-
-
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
Was in NYC last week, and aside from my regular pilgrimage to Lukes Lobster on E7th, I was able to sample the burger at The Spotted Pig. Really good burger, made even better by the almost full plate of perfect string fries.
My wife and i tried the Hawksmoor burger and the special burger for the day the Black Burger that came with black pudding as a pre matinee theatre meal on Sunday. The burgers were certainly the best we have both tasted with the added bone marrow making them quite rich and we whole heartedly recommend trying a manhatten cocktail with your food (after you have had it served up and tasted it you will see why as i wont ruin the surprise).
Hey
What’s going on with this list?? Goodmans was number 1 last week and I had just started working my up the list (went to the Opera Tavern on Sunday) and now it’s gone!
2 of the burgers aren’t even reviewed – looks like you’ve opted for mega-expensive options here…not impressed!
Wow. No Ad Cod???!
Rotter – The Admiral Codrington would have been a top two selection had chef Fred Smith not announced his plans to leave the pub in the next couple of weeks.
I’m very surprised that you felt the need to exclude the Admiral Codrington from the top 10 due to Fred Smith leaving. I wonder if you would have excluded another top ten entry purely because a chef (head or not) had announced that they were due to leave?
A top ten entry can surely only be based on previous experience and therefore it seems bit unfair that the Ad Cod (I.e mr Smith) haven’t been given the recognition they deserve? Who’s to say that they don’t carry on making a good burger but if they didn’t then it would be reflected in the top 10 reshuffle.
I’m interested to hear your thoughts.
Ant
Anthony – This game is a bit like handicapping racehorses: You predict results, you make recommendations, you place bets based on past performances. If the chef in the saddle was directly responsible for those positive outcomes, as I believe Fred Smith was through his tenure at the Admiral Codrington, then recommending the burger before a new chef has taken over the reins and proven him/herself seems chancy at best.
I agree with your larger point: Few restaurants would be dropped from top 10 consideration just because their chefs announced an imminent departure. But you maybe see this as an indication of my failing. I see it as a reflection of what made Fred’s exacting, passionate approach to burgers so special, so unique: Who else could have transformed the former Sloanie headquarters into a must destination for burger lovers of all stripes?
Most of these just look like part of the “gourmet” burger trend of yesteryear, especially Goodmans which looks way too tall to be any good at all.
Throwing a load of foie gras at the problem isn’t the makings of a good burger. It’s just a clumsy shortcut, the meat should be able to stand up on it’s own without that crutch.
Only ones I’d bother with off this list are Honest, Lucky Chip and Hawksmoor. Ad Cod should be up there too.
Well done Dan for heroic research , you must have eaten so many poor burgers for the research you deserve a Knighthood.
Would it be cruel of me to say only 2 of the above would probably make a NYC top 100 list ?
Personally I do not rate lucky chip, the last three times I have been there, the burger bun has been undercooked, therefore, white and doughy. It had too much cheese, which did not taste of anything.
To top it off the burger meat was grey and only has a few bits of pink meat showing through.
Massive fail.
Which two, Dino?
I honestly don’t see how Hawksmoor’s burger doesnt feature at your top 3, if not the no1 burger on the list…. we have tried 8 out of the 10 listings, by pure coincidence and due to the fact that both my American partner and me are devoted burger aficionados…. Our absolute top3 which combined quality and price in a city as pricey as London is:
1. Hawksmoor (NEVER disappoints)
2. Lucky Chip
3. MEATLiquor
Joe Allen was ok but so small you literally had to order 2 to fill up. Need to try Opera Tavern and Honest Burgers
Anna – I like the three you’ve short-listed, especially when they’re at the top of their game. With Hawksmoor you’ve had better luck than I have. I’ve had two burgers at two Hawksmoor locations within the last two months. Compared to prior experiences both were disappointments.
This list gets me salivating every time, and it’s always interesting to see who’s in and who’s out. Surprised at the Cod omission, I’ve been there when Fred has not been at the pass and always had a good Burger. But the Cod is also my best Burger in London too, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens at the Cod, sans Fred and also what and where Mr Smith resurfaces and will there be hamburger action.
The main disappointment is that I simply don’t get to eat half these burgers half as often as I’d like to. I think I end up enjoying London’s burger vicariously through your posts and Top 10 updates.
Hey Daniel… love your blog and love this list. Through it I now list Honest Burger among my favourites and am looking forward to a Hawksmoor soon. Would love to know what ones fall outside the top ten as well.
BTW… if you have a chance check out the Draft House. I went to their Burger Monday (easier to get seats then your own) yesterday and was amazed at the quality of burger and bun. And the beer of course.
I visited meat liqour the other week and was impressed with what I was served ( dead hippie burger ) and the battered gherkins are a must try . I’ve also been hearing good things about a place called red dog saloon in hoxton has anyone been there ?
How does meat liquor manage it?!
Every time a massive amount of you fall for what is a tarted up McDonald’s in a cool setting.
London has so much better than that sugar fries pretentious rubbish. Even walks all over it every time!
@SK A bunch of us had Red Dog Saloon one night working late… it was awful, the corn bread bun was like eating stodgy cotton wool, the patty was bland and the bbq sauce had a very unusual taste. My favourite London burger is the Smokey Robinson cooked by Joe at Patty & Bun… I had one at Feast in London Bridge this weekend. It’s the only burger I’ve ever eaten that doesn’t leave you feeling over-full. Patty & Bun do great rosemary fries on the side too, makes a change to the lovely but over-salted ones that some places offer.
Keith – You have a point.
Thanks for the list guys.
There is nothing better than a good burger to hit the spot.
I’m thinking about working my way down your list in the next few months.
