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

GBK - Kiwiburger

Kiwiburger - Beetroot, egg, pineapple, aged Cheddar, salad, mayo & relish £9.25

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

It doesn't sound particularly appetising - egg, beetroot and pineapple in a burger. But take it from me - it works. It's not going to blow you away but it's a far cry from the stomach-churning mouthfuls you might expect it to be. As I've said before, beetroot is a top burger filling adding a nice sweetness to the patty. I think few people will argue with an egg, especially with a pleasingly runny yolk as served here. The major sticking point is probably going to be the pineapple for most people; if this is an insurmountable obstacle between plate and mouth then it can always be removed or ordered without. If you can get over this you'll find that it is a fairly subtle taste in the burger and works well with everything else. My major issue with the burger is that there is so much sloppiness that it doesn't stand a chance of holding together. Sure it turned up presented and stacked well (with the help of a stick), but once you get your knife/mouth into it things turn decidedly messier. The egg yolk breaks and runs everywhere which is to be expected, but with the relish and cheese sliming over the already slimy beetroot and pineapple, the burger ends up looking like it's just endured a giant earthquake. It tastes good, but it doesn't feel enough like a burger as half ends up on your plate. I would cook the cheese into the patty, put the egg on top so that the bun can soak up some of the yolk, and use grated beetroot in an effort to straighten this Pisa - just a suggestion GBK! Oh, and my patty was overcooked again - that lack of consistency an inherent problem with chain restaurants.

Rating: 

Meat 1.5/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 0/2

Extra point? Yes - we might not see one in this country, but well done GBK for trying to prevent the extinction of the Kiwi with donations from these burgers

Overall 5.5/10

Founders Arms - Tower 42

Tower 42 - double burger w/ bacon, monterey jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, chips and bbq relish £14

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Served with chips and a sea of lettuce, this is a hefty burger. I never have particularly high hopes for pub burgers - their menus are generally too varied to excel at one thing in particular, so I guess this burger didn't disappoint too much. The positives are the bun which was a solid GBK/Byron standard - good choice Founders Arms. The fillings weren't bad either - nothing overly exciting but monterey jack is an upgrade from stock cheese and there's a couple of decent rashers of bacon in there. The moot point is the meat - not particularly surprising. There's certainly plenty of it, but as it is cooked well done (mine was also slightly burnt) it's dry and somewhat tasteless. The problem lies in the fact that most pubs use cheap cuts of meat in their burgers which prohibits them from cooking medium rare - and the taste seriously suffers for it. Pubs can't compete with the true burger joints, and yet the prices aren't wildly different. So in summary don't come for the burger, come for the views over the Thames and the Meantime/Camden Hells on tap (kudos to Youngs for adding these to the menial standard beers) and if you're going to have a burger whilst in residence keep those expectations in check.

Rating: 

Meat 0.5/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 4.5/10

London Burger Bash Round 4

Another month, another burger competition. This time held at Camden Town Brewery, there would be 24 competitors in total flipping burgers for votes over 4 rounds, each held over 2 days, unlike the 12 burgers in one night extravaganza at Borough Market last month. The winner from each round will go into a final to compete for best burger. This was serious business then. And this time I had a ticket.

In the previous 3 rounds, Fred Smith, Patty & Bun and Bleecker St Burger had conquered, knocking out the likes of Byron, Elliot's, Hawksmoor and Mother Flipper. Competition was stiff.

Armed with our full tickets (5 half burgers and 1 full burger all washed down with some top beer from Camden Town Brewery), myself and a fellow burger muncher set off to chow down some meat and cast our vote.

So in reverse order, here's my ranking of the 6 burgers from the evening:

6th Place
Ibérica - Iberica Burger Grande - secreto Iberico pork loin, rosemary manchego cheese, salsa Iberica, demi-brioche bun

Thoughts:

There's no doubting the quality of the meat and other ingredients in this offering, but for me pork burgers just can't stand against beef pattys. The meat is much drier and so doesn't pack as much flavour.

