bun that doesn't try hard to be a brioche or anything, the gooey cheese and all those topping you chose come together to create the ultimate burger party. I always struggle to put away the whole regular, it's just too much meat, and therein lies the only problem I have with Five Guys, the regular burger, with it's two rather large patties seems to overtake the burger and everything else in it, to compensate the double cheese just makes the burger feel too heavy and by the time I am about two thirds of the way through I'm usually done. I've come to realise the far better option is to suck it up, prepare to accept the fact you're gonna be branded a loser and go the 'little', it's a far more balanced burger which you can finish and not feel like you need a stomach pump. You also have the added benefit of attempting to make a dent into the mountain of small fries (Cajun always for me) that you get served. While it's great that Five Guys give you heaps and heaps of fries for your money, for me, and for others I've spoken to about it, this is a complete waste of food, I'd rather they give me 1/3 the amount and give the other 2/3 to the countless homeless that are inevitably mulling around.
During a roam around London I found a food festival / fair type thing. Always on the lookout for different, distinctive burgers I thought I'd stroll through to see what I could find. There were a couple of stalls doing burgers but one in particular caught my eye.
Obviously I don't know much about the folks at Jacob's ladder, but when you see a sign that says traditional farming and butcher and they are doing fresh burgers on a grill it seems pretty hard to walk away. Worringly I saw them put blue cheese on the burgers, I don't like blue cheese, I mean I can eat a blue cheese dip with my chicken wings, but the actual cheese, nope, not for me, so when it came to ordering I was definitely going to ask for no cheese. Waiting for my turn to order I did see them put the blue cheese onto burgers and I have to say it looked bloody good, melting to an almost butter like consistency I quickly changed my mind on the no cheese thing. The burger seemed quite simple, beef, blue cheese, sesame seed bun, and a few green leaves, this only means that they must fully trust the flavour of their meat, simple burgers can be great but only if the meat is outstanding.
First things first, the burger was small, I don't quite remember how much it was, probably around 5 pounds, but yes, the patty was small, the bun easily eclipsing the patty on all sides, the salad is just a few leaves and when the crown of the burger goes on top it's not very easy to tell this is in fact a burger. Moving on though it's quite clear, the hot beef, straight off the grill, with a bit of melted blue cheesy buttery oil floating around and getting soaked into the grilled bread made for a very tasty sandwich. I could definitely have this again and again, and even jokingly suggested to the chap behind the counter that they should open up a boutique burger shop. Not sure you'll ever see them around, but if you do, rest assured of a very good, albeit small burger. Either way it did the job, showcasing some great beef.
Closed. I went to the branch near Trafalgar Square, but at the time of this writing it's now closed. I wanted to still write about it as I feel it's important to get across to whoever is reading all these reviews my thoughts on this burger. I also need to apologise for the pictures, something happened during the transfer of the pics from the camera to the PC and a whole bunch got corrupted. I was hoping to go again to 1) give them a second chance and 2) get better pictures but as mentioned, they are now closed at this location.
Named after the popular celebrity chef Jamie Oliver who loves going on about good food, healthy food, nutritious food that's made from farm fresh ingredients and animals that are slaughtered in a nice way. I tell you what, this guy might wanna spend some time in his own diner, trying his own food. I was seated inside the oddly decorated diner, with dinosaurs all over the place and really just wanted to eat and get out, so I ordred the classic cheeseburger which came with fries and a little slaw.
After a few drinks the burger tray arrived, and I have to say I was taken a back at how shit it looked. A deformed bun hid a small thick patty that had some mayo type sauce dripping around it. Under the hood the burger didn't look that bad, apart from the amount of sauce the bun was toasted well. A few bites later my mind was made up, this Jamie character either doesn't have a clue on how to make burgers or he doesn't care enough to ensure his staff churning out this crap know how to. The bun was stale, the burger terribly overcooked, the sauce while not way over the top was still too much for me and more importantly tasted eggy, this was pretty much the reason I left the burger after 3 or so bites. The fries were nothing special however that little slaw on the side, that was top notch, and the pickle, which really should have been sliced and on the burger was also delicious. I can totally understand why this place is closed, and after a little investigation I saw I was not alone in my thoughts on the food, with horrendous ratings and experiences written about it all over the internets. What do people like Jamie think when they see these write ups? Get off the TV, quit your preaching and get back to basics mate.
Actually known for their steaks, the mob at the Hawksmoor do a mean burger as well, so the internet told me. So when it was time to catchup for a mid-week dinner with a mate in London I thought this'd be the perfect place and a good time to get a second opinion on what's also claimed to be amongst the best burgers in London.
