My Top Ten London Burger Guide

After visiting 50 places 50 different burgers I think is time to do a retrospective analysis to see how the quest is progressing and what are the results so far. 

Burger Time

My top 10 in a galaxy not so far away… 

Hawksmoor 

Korean style Kimchi Cheeseburger, have to say every bite was glorious, the spicy fermented vegetables done properly playing with the melted cheese superb. 

Kimchi Time

Goodman 

Their simple burger which you can upgrade with several toppings like sautéed mushrooms, cheddar, bacon and even fried egg. Another perfect score for the runner up, the crispy bacon with the cheddar just awesome. 

Goodman Burger

Bar Boulud 

Daniel Boulud spin off of his NYC restaurant, with the same 3 burgers, same style, same Yankee, Frenchie, and Piggie, but also on special occasions a fabulous burger comes into play just like the Moroccan burger I had in their anniversary a great burger. 

Yankee

The Admiral Codrington 

Burger Masterchef Fred Smith gastropub, never stop to impress with his creation and special burgers, the special Iberico burger I had was perfection in a bun. 

Iberico Special

Rivington Grill 

Simon Wadham takes on burger, the Luxury one with all the trimmings, perfectly executed and great flavour. 

Luxury Burger

Brasserie Malmaison 

The Mal burger, beef supplied by Donald Russel cooked to perfection, but the melted gruyere with the special tomato sauce makes the difference. 

Mal Burger

Bistro du Vin 

The indoor bbq grill A.K.A. Josper Grill gives the BdV Burger another dimension, classic approach with bacon and melted cheese complete the scene. 

BdV Burger

Opera Tavern 

A slider made it to the top ten, but is a hell of a slider, Iberico pork burger with foie gras, melted manchego, and aioli, you will be proud to be Spaniard while eating this baby, be prepare to eat more than one. 

Iberico Pork Burger 

MEATLiquor 

The city saw how the buzz created by the blogging community and doing things right took Yianni to another level, after a food truck, some festivals, and a pop up, we got a permanent location, be prepared to queue for a while as the buzz is as strong as the early days, the Bobcat burger is an icon in the city. 

Bobcat Burger

Elliot's 

The small restaurant in Borough serving a consistent and pretty good cheeseburger, the mix of cheeses they used, sourced from the market is to die for.

Elliot's Cheeseburger

Burgers remind me the Seinfeld episode “The Parking Garage” 

Jerry: Why do I always have the feeling that everybody's doing something better than me on Saturday afternoons? 

Elaine: This is what people do 

Jerry: No they don't. They're out on some big picnic. They're cooking burgers. They're making out on blankets. They're not at some mall in Jersey watching their friends trying to find the world's cheapest air conditioner

London

UK

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Burger Wars Episode XLI: The Lobster Bar

A new kid is on the block, by the hand of Goodman, we have Burger & Lobster, a fast pace lobster bar with a simple three dishes menu, a burger, a lobster, or a lobster roll, all of them served with fries and salad. A big bar serving fancy cocktails apparently created by Soul Shakers, all this in a modern lobster paradise, the wooden walls playing with bright lights in order to really appreciate your food and have a vivid experience. 

B&L

The Place

Probably one of the most photographed menus these days

The place was full, I put my name on the list and head my way into the long bar to look for a drink while I was waiting, a huge cocktails list, I preferred to keep it simple and had a Meantime Lager. Some sort of world lounge music, international sounds mixed with the noisy dining room, a Putumayo relax set list that is combine with the noise from hungry patrons. 

My wait in the bar

Fast pace diner

Finally at my table

The glamour of the silver gravy boat filled with clarified butter for the lobster and the grotesque mayo and tomato sauces squeeze bottles just taken from Tesco for the burger is just a sublime combination or probably a hint to have the lobster instead the burger. The couple sitting beside me where arguing why on earth you can have the burger when the lobster was at the exact same price, well I guess only burger groupies like myself or seafood allergies will impact on that decision. 

Not so fancy sauces

One burger, cooked to order, sesame seeds bun, toasted and drizzle with olive oil or maybe the clarified butter, lettuce, tomato, onions, a pickle, finally I add cheddar cheese and bacon. 

