-
-
10. Joe Allen
-
9. Electric Diner
-
8. Lucky Chip
-
7. Hawksmoor
-
6. CUT at 45 Park Lane
-
5. Honest Burgers
-
4. Patty & Bun
-
3. Elliot's
-
2. Goodman
-
1. Bar Boulud
-
-
10. Joe Allen
-
9. Electric Diner
-
8. Lucky Chip
-
7. Hawksmoor
-
6. CUT at 45 Park Lane
-
5. Honest Burgers
-
4. Patty & Bun
-
3. Elliot's
-
2. Goodman
-
1. Bar Boulud
Go ahead, salivate, that’s the carnivore’s natural response to my list of the top 10 burgers in London. But, please, if my voluptuous burger snaps lead you to envy my adventures as a burger taster, think again.
The quality of burgers may be improving, but getting them cooked as ordered is a crapshoot, even from the burger elite: Of the combined 38 burgers I’ve tried at the top tenners featured below a good third were either overcooked or, more rarely, undercooked. A few might have been overcooked by design in response to concerns expressed most vocally by Westminster Council linking increased risk of E. coli infection with rare and medium-rare burgers.
Exhaustive as my investigation was, not just of the top 10 burgers but also of many that didn’t make the cut, the sampling was ultimately too small to be statistically significant: I can’t predict with any certainly the likelihood of your getting a burger cooked the way you want it. Most of these kitchens have good days and off days. The ranking is based solely on my days, my first-hand experiences, my luck.
With many ways to judge a burger it’s too bad you can’t click a relevance tab to arrange this list according to the factors which matter to you most: burger style (joint, diner, pub, steak), patty (size, shape, density), meat (grade, cut, fat content, grind), quality and assortment of toppings, cooking method, consistency of preparation, value for money, construction, inventiveness, level of obscene drippiness.
Absent a re-sorting mechanism I’ve resorted to taking into account all these factors, chief amongst them consistency: Had I rated the top 10 burgers at the top of their form and not according to past performances the ranking order would look very different. One burger not on the list, from Burger & Lobster, would be in the top 5 had recent standards of preparation matched its ambitions and £20 price.
In the end I relied most on a single consideration: pleasure. My top 10 burgers in London are the ones I’d most want to eat.
The Top 10 Burgers in London
10. Joe Allen
Imagine the name of Orson Welles missing from the credits of The Third Man and you can begin to appreciate one’s astonishment at not finding the Joe Allen burger anywhere on the restaurant’s menu. The cross-charred burger, like Welles, may not be the star of this production, but once it makes an appearance atop that house-baked brioche bun, cloaked in melted Monterey Jack, its commanding presence looms in your consciousness. Befitting its unlisted address in a discreet West End celebrity haunt, the burger is a performer of measured stature: big but not obscenely so, lean but not dry, tender but not mushy. When the London Burger Hall of Fame is built the Joe Allen off-menu burger – the West End’s best worse-kept secret – must be its first inductee. £8.50 not including chips.
13 Exeter Street, WC2E 7DT
9. Electric Diner
A “single” cheeseburger contains two patties at Electric Diner as well as at Au Cheval, the Chicago diner that inspired it. Eat one and you’ll know why. Its toasted glazed bun, a beauty if ever there was one, stabbed and steadied in the back with a steak knife prior to delivery. The soft three-ounce patties, expertly fried on a chrome flattop griddle, are deep-pink throughout, their crevices oozing red globules of fatty juice. With gooey Monterey Jack, Dijon mayo and dill pickle chips as their mortar the twin patties are as one. Single cheeseburger indeed. £10, not including fries.
191 Portobello Rd., W11 2ED
8. Lucky Chip
Is it finally time to draw a line in the salt? The hot-off-the-truck burgers from Lucky Chip get their kick – and we’re talking a Steven Gerrard kick – from the Murray Hill Australian sea salt encrusting its patties. As difficult as it is to put these fabulously middleweights down, figuratively and, yes, literally, the heavy-handed salting has gone over the top, literally and, yes, figuratively. There’s no disputing the appeal of the patties, with their desirably rough contours and fat-soaked crevices. When cooked right the buzz you get from the first bite is so great you can almost feel your ears ringing. The smoked back bacon, however, can border on chewy, occasionally with tiny hard white bits, possibly cartilage. Lucky Chip is in residence at the Sebright Arms pub every night except Sunday. On Saturdays you’ve find the guys parked at the original Netil Market location from 12:30pm to 9pm. £6.50-£16 not including fries.