Looking at the menu was only required to decide on drinks and what sides. We got fries, triple cooked apparently, and onion rings. Soon after our burgers arrived, there was a bit of bleeding on the plate, but nothing that bothered us. More importantly the burgers looked great, standing tall and proud with thick juicy patties and all other ingredients stacked up nice and neatly. Under the hood you see a thick slice of tomato which would have been too thick for me had the patty not been so thick too, the cheese was also supberbly melted onto the hot beef.
Conversation had suddenly come to a halt, as both of us were far too busy getting stuck into these big burly burgers. For me this was a classic steakhouse burger, bold and meaty, with a nice mustardy type sauce on the bottom and quality bit of tomato sauce on top. The patty was cooked exactly how a burger patty should be and was consistent and juicy from the first bite to the last. The crusty charred bits of beef on the outer part of the patty gave that occasional light crunch to some bites. The bun seemed to be a brioche, but nothing that was invasive of that burger meaty goodness. Having a few fries and an onion ring between bites only made you crave more of that burger, the sides were good, very good, but the comfort of this old school original steakhouse burger was hard to beat.
With a name like Hoi Polloi I wasn't expecting a huge decadent burger spilling out at the sides and dripping with grease, how I usually like them, but Hoi Polloi was yet another name that kept popping up in searches for quality London burgers. So on one of my many quiet lonely weekends in London between working weeks I headed on over to the Ace hotel in Shoreditch to try the apparently famous burger.
There's only one burger offering here, the Hoi Polloi cheeseburger which comes with dripping chips. While ordering I asked how it's done, I was told it's 'quite rare', to me that's a clear warning by them that this could well still be moving when it arrives at the table. So I made it very clear, I don't want it rare, cook it medium well, but please do not over cook it, I dont want it well done, closer to medium than well. I was assured this would be no problem. When the burger arrived I just kinda stared at it a while, with the violen quartet playing right next to me, I was in this trance like state admiring it's 'differentness'. Amongst the nicely toasted bun and crisp looking greens, I also noticed that the patty looked suspiciously dry. Under the hood you can see celery, red onion, and other interesting bits of greenery, there was no real sign of sauce apart from some kinda mayo type thing used sparingly thankfully and the cheese also looked on the light side.
Starting to consume it, from the get go there's a few things that hit me, the patty was defintely overcooked, however the meat actually was still reasonably tasty, a tad dry but it had a nice beefy flavour still, it wasn't totally cooked out, the next thing that hit me was the mild crunch and different flavour burst you got from the celery, I'm not gonna say I loved it but it was different and not unpleasant, the last thing that hit me was the distinct lack of cheesiness, it is after all called a cheeseburger, but I didn't get much cheese flavour at all. The bun was a non-event and just quietly did it's thing. At times I felt a bit like how a cow looks when it's just standing there chewing away at all the grass in it's mouth, there was quite a bit of greens here, which is not a bad thing, but the burger is out of balance, it needs a bigger, not overcooked (and not raw) patty, it needs more cheese and I can't believe I'm gonna say this, more of that mayo sauce, I didn't taste that at all. I have to say though I can't recommend going to Hoi Polloi just for the burger, there are shitloads better burgers out there, however if you find yourself with some classy wannabe millennials that insist on this place for it's live wooden instrument performances, and well, kinda posh setup, then you can get the burger here and taste the 'differentness' of it all the time wishing you had better friends.
Another burger joint that keeps coming up on the internets as a great London burger is the offering from the Greedy Cow at Mile End. On a quiet Saturday late morning I thought I'd take the decent walk up there to give them a shot. After arriving I was quite disappointed to hear that there was no ordinary menu on today, rather they had their brunch menu on (no mentiion of this on their website at the time I went there), while there was a burger available for brunch, I wanted to try a couple of their burgers, so I made my case to the manager/owner (I think) and after checking with the kitchen he said they can do the lamb burger as well. Perfect! I thought, as that was the exact other burger I wanted to try. I pretty much immediately ordered a beef burger and the Indian lamb burger with some fries and coleslaw. Asked how I wanted the beef burger cooked, I asked for medium well.
Shortly afterwards the beef burger arrives with the chips. First thing I noticed is the flour on top of the bun, not a fan of that to be honest, gets on your hands and feels weird, I know alot of places have this but I never understood why, I dont want fkn raw flour on my bread. The next thing that struck me was the size of the tomato slice, this is one of the few times I've had a single slicke of tomato that had a great diameter than the burger patty. Moving on... cutting through the middle revealed a patty that had been severely abused in the kitchen. I hate it when a place that supposedly specialises in burgers asks you how you want the burger done and cannot for the life of them cook a patty unless it's almost still alive or as dry as sand. This one was the latter, cooked so 'well' all of the juiciness was gone, just a dry bit of meat.