5th Place
Trific - Hamburg Hamburger - aged beef patty, smoked shallot mayo, beetroot pickles, fried quail egg, herring salsa, brioche bun

Thoughts:

So what have ze Germans from Hamburg got for us? I fairly liked the sound of this one (with the exception of the herring salsa); I think beetroot works really well in a burger and who doesn't like a fried egg? It's certainly a packed half burger with the salsa and mayo going on once cut, but there were too many flavours in this offering. Everything competes rather than working together and the quail egg was completely lost inside.

4th Place
Zoilo - Chimichurri Burger - chimichurri-infused patty, caramelised onions, grilled tomatoes, provolone cheese, roasted garlic aioli, house spicy pickle, brioche bun

Thoughts:

A nicely cooked patty here and a lot of flavoursome ingredients in this burger. It's not a bad burger by any stretch, but I found the herby flavour of the chimichurri very strong. All of the ingredients are cooked resulting in quite a mushy burger. It needs a bit of lettuce or something crunchy to add some texture.

3rd Place
Shake Shack - Smokeshack - cheeseburger, British free range Wiltshire cure smoked bacon, chopped cherry pepper, shacksauce, potato roll

Thoughts:

The only full burger of the evening (due to the modest size of the patty) and extra points for all the guys on the stand being really friendly (and giving us t-shirts) and for bringing their beer nut ice-cream to the party (yep, we managed to fit it in!). I haven't got round to visiting Shake Shack in Covent Garden yet, but from what I hear the burgers are McDonalds esq but better. This was the feeling with this burger. The patty (in part due to its thinness) can't compete with the other burgers here, but it's still a good few leagues above McDs. The bacon was good quality, the potato roll clothes the fillings well and the chopped cherry pepper is a little bit special. Both of us munched down this burger very happily.

2nd Place
Burger Bear - Black Forest Bear - aged beef patty, black cherry bacon jam, double oak smoked bacon, american cheese, black toasted bamboo charcoal bun

Thoughts:

The most unique looking burger of the night due to the black bamboo charcoal bun. And the most impressive patty of the night as well - initially the size and shape of a tennis ball before being smashed down into a patty on the grill by Tom Reaney (Burger Bear). It doesn't disappoint. A great burger with everything done right and with special touches from the black cherry bacon jam and that black bun. These guys seemed to be having the best time of all the flippers, dancing around their mirrorball to disco beats. If I was being very critical the burger is very sweet and would soon get sickly, but this is a minor complaint.

1st Place
Tongue + Cheek - Piccante Heartbreaker - ox heart & dry aged beef patty, spicy nduja, smoked provola cheese, kewpie mayo, pickled onions, gem lettuce

Thoughts:

My top burger of the night. Great patty with extra meatiness from the ox heart and cooked superbly. Nice touch with the kewpie (egg yolk only) mayo, but the killer ingredient was the nduja sausage giving just the right amount of heat to the burger to make it something really special. Top burger this where the meat is still the lead role but all the supporting ingredients give a stellar performance as well.





And the winner is: No democracy can be based on just one burger blogger's vote - over the 2 days Burger Bear collected the most votes and was a deserving winner of the Golden Patty. He joins the 3 previous champion flippers in the grand final - I hope to be there!

A few shots from the evening:

Lucky Chip vs Breaking Bad - Heisenburger & Jessy Pinkman

I've been meaning to get down to Lucky Chip for a while as I've heard a lot of rave reviews of their burgers. As well as serving up at Netil Market, they've currently got a residency at the Sebright Arms pub just off the Hackney Road. All this week they're doing a special and cooking up Breaking Bad inspired scoff in their lab:

Good as the whole periodic table looks, there were only really two options for me: the Heisenburger and the Jessy Pinkman. Keen to try both of these burgers, but not able to make a second trip whilst this special was on, the choice was clear - go Full Measure and order both.