Lucky Chip at Sebright Arms, 31-35 Coate Street, E2 9AG
Lucky Chip at Netil Market, 13-23 Westgate Street, London Fields, E8 3RL
7. Hawksmoor
There are two pairs of hands you want to see around this big and deceptively powerful burger: yours or Hawksmoor‘s. Others have tried to duplicate the lush mince mix, which is said to include bone marrow and obscure cuts like beef shoulder clod, but these imposters have left me and their burgers crushed. Fat fills the grooves within the Hawksmoor burger as it cooks, basting its internal structure with deep, beefy flavours. The wet patty rests over an untidy raft of lettuce interruptus. Squeeze the burger too firmly or not firmly enough, I’m never sure which, and the patty will slide out from its housing, greasing your hands and breaching the bottom of the bun even before you’ve taken your first bite. But, oh my, what a first bite! Danger. Implosion. It’s all there, except, in recent instances, any significant char on the surface of a patty cooked to medium rare. £15 including chips.
Hawksmoor Spitalfields – 157 Commercial Street, E1 6BJ
Hawksmoor Seven Dials – 11 Langley Street, WC2H 9JG
Hawksmoor Guildhall - 10/12 Basinghall St, EC2V 5BQ
6. CUT at 45 Park Lane
Ask £22 (roughly $34) for a not very large burger and you must include at least one luxury add-on: foie gras, black truffles, gold leaf onion rings. A selection of three mustards, however impressive, won’t cut it. At CUT you’re ostensibly paying Beverly Hills prices for the beef, a hybrid of Australian wagyu and black angus; the name, chef Wolfgang Puck; and the address, a Dorchester Collection Hotel in Mayfair. The sumptuous, softly packed, deep-pink patty is anointed with garlic aioli (fab), melted Ogleshield cheese, caramelised red onion and a shallot-jalapeno marmalade that’s London’s finest burger condiment. The air bubbles in a bun densely dotted with poppy and sesame seeds is ideal for compression. When gently queezed between your fingers the bread closes in on one juicy, beefy, beautifully constructed burger. £22 including fries.
45 Park Lane, W1K 1PN
5. Honest Burgers
In a makeshift burger luncheonette in Brixton Village Market built with hammer and nails, Tom Barton and his able sidekicks stick to the fundamentals. They form 5 1/4 ounces (150 gr) of coarse, fatty mince into marbled beef balls and flatten them with their hands (not spatula) on their sizzling flat-top griddle. Only then are the burgers seasoned top and bottom with coarse salt. The crunch of the Honest, their best daily burger variety burger, comes from the level layers (important) of sliced homemade gherkins and crisp streaky bacon; its tang, from griddle-steamed Cheddar; its sweetness, from red onion relish; its oven-browned polish, from a brushed white-flour bun; its juice, from marbled meat put through the most minimal of workouts. Burgers are not like boxers: If you want to develop a middleweight champion, as Honest has done, you mustn’t overwork ‘em. £7.50-£9 including chips.
Honest Burgers Brixton – Unit 12, Brixton Village, SW9 8PR
Honest Burgers Soho – 4A Meard Street – W1F 0EF
4. Patty & Bun
A burger bun is a handle protecting our hands from drippy greasy, cheese and condiments. Patty & Bun‘s Joe Grossman did not get that memo. His burgers are not so much over-the-top as all over the place: Open the wrapper and you can’t tell where the orange cheesy stuff ends and the runny orange house sauce begins. Beneath the radioactive goo is an appealingly plump, deep-pink, hand-packed patty just shy of six ounces but not shy of fatty juices. It’s a genre bender, successfully combining classic elements of both joint burgers and steak burgers. Grossman has named burgers after Ari Gold and Smokey Robinson but for me a more voluminous luminary comes to mind, Oliver Hardy. “Well,” you’ll be telling Grossman as you unwrap yet another Ari or Smokey and lick mayonnaise off your fingers, “here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into!”. £7-8.