Biting into the burger I am overwhelmed by a big hit of smokiness, now ths is quite subjective, but for me, I don't like smokiness in my burger, main reason why I dont like bacon as well. So I was taken quite a bit aback by this, I later found out they use a smokey cheddar as the cheese and I also suspect they smoke the shit outta the mayo. I ate about half the burger and was done with the dry smokiness, didn't really enjoy it at all. The fries are some kinda bone marrow chips, how bone marrow is incorporated not sure, these were delicious though. I was waiting for the lamb burger to arrive and after about 20 minutes I decided to ask where my lamb burger was, 10 minutes later my coleslaw arrives, another 10 minutes later my Indian lamb burger arrived. While this lamb was cooked nicely, I was bitterly disappointed that it wasn't the lamb burger that was on the menu, they just chucked a lamb patty in their normal burger, there was no chutney, no onion bhaji and nothing Indian about it. It had the exact same ingredient as the beef burger minus the cheese... but was also smokey! Another half eaten burger. Coleslaw was as boring as the burgers. In conclusion, if you want a nice serving of chips to have a with a brew, this is the place to go.
There's a fair few burgers I've tried by now in London, so I found myself having to venture further and further away from the centre to try out some hidden gems. While this isn't that far, it was a few more stops away than usual for me but judging by everyone carrying on about it I thought it was worth the time and effort. Located in and around a local market I spent some time looking around at what was on offer before heading into the smallish but cozy restaurant. I told the somewhat pleasant girl taking my order that I'd have a cheesyboom, she recommended the fried plantains, but I wasn't sure so she decided to let me have a portion half/half which I thought was nice and ultimately made me decided she was more pleasant than not. Initally when I walked in it kinda felt she didn't want me there.
Waiting, waiting waiting, I couldn't see any ppl doing anything cooking related, I mentioned to them that I had to get going as I was leaving for the airport later that day, and soon enough I got my cheesyboom and an absolute mountain of fried stuff. The burger was a good size, stacked nicely and again with red onion! Big plus there, under the hood you could see the cheese had not just melted over the patty, it had seemed to seep into the meat, it looked good. The fries were pretty standard, nothing that great, the fried plantains, yea they were nice, but a little too oily to eat more than just a few. Onto the burger... hmm this is a tough one, apart from saying it was average, I have to say I was disappointed, with a name like boom burger and all the rave reviews about it I was hoping for something that really hit me, and it kinda did with a huge mediocrity bat. The breakdown is as follows, patty was cooked well but a bit bland, I think it needed more seasoning, the salad was plentiful but when there's no flavour in the beef it just adds to the blandness, the cheese was ok when you got it and I thought the bun was a little tough. I didn't feel the journey was worth it.
First off, apologies for the pics, not sure what happened here but in the process of moving the pics from my harddrive to a USB stick a whole heap of them had this happen to them, very annoying. So it was a cold November night in London and after getting home from the office my usual plan of rugging up and heading out was quickly changed to stripping down and laying on the bed watching ITV in heated hotel room. I wasn't even sure what I was going to have for dinner that night so it was an easy change of plan to stay in. I perused the deliveroo menu and decided I'd give Haché a try, I know deliveroo are pretty good with delivery so hopefully a delivered burger wouldn't be too bad.
Deciding on the cheeseburger, some slaw and fries, I lay there staring at my ipad screen watching the status of my order slowly progressing through the various stages and then watching the little avatar representing my deliverer traversing the complex streets of central London. I really like this burger, everything from the toasting of the bun, to the completely cheese enveloped thick patty cooked perfectly to the salad vs sauce ratio, it was all great, and the fact that it was delivered, even with pics as crap as these you can clearly see it doesn't look like burger that's been in the back of a delivery scooter sweltering away off it's own heat. The burger was so excellently beefy with a good cheesy hit and it was contrasted in the mouth by the slightly tart bits of flavour you'd get from the greenery. When I'm in London next this is definitley a place to visit in person, I'll also get some new pics.
Guess these people don't like vowels or something. Either way if you're going to call yourself a burgerologist or 'brgrologist' then you're defintely gonna be held to that claim during testing. I went with, yup you guessed it, a classic cheeseburger and got a side of parmesan truffle fries and well coz I was there, I chucked in a fried chicken burger too, might as well see how they do chickens.
When I took the cheeseburger out of it's rather sturdy box the bun had me worried, it really looked like a sweet doughnut, glistening under the light, the big curled up lettuce leaf protuding out obviously worked in it's favour or not being a donut and then when you lift the hood it's basically confirmed that this is no doughnut, the cheesy greasy mix on the bottom of the top bun looked amazingly appetising, as did the geniunely thick grill marks on the ample sized patty. I opened up the long rectangle box to discover that some dirty bastard had rubbed one out all over my fries! They were covered in this yuck looking white sauce, who does that to fries? Seriously. They were binned immediately.