Heisenburger - Cooked up beef patty, 98% blue cheese, smoked bacon, onion rings, methlamine hot sauce & aioli £9.50

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

This burger is to other burgers what Heisenberg is to Walter White. Oozing hot sauce and blue cheese, it truly is a filthy character. Firstly the meat: the patty is thick, coarse, cooked well (if a touch overdone) and is the main event. This is what a patty is meant to be like. It isn't dwarfed by either the bun or the fillings. The bun is top as well - in this case a glazed seeded bun is used, and it holds together well. So far so good; now for the fillings. Well.....they just pack too much punch. It's a full on assault to the tastebuds - in the blue corner the cheese is one of the most potent blue cheeses I've tasted in a burger, and in the red corner the hot sauce has a fiery snarl. Biting into this burger, you are in the middle of the ring and about to get smacked in the face by both blue and red. There's nothing wrong with the quality of the fillings - both the bacon and onion rings taste good, but having both blue cheese and hot sauce is excessive. There's too much going on in the burger and too much sauce involved - you're going to need a lot of napkins with this one. A shame because the meat and bun deserve a higher overall score.

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 0/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 6/10

Jessy Pinkman - Beef patty, peanut butter, jam, bacon & chilli £8.50

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Peanut butter and jam. In a burger. I suspected this would either flop or blow my mind......It was the latter. I've already talked about the quality of the patty and the bun in the Heisenburger review, so let's keep it simple here - they rocked. But the peanut butter, jam and bacon are f*cking outstanding. Peanut butter works so well with the beef (and a few places have noticed this and are serving it up - e.g. the Steak Louisiana at Haché), but where this might leave other burgers dry, here the jam keeps everything moist. The bacon adds extra meatiness and the whole package is burger euphoria. This is the kind of burger I want to eat every day. Pinkman - you're an absolute winner. Yeah bitch!

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? Yes - peanut butter, jam and bacon in a burger is a masterstroke! I'm addicted after one hit.

Overall 10/10

GBK - The Taxidriver

The Taxidriver - American cheese, onion ring, Cajun relish, smoked chilli mayo, dill pickle, salad, brioche bun £9.75

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

I had fairly high hopes for the Taxidriver - it's a burger I've had prior to the blog being up and running and I remember thinking it was one of GBK's best. Almost distracted by the Smokin' Joe on the new winter menu, I stuck with the intention of scoffing down the Taxidriver. It's GBK's full on American style burger and probably the dirtiest they do (which in the grand scheme of burgers is still pretty gourmet). The flavours work well and although I've become a bit bored of the brioche bun these days finding it to be too sweet too often, it completely works for this burger. It soaks up the juices from the patty, the onion ring and the american cheese and nearly holds it all together. The onion ring is the star of the show here, adding a tasty crunch to the burger, and the fillings all work well with each other. There's a couple of problems: the onion ring and the tomato slice make the burger stand tall and it's not easy to eat without falling apart. Secondly, and again due to the volume of fillings, the meat gets a little lost in it all. Like an English villager rocking up in NYC for the first time, there is so much else going on that it gets overwhelmed and retreats deep in the middle of the burger. And let's be honest - the fillings should always play second fiddle to the meat. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed with my visit to GBK this time. The Blue Cheese Slaw with chopped jalapenos from the new menu was tasty but I'd hoped for something mind-blowing. Their Rosemary fries (skinny fries with clumps of rosemary salt on top) are knocked out of the park by those served at Honest Burgers. Perhaps I've just been lured by the younger, sexier burger joints in town and GBK has become a little same old. I certainly don't agree with the generic GBK bashing that some people give - their burgers are reliable, the meat is tasty, fillings are good quality and their student/NHS discount and phone app bring the slightly inflated prices back into order. It's just lacking a wow factor, a little like this burger.