54 James Street, W1U 1HE
3.Elliot’s.
With beer-braised onions, aged Comté melted as if for a gratinée and bread overhead, Elliot’s burger is outfitted in the manner of French onion soup. The accoutrements enhance but do not smother each 160-gram mound of aged, coarsely minced beef shin and rib cap from Borough Market neighbour The Ginger Pig. (The cheese is from another Borough Market trader, The French Comté.) The plump patty is smartly shaped for height at the expense of diameter. Its shape and fit over a house-baked linseed brioche bun brushed on its cut sides with acidulated dill butter is in the Bar Boulud mould, whereas the meat’s beefy creaminess belongs to the Hawksmoor school. My only beef with the burger is that it’s only available at lunch. £12.50 including chips.
12 Stoney Street, SE1 9AD
2. Goodman
The caramelised crust of what is essentially a charred chopped steak glistens beneath the custom-fitted brioche dome that crowns the Goodman steakhouse burger. The bun’s top half teeters over molten Cheddar and crisp, easy-to-chew streaky bacon, beckoning you to close shut the sandwich with your hands and devour it. But you will need to stretch the C-shaped brackets formed between thumbs and index fingers to make a go of it. The coarse texture of the patty is firm but not dense, making it a joy to break down the beefy, juicy goodness in your mouth. To capture the benefits of pre-salting the ground beef without breaking down its proteins and suffering the sticky consequences Goodman substitutes salty fish sauce for salt. The swap is usually successful: Blasted in the Josper Grill the Goodman medium-rare burger is a study in pink on pink . £15 including chips or fries.
Goodman Mayfair – 26 Maddox Street, W1S 1QH
Goodman City – 11 Old Jewry, EC2R 8DU
Goodman Canary Wharf – 3 South Quay, Discovery Dock East, E14 9RU
1. Bar Boulud
Some vertical burgers are larger but none is more stable or stylish than Boulud’s: Its patty sits snugly beneath a thick layer of toppings inside the domed bun. It’s as if the bun’s bottom half had a contoured seat, like an Eames moulded side chair. Coarse mince, best for improving inner texture and expanding surface area, is hand-packed into chubby patties most would want to flatten out further. Not the Boulud chefs, who are right in their depth, not out of it. Order one medium rare and it comes to you with charred shell, pink interior, no grey fringes. The burger gives easily to the gentlest of finger squeezes, first lubricating the bun and fixings and then your mouth with juices. The Frenchie, with melty Morbier, Dijon mustard and pork belly confit, is a splendid Gallic riff on a bacon cheeseburger. Even better is the Piggie, which transforms Bar Boulud into Bar Becue with its layers of red cabbage slaw, japapeno and pulled pork. But it’s the lavish BB, as in Best Burger, that halts conversation: Something monumental happens when the succulent braised short ribs, foie gras, horseradish mayo, crisp fried shallots, red onion confiture, black onion seed brioche and patty are crushed between your teeth. £11.75-£20 not including frites.
66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA
About Daniel
I know The Gun’s beef shin burger and even hosted a BurgerMonday meatup at the Docklands pub. Unfortunately Its impressive 10 1/2 ounce (300 gr) burger is not always cooked to the requested level of doneness (or within the accepted margin of error), thus disqualifying it for the London top 10.
Especially with your Honest Burger review! Went on Friday, top class burger that!
went to Joe Allen’s the other day…. Two obvious questions to ask are:
- why won’t they put the burger on the menu? we actually had to ask the waitress whether they make them or not
- is that a slider or a burger? it was tiny!!
Good burger though…. but ridiculously small to compare with some of the heavy duty beauties we have sampled elsewhere, namely Hawksmoor and #Meatwagon
Anna – The off-menu status of the Joe Allen burger, clever or just annoying, is by now a London tradition. Many, such as this freelance journalist writing for the Guardian, would be horrified to see this change.
I agree the burger is smallish, especially when compared to Hawksmoor’s. But it’s reasonably thick for its size and roughly half the price. Plus you yourself rated it good. Next time have two!