A suggestion I’d like to ad. I go regularly for my burger fix in a place called 1920 in Central London. Don’t know if you heard about it but they’ve been there for quite a while and they are in my personnal favorite. Let’s see if I change my mind after trying out your top 10;)
Bravo on the list! although I’m still eating my way through the top 10.
Surely Bar Boulud is cheating (IMO) with the foie gras? they should have their own list as that burger is out of this world. Although so far only MeatLiquor has me going back for seconds (and thirds)
Call off the search. Its over. Ignoring the fries (so hard, they are nearly crisps) the Best cheese burger in town (by a country mile) is CUT at 45 Park Lane.
1) remove the salad.
2) enjoy that burger
NB tastes that blow your mind,
Out of interest, would Byron even make top 20?
Also Hache is worth a try.
Hi, went into a bar called the carpenters arms on cambridge heath road, they had a burger night last friday’ and i can tell it was one of the best burgers i’d had in such a long time,all served with chips and in a 1/2 brioche bun prices started at 6.50 upto 9.00 pounds i think, the sloppy joe was fantastic and my friend had the new yorker and looked fantastic also. i’ve heard the kitchen will be open from this friday as they have just been testing the water to see what the trade would be like” i can tel youl i will be their for sure going to have the fire cracker this time, bit of a old looking pub but always like to find a new place to eat.
And Bodiens? Just because it is a chain you exclude it form the list? I think they deserve their place in the Top 10!
Will be interesting to see whether Tommi’s Burger Joint makes it on to this list. Cheap, excellent burgers, BYO, friendly staff, cute room. What’s not to like?
Richard – I like Tommi’s Burger Joint well enough but don’t see either of its burgers as in contention for the Top 10 list.
Went to Bread Street Kitchen the other day for their burger. Came recommended but it won’t be troubling the top ten any time soon. Too small, too salty and really nothing special at all.
£12.50 by itself, small and in a dry bun. £2 cover charge (lets hope this doesnt become popular), £3.50 for chips and £1 for charity does not a good experience make. Add service ( which is calculated on top of the cover and charity donation) and nearly £22 for a average burger and chips.
Bodeans? no way!!! poor food. poor service. No burger they serve cracks this top 10. I doubt they would even make a top 50 list.
News from Ad Cod? Is it still great??????
Great list but I agree with Anna, Hawksmoor should be further up the list! I come to London regularly and they never disappoint. I know it doesn’t really count as a true burger but yesterday I had the Christmas turkey burger they are doing there at the moment and WOW. This alone should put them at the top of burger creation! If you get a chance before Christmas go and try it I asked and they said it would be coming off in January and wouldn’t be back on till the following Christmas, which kinda makes sense I guess
finally tried the BB at bar Boulud and while it was very good I prefer Elliots over all for the flavour – BB wins on chips and the textures are on a par
hey daniel – i thought this may interest you
http://www.cheeseandburger.com/
Pretty amusing. Love the guy’s voice.
Hi Daniel – just wondering why Meat Liquor/Market/Mission dropped out of your top ten? Was is it the grey burger you had at Mission, or do you think there has been a more fundamental decline in standards?
Hi Richard, I’d say it was a variety of things:
* Several grey burgers at all three locations (not just that one).
* Diminished standards.
* New competition.
I went to the Ad Cod yesterday. I thought the burger was great but as I haven’t been before I can’t compare to Fred Smith era. Would like to hear someone’s opinion
Went to Honest Burger Soho at lunchtime. The burger was small,well done and not at all tasty. Chips good but the burger should be much better to be in the top 5.
Re: ‘Vicky says: 7 August 2012 at 11:07 am’
Ladies and Gentlemen, please go to Red Dog and try for yourself. I’ve spent too much money there not to stick up for the place. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course but personally, I like to be full at the end of a meal. There’s a salad bar round the corner if you ‘re watching those calories Vicky : ) Patty and Bun have it down too for sure. Youngandfoolish…I think we have a Patty and Bun employee on our hands…’My favourite London burger is the Smokey Robinson cooked by Joe at Patty & Bun’ – does everyone know the name of the guy cooking them burgers when they go to a burger joint? and what a nonsense comment…”makes a change to the ‘lovely but over-salted” ones that some places offer’… I mean come on!
Having tried countless burgers in the months before leaving England recently, my hands down winner was the off menu double Honest burger in Brixton, unbelievable, apart from the Fred Smith’s winning burger at the first London burger bash, the best burger I have ever eaten by some way, with the patties being the stars….
While I will refrain from a set opinion until I’ve actually tried one of those burgers, I have to say they look nasty! And I LOVE burgers! These look like some undercooked burgers topped with a bunch of condiments to disguise it’s lackluster taste.
I’m willing to bet none of those burgers would satisfy MOST Americans fussy palate. We are Very Fussy IF we are being asked to pay a lot for said burger. I’ve already been warned about an American owned popular franchised restaurant, where the burgers are said to taste like shoe leather. But this SAME place in most American cities are pretty good. They cost about $3 and they taste like it. No problem.
But when asked to pay over $30 for a BURGER it had better be worth every penny and NOT one of those look they’re worth 5 pounds let alone 22 pounds. AGAIN, I will wait to form a final opinion till after I’ve tasted one. I KNOW Looks can be deceiving. Some Mexican food didn’t look too good at one Mexican Restaurant near my house and yet now 5 yrs later it is MY FAVORITE Mexican Restaurant. SO I CAN AND DO OFTEN CHANGE MY MIND!
Frankly while I am only an average cook, I bet I could set up a Restaurant with some help, and be able to put together a menu of delicious hamburgers which would kick even the most expensive ones butt! And using British Beef of course BUT using the Best American techniques!
One thing bothers me is that there is NO MENTION of whether or not the meat is frozen or fresh! That makes a HUGE difference in taste. Fresh is ALWAYS better.