After another detailed inspection under the hood and patty for more of that mysterious disgusting white sauce. It seemed to be all clear and I dove right in. So while the inside of this shiny doughnut made it appear to you that you were not infact eating a doughnut, the bun was infact quite sweet, too sweet for me. Apart from that though, this burger seemed quite solid, the patty was grilled beautifully, charred on the outside and a little pink on the inside, lovely meat with no grisle or squeamish texture, just quality, the cheese was a bit light and lacked bite but this is easily forgiven by the next bite when you get the combination of that tangy pickle, sweet but sharp red onion, together with that lovely beef complimented by a nice crunch from the lettuce. It's a good burger that could easily be made into a great one by settling down with the sweet bun, amping up the cheese factor and to stop making love to the fries. The chicken burger was a mixed bag, that parts of it that were not drenched in siracha mayo were great, nicely fried chicken that was crisp and still a bit juicy, the rest was like eating warm muck. Overall I strongly disagree that they are brgrologist by their own definition if by this burger they were trying to share their knowledge. Perhaps I wasn't one of the fortunate few and just got served the mediocre stuff?
Despite the summer rain that evening I was determined to head to Planet Hollywood for my burger, I saw it a few days earlier while roaming around, and noticed a sign outside invting you in to try 'the best burger in town'. After seeing this I had to fit it into the schedule. Upon arrival the place was packed, but there's always room for one, and they managed to find me a table reasonably quick.
Wanting not to waste any time I asked my server for the best burger in town, the cheeseburger variety. Thinking it'd be a long wait due to how busy the place was I settled in for some people watching, but to my surprise my burger was out really quick. Initial impressions were that it had potential, patty looked nice, the fries decent, under the hood it looked quite fresh and it had a good amount of red onion. Straigt down middle you can see a rather well layered burger, however there was a fair bit of bun and more importantly the meat, looked quite well done, I was told that all burgers are done medium well, but I guess to a 'chef' in a planet hollywood kitchen that's flippin burgers, medium well vs well done is a very thin line. Apart from that the burger actually looked like decent mince.
Right so this is definitely not the best burger in town, not by a country lightyear, and to be frank with all the quality burgers nearby, making this claim and then putting out what you do is just bloody stupid. Having said that, it wasn't the worst burger I've had in London, in fact it was exactly what I would expect a joint like Planet Hollywood would churn out, an overcooked patty with decent ingredients that is neatly put together on a tall bun. I won't lie and say I didn't enjoy it, I did, mildly, the sauces (mayo and mustard I think) were great with the relatively fresh salads, the cheese, while not heaps was decently melted onto the patty and you had that pleasant freshness of the pickle and onion every now and then. Change the bun, cook the patty they way you say you will, focus on some good cheese, and you'd still not have the best burger in town, but it'd be a tad closer.
Time to try the second burger offering at the hotel. In the lobby there's a nice looking grill, so after a rather longer than expected day at work I decided to stay in and order up from Boyd's Grill and Wive Bar. They have a burger of day, and there's only 30 of them apparently. According to the menu, when they're gone they're gone! Even though it was reasonably late they sure enough had some and I was able to order it.
What kinda cheese is that? Looks suspiciously like camembert, and that patty looks quite thick and possibly dry, there seemed to be some kind of onion relish under the bun and on top of the cheese, and who could miss that massive curved pickle. I did like the bun and it was toasted really well, straight down the middle you could also see there was no messing around with the cooking, it was done seriously well. Onto the taste side of things... I didn't like that cheese, I reckon I coulda handled it if it hadn't had been such a thick slice, so I removed it and continued, I gotta say this burger was better than the other hotel burger from Bianco, but certainly wasn't worth writing home about which is why I'm going to end this review here with a huge average rating. The fries however were fantastic, crispy on the outside and soft and fluffly on the inside.
I really enjoyed my burger here... went for the classic cheeseburger with a side of fries and coleslaw. Service was friendly and quite quick, although they were not exactly bustling when I was there. First the not so good... I didn't like the coleslaw at all... the mayo was very eggy in taste and completely overpowered it, always a gamble for me trying a mayo based coleslaw, and this time it didn't pay off.
The burger itself was very good, the patty was cooked medium well, and was a little crumbly with nicely charred bits that were almost crunchy, which not only tasted great, but gave a nice textural difference, the rest of the burger was quality too, no sickeningly sweet bun, great cheese, and salads, and a bit of pickle that comes in every now and then. The burger sauce was great, there's wasn't so much of it that it was going everywhere and it did not detract from anything... just played a good supporting role.
Fries were pretty standard but good for standard fries, nice and crispy, not too oily... just good. I'd definitely come back for a burger when in the area.
With a name like this how could it not be part of the reviews? I'd also been specifically told by some friends to try them out. So on the way back to the hotel one evening I tried out the place at SOHO via takeaway. As soon as I saw 'Ari Gold' on the menu I had to have it, also it sounded pretty awesome, smokey mayo, pickled onions etc. I also got a hot chic chicken burger for good measure.