Great stuff Daniel. Must say I find Hache a bit overrated and Byron too for that matter.. Eagle Bar and Diner is my spot – brilliantly consistent and high marks in terms of toppings for caramelized onions as standard, option of 6oz or 8oz and decent range of toppings. Plus the huge cloth napkin is a statement of intent. I’d be interested in your thoughts…
Daniel great updated list we are almost on the same page – I think 3 is up there with No 1 based on my recent experiences and 4 is ahead of 2 pour moi – go figure !
Daniel,
I had the Goodman burger yesterday, and i must say i was pretty disappointed. Dry bun, overcooked burger, sloppy tomato, and just a general lacking of juices and moisture. Not to say i didnt enjoy the experience but dont think its number 1.
With that being said, I had the Ad Cod burger on Saturday, and that was an excellent Burger, and what i would rank as number 1. The burger was perfectly cooked, bun excellent, bacon excellent, and the lettuce/slaw topped it off perfectly.
Also think Baloud is overratted but perhaps i need to go back.
Burgerfoodie – Very disappointed to hear your Goodman burger yesterday did not look anything like mine a couple of weeks ago.
Expat American here. An Italian friend and I have been following your list religiously (with updates!) for almost a year now. Agree Goodman and Admiral Cod are fantastic but actually rate the Malmaison burger above them all!
Any reason in particular you delisted them?
TNburgerlover – The restaurant group behind Malmaison began doing strange things to their meat to circumvent the dangers associated with serving rare and medium-rare mince (ground beef to us Americans). See this post.
I have had the Goodman burger about 5 or 6 times now and have absolutely loved it. After telling my wife how great it was, she finally came along to try it out.
I have to agree with BurgerFoodie, the burger just wasn’t up to standard. The bun was very dry compared to normal (almost tasted stale) and the meat was not as juicy as normal. It felt like there was a lack of care taken with it. This was very disappointing. I wish I had chosen the steak instead.
I would even say I had a better burger at Hache today – I had the Canadian bacon burger (make sure you ask for it Medium Rare – as they do medium well as standard). Reminded me of the burger at the draft house at one of the burger Mondays.
On a mission to tackle this entire list. Went to Goodman today for lunch, Mayfair rather than the city. Quite simply excellent, its the best burger Ive had in London so far.
Small disappointment was the lack of fries vs chips. To me burgers should always come with fries but thats a personal choice I guess.
Daniel,
This weekend I continued my quest to visit all of your top 10 burger spots, and on Sunday took a trip to Lucky Chip.
I thought the experience as a whole was good, not amazing. Almost half of the menu was unavailable due to an apparent busy evening on Saturday. I thought the Burger was slightly over cooked, but was still very juicy. A little too slippery, but i actually thought the bun held quite well. The jalapenos were excellent and i thought the fries were good, but again not great.
Last three trips off your list still rank:
1. Ad Cod
2. Goodman
3. Luckychip
So far off this list I’ve done Opera Tavern, Hawksmoor and Lucky Chip and thought I’d give some feedback – they are all fantastic burgers by the way.
For a short period, Lucky Chip were parked in NW10 about a 10 minute walk from my house. I was bitterly disappointed when they lost that spot and moved out east. Great burger although I think the alioli is quite a sympathetic dressing and a touch overused. The first burger I had there blew me away, the second and third were still pretty good but that’s when I cottoned on just how much the garlic taste was adding to the burger. Incredible fries though! Need more coverage on the fries in general on this page!
Hawksmoor was also a pretty incredible burger – very greasy though, maybe a little too much fat for some people’s liking.
Despite the pork, despite the size, I’d still put the Opera Tavern’s burger above both Lucky Chip and Hawksmoor. Incredible flavour combination and well worth the visit. Also make sure you try their charcuterie selection.
As per another commenter, would also be interested in your thoughts on Eagle Bar.
I’ve eaten at most of the above and I think that London’s best burger has been omitted… get yourself down to Chiswell Street Dining Rooms in the City.
