Christmas Burger #3 - Honest Burgers - Christmas Special

Christmas Special - Beef patty, smoked bacon, deep fried panko-crumbed Camembert, cranberry sauce & rocket (with rosemary fries) £11 including rosemary chips

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Christmas burger round-up part 3. Usually the weak link, right? Wrong. It was the turn of Honest Burgers and I was hoping for something pretty special, save for the usual queue. Fortunately I timed my visit bang inbetween lunch and dinner and got a table straight away (despite now having 5 branches, queueing remains an issue at Honest Burgers, although they do use a text system to let you know when your table is ready - ideal for those of the pre-food pint-in-a-pub persuasion. I can only suggest that they need to open more branches still. Or idiots stop telling everyone how good their burgers are on blogs...). The burger arrived with Camembert oozing over the patty and a nice stash of bacon topped with cranberry. The beef, just like my last visit, was top notch and cooked perfectly. The fillings add a lot of flavour and plenty of moisture to the burger. This is by far the most Christmassy of the three festive burgers, and it tastes awesome. There's no scrimping on the quality of ingredients at Honest Burgers and you can tell. Well done Honest Burgers: a deserving festive addition to the 10/10 burger wall of fame. It's being served until the 5th Jan so be quick!

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? Yes - this is Christmas is a bun

Overall 10/10

Christmas Burger #2 - Byron - Triple Cheesemas

Triple Cheesemas - Two 6oz hamburgers, American cheese, Emmenthal, Monterey Jack, onion, shredded iceberg, pickles and spicy burger sauce £11.95

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Ok, so Byron's Christmas offering is distinctly un-festive save for the name. But just look at it! It's the stuff of cheesy burger dreams. Sure, it's not the cheapest burger around, but you get a hefty package weighing in at 12oz of beef, with three types of cheese. The pickles and spicy sauce add some crunch and kick to the burger, which is packaged in Byron's signature squishy bun (a bun up among the best). There are a lot of fillings and my burger was served up standing tall and perfectly formed. Inevitable spillage occurs once you tuck in but considering the amount of fillings, it's a very photogenic package. The patties were served perfectly medium on my visit, and 12oz of them will keep those meat cravings in check. If you've got a hangover to soak up or simply got a big appetite, this is the festive burger to get your grubby hands on.

Rating: 

Meat 2/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? Yes - this is pretty special. I haven't stopped craving it since I had it.

Overall 9/10

Christmas Burger #1 - GBK - Bah Humburger

Bah Humburger - 6oz beef (or chicken) burger smothered with smoked cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, house mayo, shallots and crunchy red pickle £9.95 or £14.95 with fries and a drink

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Dry, dry and dry. This burger was simply too dry. The patty was overcooked again. There seems to be an issue with the large chains (GBK/Byron I'm looking at you) that when restaurants get busy, patties get overcooked. This aside the fillings sounded appealing with the red pickle adding a Christmas touch to an otherwise pretty standard burger. But the result lacked any sort of juice/moisture - there needed to be a lot more cheese and more mayo or other sauce. And I'm not a fan of the standard sesame bun - the fillings need to have a lot of moisture to counteract the dryness of the bread in this style of bun rather than with glazed and brioche buns, which are a lot more forgiving. The pickle is a nice addition to this burger and saves it from a lower score still, but there is nothing special enough about the Bah Humburger to recommend it. Did I mention it was dry?

Rating: 

Meat 1.5/3

Bun 0/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 3.5/10