For dinner tonight I had a BBC Good Food South East Asian twist on a classic burger and chips, a Thai turkey burger, sweet potato wedges and pineapple salsa (mine is served naked with salad).
It’s a tasty simple meal but doesn’t compare to the satisfaction of a proper burger. The best burger I’ve had recently was actually in Colombia, and I’ve had some great ones in the States (photo below is from Bill’s Burger and Bar in New York, great burger and awesome toasted marshmallow shake), but let’s focus on London and the many fantastic burgers on offer. I’m by no means a burger connoisseur so this is no definitive ranking of the best burger in London, but it’s my top choices.
Meat Liquor – This place has constant long queues but I went on the hottest day of the year while everyone was sunning themselves in the park, so walked straight in. I hated the restaurant decor and atmosphere; it’s dark, loud and more suited to a night out, hence the liquor part of the name I guess. The service was poor as well BUT this was the best burger I’ve had in London. Not a huge patty, but juicy and full of flavour. Also had some interesting starters and sides, particularly the deep fried pickles with blue cheese dressing which I did not expect to enjoy in the slightest (given that I dislike pickles and blue cheese) but I ended up wanting more.
Five Guys – I’m not sure this gets a fair ranking as I was pretty intoxicated at the time thanks to happy hour at the nearby Covent Garden Cocktail Club (great little place), so I devoured this burger like it was my last meal on Earth. You do have to queue here too but there are free peanuts while you wait, an excellent idea. This is no gourmet burger, more on the fast food side, but nevertheless it’s a good one. The standard is a double, so you get two tasty patties, which are great with all the toppings they pile on (various sauces, fried onions etc) though that meant it got a bit messy and a lot of it ended up down my front. I tried the Cajun fries but they were a bit too spicy.
Patty & Bun – P&B had been massively hyped up by my friends so I had high expectations which inevitably means I will get some level of disappointment, especially after queuing for 45 minutes on the street for the privilege. However, I think I am being unfair in my judgement here. The burger, the simple Ari-Gold, was still delicious, just not the best burger I’d ever had and that is what I had hoped for. The toppings (cheese, salad, pickled onions and special mayo) seemed to take over from the burger, as it was only a small patty but the soft brioche bun won extra points. Sides were standard fries and they do peanut butter choc ices for dessert, can’t go wrong there really. The restaurant was a bit small and cramped but played good old school music.
Byron – You can always trust Byron to deliver, which is why I’ve had eaten there more times than I can remember. What Byron offers in a burger that most other burger joints don’t, is size. Their burgers are big solid meaty burgers but don’t compromise on the important flavour and texture. They also have something different to offer on the side. I’m not a big fan of regular fries so I like other options and here you can get mac n cheese or courgette fries, though recently I have favoured the Caesar salad. I’ve tried a few different Byron locations and like how they are designed around the local area, more fancy on Haymarket, stripped back trendy in Soho and modern minimalist in Westfield.
Honest Burger – I went to Honest Burger in Brixton Village, where I used to live. The Village, a covered market place, really grew in size and popularity during my time in the area and has so many great places to eat. Honest had been recommended by Jay Raynor in his Observer column and coincidentally he popped in while I was there. There was a short wait but we were kept nourished with fantastic rosemary fries in the queue. The burger was on the Byron end of the scale, a solid honest burger.
Shake Shack – SS had been on my list since it opened its London branch, more for the shakes as I hadn’t heard great things about the burgers, but I was put off by the queues. My long-awaited visit ended up being in the last place I’d have expected to see one, Istanbul. The experience was exactly as expected. A small McDonalds style burger at four times the price, nothing to shout about, but the crinkle cut chips weren’t bad. The frozen custard (not a label I appreciate as I absolutely love custard but this is just standard ice cream) was really good though, and there was a fine line between the shake and the concrete, as even the shake was thick enough to require a spoon. They must have seen me coming, as the daily special was peanut butter, marshmallows and banana.
BRGR – This was a backup option, as the queues were bigger in all the burger places I wanted to go to that day. The burger was clearly nothing memorable, as I had to consult my Trip Advisor review to remember anything about it and it got a distinctly average three stars. However, the menu does offer a burger variation on afternoon tea, which sounds like a brilliant idea to me, so they may well get a second visit.
Tinseltown – aka Tinselghetto, a student diner which is incredibly noisy and tacky. The burgers are nothing special but they do amazing shakes in flavours you wouldn’t dream of, including several peanut butter varieties.
Still to try…I would like to go back to Burger & Lobster to sample their burger. I’ve been before and chose the good value lobster (shown below) over the over-priced burger (they are the same price), but next time I would go half and half. I’m also sad I’ve missed out on the Lucky Chip Breaking Bad days and hope they have another in future, for the chance to try the Jesse Pinkman burger with PB&J and bacon. I still can’t decide if this is disgusting or genius!
The Bright Side Foodie 