Consistently exceptional
HI Daniel, great list. Two quick things. Can you get the iphone app to be updated with this list (and this list only). The app is missing bar boulod and some others. Further, I would suggest removing all the Byron listings as they are just a chain now and clutter the app with their ever growing locations. -e
Love the list, looking to try out Goodman and Hawksmoor in the near future (although I’ll probably try the steak first if anything). Went to Rivington Grill last night, decent burger, pretty sloppy with the bottom bun coated in grease but overall the bacon, cheese and chips complemented each other well. Perfect red too.
Did you ever try out the Hoxton Grill? They do a very manageable burger, loads of taste (I think they add coriander but not overpowering) and a very mean vanilla milk shake.
Great list and I’ll be working my through this over the next few months. Can’t wait for more to come.
Daniel,
How come the meatwagon/easy has dropped off your list? For me this deserves a place in the top 10, superb burger I thought and superb atmosphere, and unbeatable value for money!
Best wishes
Chris
Not a restaurant, but I recently bought Heston Blumenthal hamburgers at Waitrose (2 to a package), and they made for a very nice fix when unable to get to any of the above 10 top picks. One has to add their own fixings, but that’s what we call ingenuity.
As far as a franchise goes, still rate Ed’s Diner pretty highly but then not had any of the above – any comparison?
I’ve only eaten at 3 or 4 establishments from this and prior versions of the chart, but the best burger I’ve had in London, hands down, has to be this new Hawaiian burger joint on Carnaby Street.
http://www.kua-aina.co.uk/
I’d love to hear Daniel’s opinion on the place as I personally preferred it to Hawksmoor.
Cheers
David
James,
Do yourself a favour and try a real burger that’s made with top quality product and a bit of love and you’ll see the difference.
And then let us know what you think!
I do not understand how every burger list misses The Idle Hour, now also in Barons Court having previously only been down a hard-to-reach alley way of Barnes. I know that there are eatery secrets all over London but this pub regularly wins best gastro-pub, best organic pub food etc and it burgers are 50% off on a Monday! Their red onion jam is the …cherry on the cake??!
Four of us went to Hawskmoor last night purely to try the burger. Between us we tried all of their burgers and they were all far too salty and far too messy (fell to bits on first bite). In a pub I would have been unhappy with this burger. Such a shame.
My expectations of anything beating the Bar Boulud burger are diminishing but I live in hope that my first Goodman burger will surpass it.
Byron used to be on this list didn’t it? Sure it’s a chain but their burgers deliver every time. They also have an amazing selection of beers (Kernel, Brew Dog, Little Creatures) and you can walk in off the street.
Just tried the burger at The Idle Hour in Barnes based on a recommendation here and was wholly unimpressed. Messy burger, too much salad and an old bun from a supermarket.
I think all places serving meat should put the provenance of their flesh. This includes Meatliquor. In the case of beef, I want to know what kind of cow, how long it was hung for and where it came from.
you forgot Kua’Aina in Fouber’s Place.
This was an interesting thing to read and see, as I am not British and have never been to Europe (I am an American). It is surprising (from my perspective) to see that these burgers are almost universally pink on the inside, which is completely different from most burgers you find in the U.S. Our burger’s are typically “well-done” with almost no pink or red hues on the inside. In fact, a burger I ordered a few days ago at a restaurant came out slightly pink and even the waiter was a little grossed out when I showed him and asked for them to grill it a little longer (and it was not nearly as pink as most on this list).
You must try http://www.atomicburger.co.uk in Oxford
Sigh. I really shouldn’t have read this at 12:05 when my tummy’s rumbly anyway….it’s taking all the will power possible not to dash over to MeatLiquor right now and get a burger hit….great post as always x
Ad Cod all the way for me. Just sensational.
A burger you should definitely check out is at The Thomas Cubitt, Belgravia (Elizabeth St)- Best burger in Victoria by a country mile and in my top 5 for London. Consistently exceptional.
Cheers…Pete
Sorry to disagree, Pete, but I have had the Thomas Cubitt burger and didn’t much care for it: Too fine a grind. Too much pre-seasoning.
I absolutely agree that Goodmans burger is, perhaps the best burger in London. Unfortunately, I found Meatliquor extremely disappointing (I would rather McDonalds than this one. I think that Gourmet Kitchen Burger, Lucky Seven and Byron’s are superior to Meatliquor.