What a messy beast, cheese all over the place, under hood the smokey mayo mixed in with the good amount of picked onions, and nice dollop of ketchup at the bottom, somehwere inside was some lettuce and tomato apparently. The cross section view confirmed the mayhem here, the gorgeous mayhem. This beast was so delicious, that sharp bright orange certified triple processed cheese from the US of A was just brilliant with the British beef, another affirmation of the special relationship between the US and UK!
And it didn't end there, that smoked mayonnaise together with the pickled onions was a delight and then all of a sudden you'd get that slightly tart, slightly sweet hit of the ketchup, this was a beautiful burger and I was very happy that the brioche bun didn't really interfere too much. I should say that the lettuce and tomato may as well have not been there, they were irrelevant, totally not needed here, I reckon that's in no short part due to the magnificent pickled onions. The hand cut fries (or chips) were not crisp at all but they were damn tasty, demolished them all. The chicken burger wasn't a great hit, too dry and I dunno just boring after the Ari Gold.
Underwhelmed. Look it wasn't bad, I was just hoping for something more. Carnaby burgers, from what I had read was supposed to be pretty kick arse, located in trendy SOHO I headed over after a spot of shopping. The menu surprised me, there's alot on there for a place that has 'Burger' in it's name. I was delighted to see buttermilk fried chicken, so rather than fries I went with this to accompany the 'classic'. I was torn between the 'Pepperjack' as it had jalapenos, and the classic with it's red onion, which I love on a burger, also the pepperjack had peppercorn sauce, something I like on steaks but perhaps not a burger. So I just got some jalapenos on the side for my classic.
Coleslaw on the side, I love a light coleslaw, it helps freshen your palate mid meal when feasting on fried and meaty goodness. On the other side there was a few bits of dried lettuce leaves for some odd reason. Right in the middle was the rather impressive looking classic burger, it came to the table with the top of the bun to the side, proudly showing off the cheese wrapped patty, after putting on a the jalapenos and then the bun back on top, the first thought I had was 'thats alot of bread'. Straight down the middle you can see a very well constructed burger that seems to be a little light on the salad side, the meat didn't look that fantastic to me, seemed a bit pateish on the inside, and yes there was alot of bread.
The conclusion I came to from the first bite did not change at all right up until the last bite, this burger was sensationally OK. Being spot on about the excessive bread, the rest of the ingredients, particularly the additional jalapenos helped save this from being a disaster. But nothing really stood out here, which was a pity, I really was expecting some nice flavour from the beef but it just wasn't there, the cheese also wasn't strong enough, I really feel the bread was just a little too overpowering for anything to shine. On another note, the buttermilk fried chicken bits.... amazeballs, but still not enough to have me bothered going here again.
Location: Box Park at Shoreditch, I was in search of Bukowski. I'd heard about it on the internets and that it was hidden amongst shipping containers in this area. Sure enough, tucked away in the remotest corner of the top level of Box park there it was. The place was empty, but as usual I was quite early, I settled for a bench inside and immediately chose the cheeseburger.
Really enjoyed my burger at Bukowski. Patty was a bit small for the bun from a coverage aspect, however the meat was thick and cooked beautifully, not bloody but not dry and killed twice, burger was still juicy inside. I also liked the way these guys didn't skimp on the salad, two slices of tomato and a good amount of lettuce layers really helped this burger, the tomato was on the top with the cheese and the lettuce on the bottom with the pickles, good combination I reckoned.
The simple cheeseburger and the ingredients went really well together, the bun was nice even though I think brioche buns are overused at burger joints. Loved the pickles and mustard, melded really well with the meat and cheese (which was melted really well onto the patty). Flavour in the patty is intense... must be from the charcoal grill. With a better bun choice I think this burger would be much nicer.
There are Garfunkel's locations all over London, and one just happens to be right outside the hotel. While they aren't known for their hamburgers there's of course one on the menu, and well I did say that I'd be trying out some not so popular places as well. Having said that my expectations here were not as low as you'd think, I've had some other dishes from here and while not mind blowing, they were actually pretty decent, so perhaps the burger wouldn't be too bad either.
There's only one way to tackle this review, and that's with brute honesty, a cold, stale bun that was untoasted held together one of the most terribly disgusting burgers I think I've ever half consumed. We've all eaten processed meat, but you don't expect it on a burger, and someone needs to tell the 'chefs' at Garfunkels, this patty was just awful, I'm not sure what is in it besides meat, but it felt like a sausage consistency, even biting into the patty produced a mild pop that you get when piercing the intestinal tract lining of those meat sticks, and hearing it here when consuming a burger was off putting to say the least. Did I mention the flavour? No, good, well coz there bloody well was none, it was like chewing on wet cardboard. It's strange because I really do think this burger has potential, all they have to do is use real meat, have fresh buns that are warm, show a little more interesting in the construction and you'd have a half decent burger in your hands.