B&L Burger

Close up

The verdict, burger was sublime, amazing, the juices all over, the bun was nicely toasted, the cheese and bacon flavour plays well with the patty, fries quite good, and a nice and clean salad. 

The damage, 27 quid for the burger, fries, and a meantime lager. 

The conclusion, excellent burger, I had only two issues, first the meat wasn’t evenly cooked, I had parts that were medium rare other ones more into the medium zone, however the juices and flavour were there, the second one was the lettuce, it was too big for the bun, completely unbalanced my burger and the top bun, and I wasn’t happy to get rid of it as I like the crunchiness of a good romaine lettuce, having said that the flavour was right on target, if they solve those issues is a perfect score, it would also help a house sauce instead of mayo and ketchup. I will give them a solid 9 in my scale. Now I have to come back for the lobster. 

Burger Time

Lobster reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Bizarro Jerry” when Jerry is dating a girl that has man hands and while in a restaurant she is opening beers and cracking lobster with her man hands. 

Gillian: You have a little something on your face 

Jerry: I can get it 

Gillian: Eh, no-no, no-no. You're missing it, it's higher. It's an eyelash. Make a wish. 

Jerry: I don't want to 

Gillian: Make a wish. 

Jerry: Okay 

Gillian: Don't you just love lobster?

Burger & Lobster

T: 020 7409 1699

Burger and Lobster / Cocktails Bar

Aprox Damage: £27pp

Area: Mayfair

Borough: City of Westminster

Twitter: Londonlobster

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Burger Wars Episode XXVIII: Goodman Greatest Burger in the Capital

While working from Blackfriars a couple weeks back I decided to take a short break and go to have lunch in Goodman. The place is top of the list of different bloggers and critics as the best or at least runner up for best burger place in London. Their idea was to bring New York steakhouse to the British capital in two locations, Mayfair and City, serving the tenderest steaks with the finest prime beef, and when Goodman says the finest prime beef they mean it, they have a selection of cuts from O’Shea, Australian Wagyu, USDA Prime, and even Black Level.

The Place 

Quiet stool at the bar

Only one burger, The Goodman Burger, which comes with lettuce, pickle, tomato, and chips. As an extra you can add sautéed mushrooms, cheddar, bacon, fried egg or fried onions. Not surprisingly I ordered with extra mushrooms, cheese, and bacon. I also asked to have the truffle chips instead the regular ones.

Menu

Goodman Burger

One item in the specials caught my eye a Lobster Slider. I couldn’t resist getting that amuse bouche.

The Cuts 

Lobster Slider

The verdict, AMAZING! The flavour, the presentation, the smell, everything was spot on. The melted cheddar, with crunchy bacon, and subtle sautéed mushrooms, a perfect combination. Hawksmoor have a pretty big competitor here. The chips were cooked in truffle oil, just perfect, crunchy outside, soft inside, and again excellent flavour. The slider was superb.

The damage, 16 quids for the burger a coke and all the extras.

The conclusion, Oh my god, this is a seriously good burger, is going to be very difficult to choose which one is better between Goodman and Hawksmoor, pretty close neck to neck. For me is a perfect 10 in my scale, it blew my mind.

Perfect reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Airport” where George needs to pick Jerry at the airport because he lost a bet.

George: Hey, thanks for coming with me.

Kramer: Hey, what made you think you could touch that awning?

George: I confused it with another awning.

Kramer: So how we doing on time?

George: We're perfect. I timed this out so we would pull up at the terminal exactly 17 minutes after their flight is supposed to land. That gives them just enough time to get off the plane, pick up their bags and be walking out of the terminal as we roll up. I tell you, it's a thing of beauty. I can not express to you the feeling I get from a perfect airport pickup.

George: What's going on? What are you doing? The Long Island Expressway? What are you getting on the Long Island Expressway for? Do you know what the traffic will be like? This is a suicide mission!

Kramer: Will you relax?!

George: Oh, I had it perfectly timed out: the Grand Central, the Van Wyck! You destroyed my whole timing!