Rating: 

Meat 2/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 7/10

Lord Nelson - The Mandela Burger

The Mandela Burger - 7oz Springbok Burger (Gamston Farm @ Boro' Mkt) topped w/ Boerewors Sausage, Fried Onions, Hot & Spicy South African Chutney + Chips, Coleslaw, Salad £11

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

'The Best Burgers in London' the sign outside the Lord Nelson pub in Southwark boldy proclaims. Perhaps a bit of a stretch that one, but if it said 'Biggest Burger Menu of London Pubs' I'd be surprised if it wasn't true - I counted around 25 burger options on my visit. I haven't been reviewing pub burgers on here so far (but may appear eventually) as this would open the floodgates to a whole load of posts, and I suspect a lot of mediocre burgers. However, the reason for this trip had been to try their well publicised and perhaps slightly controversial Horse Burger (meat sourced from Gamston Farm at Borough Market); alas Black Beauty was not available so I opted for the Mandela which is built around a Springbok burger (also sourced from Gamston Farm). The burger is well thought out - the Boerewors sausage adds a smoky meatiness and the chutney adds tang and moisture. It's served lid off to show off the fillings and it looks quite good (at least to the carniverous). I liked the flavour of the Springbok burger - there's no doubting the quality of the meat, but it was overcooked and therefore dry. Whilst the sausage and the chutney helped to make up for this, the bun was reasonable but again a bit too dry. A lighter and moister bun would help here. The sides make up in quantity what they lack a little in quality - I approve of the skin-on rustic chips but they were hit-and-miss; as a fellow burger fan pointed out whilst happily munching on his Elvis Burger (beef and peanut butter), it's a definite plus that they come with the burger and you don't have to muck around ordering extras just to fill the plate (and your stomach). It was a decent enough burger and the score perhaps seems a little low, but if the meat was cooked medium rare and the bun was improved this could be a 7 or 8 / 10 burger. For a small, and predominantly student pub (you can get a pint of drinkable lager for the very non-London price of £2.50 on production of a student card), the Lord Nelson is serving up a lot of innovative pub quality burgers and should be commended for that. If you fancy trying an exotic game or a Horse Burger then gallop down Southwark way.

Rating: 

Meat 1/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 5/10

Duke's Brew & Que - Duke's Burger

Duke's Burger - 100% ground Beef burger (medium rare) with pickles, lettuce, tomato, red onion, KC BBQ sauce, mayo, mustard with Duke’s Fries on the side £12.95 (Jack cheese and bacon added for £2 extra)

Gourmet/Dirty: Inbetween

This bbq pit and previous brewhouse of Beavertown Brewery (they've since moved to a larger brewery space) is just off the Kingsland Road near Haggerston station. In a toss up between the much-lauded ribs and the burger, I thought of you, reader, and opted for the latter. I added Monterey Jack cheese and bacon to the fillings that come as standard in the burger which is served with slaw and fries. I've heard that the guys here put a lot of work into perfecting the patty and that work has paid off - the result is great tasting meat cooked well. The bun tastes and looks good but is just a little on the fragile side to score top marks and led to a bit of spillage. The fillings and the overall taste were very good, if a little heavy on the mustard which might not be for more sensitive palates. I think the addition of bacon and Jack cheese was worth it, but nudging 15 smackers it makes for a pricey burger. Duke's is a great place and the Beavertown beers are top notch (Apricot Pale Ale and Gamma Ray are both highly quaffable); you won't be disappointed if you opt for the Duke's Burger over the ribs, but just make sure you book in advance or get there early to nab a table outside (there are heaters!) otherwise you'll experience more queue than que....

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 7/10

Honest Burgers - Special

Special - Beef & black pudding, apple tempura, tarragon & caper mayonnaise £10.50 including rosemary chips

Gourmet/Dirty: Gourmet

It's been a little while coming, and I've finally made it to Honest Burgers. Highly rated by a mate of mine, I'd been meaning to get down to the original restaurant in Brixton Village - but I found myself in the Camden area in the mood for a burger so it seemed the right thing to do. I had every intention of trying their signature burger - the Honest Burger - but, at the risk of running before I could walk, I plumped for the special as it sounded too good to miss. Firstly the highs - the meat is awesome. Sourced from Ginger Pig it is cooked to perfection and the black pudding went together perfectly. The brioche bun is top notch with just the right squishiness but strong enough to hold the burger together. All the burgers here come with chips making them better value than a lot of burger joints - others should take note. Their rosemary salting is top as well. They packed so much flavour I didn't touch any sauces - a rarity. The apple & beetroot coleslaw is also worth a mention, as is the fact you can have any of the burgers in a gluten-free bap - big brownie points from the wheat-free crowd. There's just the one sticking point - I wasn't sure about the apple tempura. Call me traditional but apple goes with pork. And I didn't think it really worked here, but it far from ruined it. Overall a top burger then, with just the apple keeping it from greatness. Looking forward to getting the signature Honest Burger down the burger hole very soon...