Absolutely no point harping on about this, until they do what I suggest, stay away from this burger abomination, there's much better dishes on their menu like the avocado toast or the chicken strips, both simple dishes but done really well.
My first attempt to try the apparently legendary burgers from Bleecker was foiled as they had a problem with their gas, I was terribly disappointed, as I had planned the day meticiously around being here for lunch. Anyway luckily on my second visit everything was functioning normally. They say they are bringing New York style burgers to London, I've never been to the big apple myself so I'll have to take their word for it, I opted for the cheeseburger, not the double, just the single so I can taste everything in proper proportions. Across the way is a little bar so I got myself a cheeky glass of red to wash down the beef.
Before I knew it my cheeseburger was up, looking pretty standard with nothing really jumping out I took it to one of the benches and began the examination. In addition to the meat and cheese, you get some lettuce, strangely though there is no onion, you only get onion if you got the double cheeseburger, now I know that onion has good properties for breaking down copious amounts of meat but keeping it off the single was a bit slack I reckon, I love onion on my burgers and just naturally assumed it'd be there. The patty looked like it was char grilled very well, the bun had a nice light toasting and thankfully the sauce wasn't dripping everywhere, looking like quite a manageable burger here.
Visual inspection over, I dived right in, and BOOM! Another fantastic burger the mix of the American cheese with whatever that sauce is and the beef which was cooked perfectly made for a burger party in my mouth. The simplicity of the ingredients and how good they tasted really said something, apart from the sauce, I dunno what their sauce is, maybe thats what made this taste so good. The bun was a typical seasme seed burger bun that was the exact size for this burger, and held everything together just right, the little bit of lettuce actually did add some good textural crunch, the melted american cheese on the patty was just divine, I couldn't help but think how much nicer this would have been with some slightly grilled, still crunchy onion, such a shame but still so so good.
While googling around for more burger options in central London I came across this place. Who doesn't love a dirty burger eh? So on a sunny Saturday morning I decided to go for a longish walk down to Vauxhall to try their offering out. I got there nice and early and was the first customer for the day. I went with the standard cheeseburger and some fries
Hearing the preparations underway I went for sneak peak to their open kitchen area and saw these two patties sitting on the grill with a generous amount of mustard on them, I hadn't seen this before and it made me really curious and eager to get this burger into me. When it arrived on the table the first thing I noticed was the bun, it was really shiny, I touched it... it's steamed! like a bun on a filet'o'fish!, it was so soft and almost wet, very strange and somewhat worrying start. I pick up this hot wet burger and dive right in.
Before I say what I'm about to say here it should be clear to you, the reader, that from my website I am rather experienced with burgers, from all over the place and all different types, but when I took a bite of this burger I thought for a moment could this possibly be the best burger I've ever eaten? It was just an amazing experience, this soft wettish bun that was holding together this incredible patty with cheese masterfully melted all around the place, a bit of salad and pickles somehow made this thing taste out of this world. I was truly shocked and admittedly after a few more bites I settled down but still this burger was just brilliant, I loved it, these guys know what they are doing. I'm heading back to London soon and this will be firmly at the top of the list for a revisit, just to be sure this wasn't a fluke, coz for now, I simply cannot flaw the burger, especially the patty, maybe it was the mustard being cooked in, I dunno, I mean I could say that the bun might have been nicer not so steamed, or maybe the cheese could have been a bit stronger, but for now, the overall package, near perfect, let's see if my second visit ups it to a perfect 10.
Another interestingly named burger joint which intrigued me, particularly the latter part of the name. I decided to head to the Covent Garden outlet, keen as ever for my burger I actually arrived before they opened, so had to wait around like some kind of desperate hobo, soon enough I was let in and start persuing the menu.
When I saw the words 'green chili' and 'cheeseburger' I was sold. Continuing to look at the menu was pointless. A few minutes later here it is, when I unwrapped this beast I must say I was salivating, it looked so bloody good, the melted cheese on each patty, the green chili slathered over it, the glistening bun and those two beautfully charred burger patties. Under the hood you can see the amount of green chili they've put on, of course at this point I realise that this is a green chili sauce/chutney type thing rather than using raw green chillies. the but was also really soft, untoasted but warm and gave the burger a really nice feel when picked up.
After about 3 bites I had to tear the burger away from my mouth in order to get the down the middle pic, it was so moreish, the green chili certainly was not hot for my palate but instead added a pleasant zing to a quality burger, the meat was cooked medium leaning to rare, which is a big no for me in burgers, I've said it before here that I believe burger mince should always be cooked through, but that's on the basis of the quality of the meat not always being the highest in the mince, however these guys, I am sure use some top quality cuts to get their burger mince so while I would have rathered the patty taken a little further on the grill it didn't bother me. The only ever so slight negative here was the cheese, I think it was lost amongst everything else, I didn't really get it. All in all though the burger was pretty darn good, good enough to have it again for sure.