Been following Daniel for a while, having now had five of the burgers listed. Bar Boulud was great, Admiral good, Goodman was ok (great steaks). Hands down for me personally and the six people who’ve joined me on the ultimate burger quest over the last five months, Hawksmoor (Seven Dials) takes it home every time. I’ve now been there five times, twice for the burger and it’s a real winner! The beef dripping chips along with the burger is mind blowing. Joe Allen, I’ve been many times since I was a young child ‘the secret burger’ pretty standard really. The first time I went to Bar Boulud I had the Yankee, the second time the Piggie which we really loved! I like my meat red and dripping wet, no other way to eat it. Thanks for all the reviews Daniel. The search goes on. Where to go next?!? PJ Clarkes in New York is pretty fantastic!
go to the posh bangers in london bridge
the burger then is the greatest burger of all time
i had such a burgasm
I’ve just come back from Goodman’s and the burger was pretty good. Four of was ordered the burger, all medium but one came out too rare, hence was not finished but as a favour I finished it for her.
All in all the burger was nice. The meat was very very good and the chips were amazing. I had a problem with the bun though as it did not hold form for long. If I had ordered a medium rare burger tha bun would have lasted one minute.
Though good, in my mind a great burger should be embelished all sorts of fancy sauces and added parafernalia otherwise it’s just a mince sandwich
.
Hawksmoor next to try.
Dazel – I’m sorry your Goodman’s experience was disappointing.
I know many agree with you about a burger acquiring its greatest through sauces, toppings and accessories. I am not one of those people. For me a great burger stands on its own, even with nothing above or below the patty except a bun and, of course, your hands.
I’ve just come back from a trip to LA and NYC and was able to try out a number of acclaimed burgers. Some of them were memorable; more so than say the burger I had from Goodman which was a little disappointing but perhaps my expectations were too high. Also, in response to an earlier post, asking for a medium rare burger was a fairly standard request. In LA, burgers from Father’s Office and Short Order were excellent but I was less impressed by Umami Burger. By the time I got to New York, my desire for a burger had started to wane a little but did manage a trip to Shake Shack (not gourmet but excellent nonetheless and worth the 20 minute queue). Also, I had a tasty lamb burger at Breslin (Ace Hotel) and a superb chicken burger at Diner in Williamsburg.
At our household, we have been working through your list. For the most part we agree, although I do miss french fries in a few of your listings. However I think you have a major omission in you. The Cross Keys pub in Chelsea. Also the new Hawksmoor cocktail bar in Spitalfields do a rather splendid Cheeseburger.
Have been totally inspired by the list Daniel. Many thanks. In fact, since i read it on Monday i have been to Joe Allens and Honest Burger. Both great, but Honest on top at the moment. Going to go for three in three days, so am trying to choose between HAwksmoor and Goodman for tomorrow…..decisions, decisions.
Either way, my plan is to nail all ten before my twin babies arrive in 5 weeks time.
ps. meant to say, dont know if you know it, but my favourite burger in the world is at Primeburger – 51st Street in New York. Had my first one 20 years ago and it’s never been bettered.
All our burgers are 100% flame-grilled pretension…
“its interior is now a study in pink on pink”
“a splendid Gallic riff on a bacon cheeseburger”
“This ingenious solution to the unwieldy lettuce issue… squirts juice with every bite”
“marbled meat put through the most minimal of workouts”
“a shared weakness for molten yellow cheese”
“shaped for height at the expense of diameter”
“its commanding presence looms in your consciousness”
“beef-braised onions and melted aged Comté… are able sparring partners”
“… the patty’s fatty juices grease your hands and breach the bottom of its bun… Danger. Implosion. It’s all there.”
“Yianni spins spine-tingling, yellow-cheese-dripping compositions… This carnivorous funhouse of gothic surrealism is a dark ride”
Have been closely monitoring The List for the past year or so and have managed to sample the delights of Goodman (my personal fave), Bar Boulud (my boyf’s fave – he had the Piggie), Opera Tavern, Joe Allen (we love the guy who plays the piano) and MEATLiquor (good, but the queuing and slow service will probably put us off going back again). I have also tried Hache (used to be on the list) but didn’t rate the bun.