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? No

Overall 8/10

MEATliquor - Dead Hippie

Dead Hippie - 2X mustard fried beef patties, dead hippie sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, minced white onions £7.50

Gourmet/Dirty: Filthy!

MEATliquor - you either love it or hate it. Judging by the fact there are still queues mid-week a lot of people love it. They've come a long way since the days of MEATwagon and now have three fixed outlets. Still serving up the same unashamedly greasy american-style fast food, they were the originial King of London burgers when they threw open their doors in 2011. Since then there have been a whole host of new pretenders to the throne popping up across London. So how does one of their most popular burgers - the Dead Hippie - stack up? Well, pretty damn well. The meat is absolutely awesome. Perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked and with 2 patties it's what this burger is all about. The bun is squidgy - not too moist, not too dry, not too sweet - just spot on. The fillings all add to the meat and the cheese doesn't overpower it as it can in other cases. Dead Hippie sauce - whatever it is - rounds off the taste and it is class A addictive. Sure, if you don't like your burger greasy then you might prefer something like this. If you do but you don't fancy queueing you can hit MEATmarket for a quickie, or book a table at MEATmission. The Dead Hippie is everything an American style burger should be. If only it was bigger...

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? Yes! Dead Hippie sauce is awesome and £7.50 is cheaper than a lot of other burgers out there.

Overall 10/10

Haché - Steak Bavarian

Steak Bavarian - Roquette, beef tomato, sliced sweet sweet red onion, Haché mayo, topped with smoked Bavarian cheese and caramelised onions. £9.95

Gourmet/Dirty: Gourmet

This was my first visit to Haché burgers and I was impressed! I chose the Steak Bavarian - a really good burger if you like smoked cheese. The meat itself was awesome (one of the best tasting patties I've had) and the other fillings worked well together. I like the fact you can choose either a ciabatta or a brioche bun for any burger. The bun was good, although by the end with the caramelised onions did get sickly. On the whole though this is a top burger. Haché could improve their sides - the coleslaw and wedges I had were fine but pub standard - GBK and Byron are ahead of them for this. The menu selection is huge and there are a lot of flavours going on. I'll be back to try the Steak Canadian (sweet cure bacon and cheddar cheese) as I have a feeling that with the quality of the meat here this could be an even better burger than the Bavarian. It's definitely worth checking out one of Haché's four branches. Oh and you get smarties with your bill.

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 7/10

GBK - The Don

The Don - Bacon aioli, blue cheese, American cheese, onion jam, rocket, mustard mayo, brioche bun. £9.95

Gourmet/Dirty: Gourmet

'Another GBK burger already?' I hear you say. Well as I've mentioned before the GBK app gives rewards and this burger was free. So I couldn't resist heading in for a quick burger fix. The rating will be based on the full price though. I enjoyed this burger - the meat, as ever, was good quality and cooked well. Anyone who likes blue cheese on their burgers/steaks will enjoy this as the flavour is spot on. The rest of the ingredients work well for the overall flavour of the burger. All is going well for The Don; BUT I think the bun, which was a little charred in my case, lets it down somewhat (and I'm usually a champion of the brioche bun). For this burger I think a soft floury bun of the type that Byron use would work better. The brioche bun is too sweet, becoming sickly by the end, and doesn't work with the sharpness of the blue cheese. Nearly a great burger - close but no cigar.