Rightio, first I realise this is a pizzeria, however on their main menu, under the meat section is a homemade beef burger. This is right in the hotel I am staying at so having this is a no brainer. So on the first night of one of my many trips there I ordered this, and well despite being slightly hungover from my flight I still regretted it the moment I bit into this monstrosity.
Even at the worst times I know a burger, I know them well and this was terrible, the incredibly thick slab of meat was completely dry from top to bottom and devoid of any flavour or seasoning, the cherry tomatoes are pointless on a burger, and the bits of green wild rocket were so bland they were as useful as the invisible tomato chutney, which of course meant the burger was even more dry than it looked as there was no moisture apart from the acidic juice droplets being squeezed outta the silly cherry tomatoes as my vice like grip got harder and harder on this filth due to my drunken anger on how bad it was.
The bun felt it was sitting in the kitchen for a couple of days and wasnt even warmed or toasted, and the cheese was just disgusting, not sure what type of cheese it is, the menu says its Scamorza, I dunno but it certainly felt there was some kinda scam going on here. I ate half and then returned to my bourbon. I don't care if you're a pizzeria, if you have a beef burger on your main menu and charge 13GBP for it, I expect it to be at least reasonable.
I've been to Gourmet Burger Kitchen a few times in Dubai, and they're not too bad, especially when they aren't delivered, so this was a must on the BBB. They weren't too far from where I was staying so I got takeaway and headed to the hotel for feed while I watched TV and continued to work.
The packaging on the burgers I did like, cardboard boxes branded with their name and most importantly they kept the burger together while letting out a little air so the burger didn't have that steamed effect when opened. Look at the beauty... I must say I was rather impressed when I opened the box, this burger looked like the business, there was melted cheese going all over the place, but only on the burger, smoked chilli mayo was a great colour, the salad looked crunchy and the bun so toasty and ready to be squished together.
Straight down the middle you can see the quality beef and the hand made patty, the layers of flavours from the mustard and the pickles, the oinons and that delicious mayo. As predicted the bun was sensational, so like and fluffy but parts were ever so toasty and crisp and added yet another layer of texture when devouring this beast. I was truly amazed at the pure beefy goodness I was getting with each bite and that the other ingredients just melded with it so well and complimented the beef rather than trying to take it over.
Immediately I can declare that GBK in the UK, or at least this one, is far superior to the GBK in Dubai. I want to alsos mention the superfood salad, was very fresh and light, great way to cut through a heavy burger like this one, the fries were ok, not really worth mentioning, I also picked up a classic fried chicken burger just to give it a whirl, I have to say this was rather pathetic, a tiny piece of breaded chicken that was completely lost in the bun and other ingredients. Either way though this is about beef and that was great, looking forward to it again!
Interesting name... this burger joint is a food stall that runs in the Brocklet food market every Saturday, open between 10am - 2pm, giving you a massive window of four hours every week to get there to try them. I've read some people online saying they are open somewhere else as a proper bricks and mortar however I couldn't locate them, and their website (at the time of writing) doesn't mention a second location so getting there midday Saturday was my only option.
Typically I went for the standard, here named the mother flipper cheese burger and a side of their fries. There was a decent amount of people waiting for their order before me, so while waiting I strolled around the market looking at the other food options, all looked pretty good, and even another couple of places doing burgers, sadly for them not pulling in the crowds like mother flippers. After getting my order I realised there's nowhere to sit down and eat, so I roamed around and found a brick fence by the side of the carpark that worked out well as a table.
After the two above paragraphs of wafting on, I'm gonna cut straight to the chase here, this burger really underwhelmed me. Let's be clear on something, nothing was technically wrong with it, there was quality beef mince, perfectly melted cheddar, fresh ingredients, a bun that wasn't sickeningly sweet. I think the issue is this burger is so hyped all over the net by it's fans that I was really expecting something that would blow my socks off (note I wasn't wearing socks) but it simply didn't do that. On it's own a very solid entry that was hard to really complain about, but in my not so humble opinion on burgers, this is hardly London's best.
With several locations around London, Bryon's was the first on my list as it was literally around the corner from the hotel. A quick walk down the strand and I was there...
Above we have the classic cheeseburger paired with mature cheddar and the chilli queen which comes with American cheese. I'll give them this, both burgers certainly looked and felt like 'proper' hamburgers, big thick pattie, soft 'squishy' buns and overall good looking ingredients. After the first bite the cheeseburger was a little underwhelming, don't get me wrong it was good, but I was expecting more, on the second and subsequent other bites it gets better, you can really see and taste the quality of ingredients, the flavour of the beef was fantastic, but I must say the patty was a tad dry, something I was worried about when I first saw the thickness, but it's a forgivable flaw in an otherwise very good burger. I particularly love the way the mayonnaise is there, you can taste it, but only just and it doesn't go everywhere.