Next on the list was Hawksmoor, but we still haven’t managed it given that you can’t get the burger if you book a table in the dining room, and you can’t book a table in the bar (the menu it is on) – we’ve tried a few times now (granted at weekends) and haven’t been able to get a table at the bar. We’ll keep trying though – REALLY want to try it out!
The one disappointment was the Admiral Codrington, although not for the taste of the burger – because we couldn’t even try it out! When my boyfriend booked a table for my birthday (knowing that it would be a fun surprise) we turned up, only to be told on being handed the menu that they had sold out of burgers!
Maybe this shouldn’t have annoyed us so much and we should have just chosen something else from the menu. But the fact is that they are known for their burgers so you’d think they would have enough to feed whoever might order one. Instead, we were told that a large group had booked and PRE-ORDERED burgers for the whole table, hence they had run out. Surely, in this instance you would make extra for the large booked group?!
Anyway, in the end we actually left the table and went elsewhere. I’m sure we’ll give it another try as it seems to be a list stalwart, and the burgers are clearly delicious if they can sell out so quickly on a Saturday night!
p.s. one of the best burgers I’ve ever had was at The Harbour Master hotel near Aberystwyth http://www.harbour-master.com/ – and Burgerac actually does a good ‘out of town’ burger blog for anyone heading out of London on a burger-based adventure: http://midsomerburgers.blogspot.co.uk/
Myself along with 5 friends have been going through this top 10 list and it has split the camp into two groups. I personally think that Admiral Codrington was the best with Hawksmoor and Goodman joint 2nd. But for everyone so far, those 3, are the top 3 but in different orders.
Offt
@Dazel – each to their own, of course, but no. One of my favourite burgers is from Louis in New Haven, CT. They claim to have invented the burger – who knows? – and their burgers are just meat between two pieces of lightly toasted, white bread. They’re phenominal. http://www.louislunch.com/
I’m working my way through this list now. I’m more of a Five Guys, burger joint guy (as opposed to gourmet), but Bar Boulud ranks highly so far. Hawksmoor, not so much – it was unwieldy and the bun fell apart after the first bite.
I spent an age choosing where to visit from your list. In the end decided to go for the Lucky Chip in the Sebright Arms. What’s better than a burger? A burger accompanied with real ale (and they had some great ales to choose from).
I went for the cheeseburger and fries. It came out looking like a dream. The bun felt lovely in my hands and the initial meat taste was amazing, as was the next bite.
BUT- then!
WHAT WAS THAT? Salt, lots and lots of it.
okay I know on your review above it states it has Australian Sea Salt in it, but it was as if they had a chef de salter in the kitchen sprinkling the lovely burgers with grains/rocks of the stuff. It was ruinous amounts.
My friends and I finished our burgers and all agreed that we had been left with a very bold taste of salt in our mouths. It was a shame as it ruined the delightful initial few bites massively.
Oh well, a few more pints of Redemption Ale helped wash the salty taste away!!
Next week we’re going to Hawksmoor Bar in Spitlefields….
Anyone else have the same salty experience with their Lucky Chip Burger.
To finish on a positive note, the SeBright is a well run boozer, with great staff, great ales and some brilliant tunes playing in the background. You know the saying ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover?’ Well go in and see how well these guys have done.
Chris – You’re right and I let you down: My most recent Lucky Chip burger was wickedly salt. My recommendation should have carried a warning about the oversalting of the burgers and the fries.
Daniel – You should try the Wooly Burger at The Woolpack pub on Bermondsey Street. It is juicy, pink and comes with Chorizo. Simply amazing.
Do people have recomendations for the best chicken burgers in London? The burgers above look great but aren’t suitable for those of us that don’t eat beef! Bodean’s is disappointing and although Meat Liquor’s buffalo chicken burger is great, it’s pretty pricey…
Dharle – The chicken burgers to which you refer are not, in my book, burgers but rather chicken fillet or chicken breast sandwiches on burger buns. To qualify as a burger the chicken would need to be ground (minced). I know of no serving a true chicken burger in London.