Rating: 

Meat 2/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 6/10

Byron - Byron

Byron - Dry cure bacon, mature Cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion and Byron sauce. £9.25

Gourmet/Dirty: Gourmet

National Burger Day burger #2. Byron's signature burger doesn't disappoint. Meat cooked medium and smothered in cheese. Good quality bacon and salad and the Byron sauce completes the fillings and adds to the taste. Fantastic bun that is well rounded, just the right squishiness and holds the juices without being too sweet. I also like that they give you a gherkin wedge on the side (with all their burgers). Lacks a wow factor, but a solid performer with all aspects thought out and executed well. All other burgers should be compared to this.

Rating: 

Meat 2/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? No

Overall 8/10

GBK - The Capital

The Capital – American cheese, crispy shallots, tomato, pickled onion, shredded iceberg, secret sauce. £7.95

Gourmet/Dirty: Gourmet

National Burger Day burger #1. I don't think the burger looks particularly good - certainly not in the photo. Lettuce is streaming out, and the bun looks dry and isn't nicely rounded - appears homemade and amateurish. On the plus side the meat was cooked medium as requested, and GBK meat is pretty good in general. I can't help but think this is a poor man's Taxidriver (a better burger with upgraded ingredients - will review soon). Tastes ok but would be improved with a better bun. Nothing special and definitely not the best burger GBK do. Kudos though to GBK for their help-youself monkey nuts and water, regular offers and app that gives a surprising amount of free food. I also like their order-at-the-counter system as you don't have to wait for table service or feel compelled to tip. GBK won me back with these touches and I'll be back to give their other burgers a chance to shine.

Rating: 

Meat 2/3

Bun 0/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 4/10

Red Dog Saloon - The Devastator

The Devastator – 3 x 6oz patties, 200g pulled pork, 6 rashers applewood smoked bacon & 6 slices American cheese + lettuce, onions and pickles £22.75. Sandwiched by coleslaw and french fries.

Gourmet/Dirty: Inbetween

A fair monster of a burger – but not as big as I imagined given the hype and price. That said I was relatively impressed. Given that it’s a little gimmicky, the meat was good. Cooked medium (as proper burgers should be) and nice flavour, and there’s enough to satisy most people. Bacon added a smoky flavour but cheese is slightly over-powering. This one had to be a knife and fork job, and given the contents I won’t mark it down for being so. The pulled pork was tasty but cold and I don’t think it added anything to the burger except volume. Burgers are great and pulled pork baps are great but let’s keep them separate. Chips and coleslaw were average. Despite the great patties the rating takes a hit from the price – I could accept up to £20 because of the copious meat but given that chips aren’t included £22.75 seems a little steep. They should throw in chips as it would save a few quid but cost Red Dog very little.

Rating: 

Meat 2/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 0/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 4/10

Five Guys - Bacon Cheese Burger

Bacon Cheese Burger – All the way (Mayo, Lettuce, Pickles, Tomatoes, Grilled Onions, Grilled Mushrooms, Ketchup, Mustard). £8.75. Five Guys style fries and Coca Cola Freestyle drink in the back.

Gourmet/Dirty: Dirty

A decent burger. Greasy but not overly soggy. A fast food burger of the type you crave occasionally. The foil wrapping keeps the heat in so thumbs up. Messy, grease satisfying but without any of the anticipated indigestion after – it actually went down well. Meat is of a decent quality but perhaps overcome by the other ingredients – not too surprising given their number. Chips are salty and soggy in keeping with the unhealthy vibe. Again, if you’re in the mood they’ll go down ok. They’ve also got a Coca Cola Freestyle machine – 100+ drinks combos. If you’re in the area and you need a quick grease hit Five Guys is worth a stop.

Rating: 

Meat 1/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 4/10

Byron - Big B

Big B – Two 3oz hamburgers, double cheese slice, onion, shredded iceberg, pickles, burger sauce, potato bun. £9.50. Courgette fries and coleslaw in the back.

Gourmet/Dirty: Gourmet

Great taste from the burger sauce but the burger is too fragile. Potato bun has a nice taste but perhaps a brioche bun would hold it together more. The two 3oz patties are good enough without being meat heaven. All in all nice tasting but I wasn’t blown away by it and it’s not robust enough to stop its insides falling out.

Rating: 

Meat 1/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 0/2

Extra point? No

Overall 3/10