The Chilli Queen really took me by surprise, this beautiful little beast was just brilliant, with actual real green chillis sliced lengthwise and the chipotle sauce with lettuce and American cheddar, you don't even notice the slightly dry patty, it was lovely and I want another one. In conclusion, Bryon burgers are very good, with an excellent bun, quality meat, simple and fresh condiments and a slice of dill pickle with each one, I think they do make proper hamburgers. Excllect proper onion rings too!
On the next evening, I managed to convince some colleagues into a brisk walk up to Honest burgers, I'll admit though, there wasn't much convincing needed, who doesn't like a burger?!
Upon arrival, there were quite a few people milling around the outside, the tiny restaurant looked packed and my friends were looking like they were not up for a wait. After talking to a nice lady she assured us we'll be seated in 15 minutes. She lied, but it wasn't too bad and the fact they served beer kept my dining companions from fleeing. The menu is pretty simple, chicken done one way, beef done three ways, and a veggie burger done three ways. I went with the classic cheeseburger done with mature cheddar and a side of onion rings. Burgers were fantastic, the onion relish was beautiful, everyone agreed they honestly were great burgers and the rosemary salted chips that come with the burger were only surpassed by the totally amazing paprika flavoured onion rings, the best onion rings I have ever had, anywhere.
The quality of the pictures are terrible I know (I have updated some of the pics based on a subequent and equally delicious second visit), the light was bad, the restaurant was packed, and it was a rather hurried experience, this burger is definitely better enjoyed away from the establishment, or on a quiet night, although with the quality of the burgers and the great beers on offer I can't see them having a quiet night. In conclusion, Honest burgers are worth the wait and trying the onion rings is an absolutely must.
Somehow I managed it again, convincing some colleagues to have another burger or lobster? What are they doing with burgers and lobsters? We had to find out..
From the outside Burger and Lobster looks like a fine dining establishment, a big restaurant, elegantly laid out, mood lighting and just generally up market looking. Not sure they would let the likes of us in, we walked up to the waitress who was seating diners. After deciding a wait for a table wasn't necessary because eating at the bar was allowed, we opted for that. As soon as I sat down I asked for the menu, there is no menu, it's just lobster done two ways or a burger. I went for a burger and so did my dining companions. I opted for cheese (again). A few bourbons later the burgers arrived.
They make good burgers at Burger and Lobster and I quite enjoyed mine, however I have to say, there was a faint lobstery flavour in my burger, my friends were not convinced they could detect it but I certainly could, that or maybe the couple seated next to me were devouring their lobster like they hadn't eaten for a week. In conclusion, I'd have this burger again, but only if someone in the group wanted lobster, with Byron and Honest just minutes away they'd be the first choice.
With my fellow travellers pretty much burgered out I had to venture out alone to the last burger stop for this trip. Was it really worth it?
Situated on a corner, Tommi's Burger Joint stands out nicely. I arrived slightly early, just before midday, even so there were a few patrons already inside enjoying the fare. Again the menu here is quite simple, a beef burger, a veggie burger and a steak burger all with or without cheese. The choice was obvious, a cheeseburger and some fries. My order did take quite some time to get to me, once it did I was so starving it could have been a veggie burger for all I cared. Thankfully it wasn't. It looked a very nice burger, starting with the all important bun, nice and soft, toasted slightly. The pattie was again thick but was not dry at all.
There was plently of extra sauces to add to the burger on the table but I really didn't need anything more than what was on the burger, it was a great, delicate mix of the sauces with red onion and the usual other culprits. This burger was oozing quality, however my one gripe, something that bothers me a bit when it comes to burgers is the patty wasn't wide enough for the whole bun, so I had two to three bites where no or little meat was present. In conclusion, great burger made with quality ingredients, however would I choose it above honest or Byron's Chilli Queen? Maybe, depending on how far away they were and how hungry I was!
Copyright © Volvodriver - volvodriver.com.au | This site is in no way affliated with the Volvo Corporation
Hamburger Hunt
Pizzaramamania
Curry Chronicles
Kebab Pilgrimage
Farce Food
Portuguese Report
AirLine Food Log
Volvodriver Food
Cockfighting
Snack Attack
Volvo 242 GT
Volvo C70
Volvo XC70
Computer Stuff
Gadgets and Gizmos
Audio Visual
Travel and Leisure
Gaming
Random Gear
Random Blog
CostaBurgeRica
Bucharest Crusade
Brit Burger Bash
Cairo Frenzy
Quick Czechout
Mac Quest
The McWhopper
Cheeseburgers
The SCCB Champs
Kuala Lumpur Feast
Singapore Scoff
Tech Ed 2005
