Burgershack at The Royal Oak

 

Another day another burger. This time I'm checking out the Burgershack pop up run by my favourite burger blogger, Burgerac. Found in a quite area of Marylebone, The Royal Oak is a lovely pub, if not a little expensive on the drinks side but alas I'm here for the food. With a menu promising childhood memories of simple burgers I was keen to try, especially as simple cheeseburgers are what I love the most.

First up is the cheeseburger (the dirty one). I'm a big fan of a simple cheeseburger and this certainly fits that description. With a simple white bun, juicy patty with American cheese and a saucy mix of mustard and ketchup you can't really go wrong. Simple food at it's finest and whilst a little reminiscent of a fast food burger in terms of toppings the meat quality was excellent, it was cooked to perfection and all-in-all it was really tasty. Next time I'd like to try the burgershack (the posh one).

We also ordered the chicken burger which really was a taste sensation. Perfectly cooked, crispy yet succulent chicken with delicious mayo. lettuce and cheese toppings. One of the best chicken burgers you can have in London for sure!

One the side we had the mouth watering deep fried pork shoulder amaze balls and chilli cheese fries. Both were outstanding and just writing this post is making me want to go back and eat them all over again.

A terrific pop up that you really should try and visit with great prices and excellent quality food. I wish you all the best Burgerac!

Tacu Tacu at Casa Blue

In my endless hunt to find the finest burgers in London I decided to try out the pop-up Tacu Tacu at the cocktail bar Casa Blue on Brick Lane. Tacu Tacu specialises in Latin American food with a small range of burgers and tacos. I was happy to see the bar nice and busy on my visit, everyone was eating and on first exception the food looked great.

Steve and I ordered both burgers; the Mexican Baja shrimp burger and the hot Havana beef burger. The shrimp burger was unusual but delicious. I'm a huge fan of shellfish but I've never had a burger patty made from shrimp before and it was a taste sensation. The patty was dense with shrimp and held together well. It was flavoursome and the roasted red pepper was a nice accompaniment. The avocado, garlic mayo was extremely tasty and the bread held everything together nicely. The beef burger was just as delicious, the beef was seasoned well and the toppings gave it a nice kick. It was cooked perfectly medium rare and once again everything held together well when eaten by hand. Both burgers were on the large side and extremely filling.

We also tried a couple of tacos; beef and duck. Whilst both tasted great the duck with melted cheese was definitely my favourite of the two. That being said the combination of toppings on the beef taco were wonderful.

As for sides we thought it best just to stick with chips and burger sauce. The chips were crispy, not too salty and surprisingly tasty. We also ordered a slice of mojito cheesecake which tasted just like the cocktail, delicious.

All in all I thought this meal was fantastic, the quality really stood out and it's somewhere I'll definitely visit again.

Dragonfly Brewery at The George and Dragon

I love trekking to different parts of London to sample a burger, so when I was invited to the Dragonfly Brewery at The George and Dragon in Acton I was very excited to discover a new place. I've never been to Acton but it feels like one of those up-and-coming towns with new restaurants and bars opening all over the place.

The really cool thing about this pub is the microbrewery at the back where lots of different beers are brewed. As always, I'm not a beer drinking but I was happy to see a couple of interesting looking ciders on display. Steve had an Early Doors IPA which he says was nice and light and a good accompanying drink for a burger. I had Blackberry Bush cider which was sweet but not sickly, a lovely choice. We also shared a half pink of kriek (a sour cherry fruit beer) after our meal which was a nice substitute for dessert. I drank so many of these in Belgium a few months ago and swore the stuff would never touch my lips again but after a big meal it was a fantastic palette cleaners, I'm glad I was sharing a half pint though as it's pretty sickly stuff.

On to the food! The Dragonfly Brewery have created a burger menu to compliment their selection of beer,s with their on-site brewed Dark Matter being a key ingredient. I'm often overwhelmed by a large menu, especially when it comes to burgers so it was nice to see a compact selection of food. I went for the St. George as I was intrigued by the onion jam and Steve opted for the Full Monty for obvious reasons! We also ordered a portion of chips and beer battered onion rings.

 

The onion jam was lovely and sweet and combined with the cheese and bacon really made for a delicious burger. I meat was high quality and whilst it was a messy burger due to the jam is was a delight to eat. My only issue was that it was a little too cooked for me, I like my burger very pink so in hindsight I should have asked for it to be cooked medium rare. The onions rings were absolutely delicious, you could really taste the beer batter and they had a lovely crunch.

 

As you can tell from the picture, Steve's burger was a beast and looking back I don't think he even finished it! Whilst another messy one with oozing cheese, beef chilli and jalapeños it was totally delicious and a flavour explosion. The beef brisket chilli was especially tasty! The chips were nicely cooked but on this occasion it was the onion rings that were the stand out side order. We were way too full to even attempt dessert but there was a nice sounding brownie on the menu.

I liked this pub a lot, it had a lovely chilled out atmosphere and the price of the burgers was reflected in the quality of the meat. A lot of pubs these days are guilty of producing below parr food but at gourmet prices but this is definitely not the case here. Next time I'm back in Acton I'll definitely be popping my head in again, either for a burger or a refreshing cider.

Have you been to many microbreweries x

Bill or Beak at KERB Kings Cross

I absolutely love KERB, it's my favourite food market in London so when I was invited down to the Kings Cross branch for a photography lesson I jumped at the chance to sample some delicious food whilst practising my photography skills.

With all the tasty food stalls it was hard to pick what to have but once I spied Bill or Beak I knew immediately where I'd be stopping for lunch. With the promise of a duck and pork burger topped with Vietnamese dressing and tempura shallots I knew the Beak option was the one for me. The burger was delicious with the meat being succulent and the onions being crunch, I'll definitely be back to try the Bill option.

Thanks for the day out Simply Health x

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Tommi's Burger Joint at the Princess of Wales

If there's one thing I don't mind going out of my way for it's a burger which is why I headed (all the way) over to Primrose Hill on a school night. Tommi's Burger Joint, whom I'm a long standing fan of, are holding a pop-up at the Princess of Wales pub on the third Thursday of each month and the burgers they're serving up are delightful!

I first tried Tommi's well over a year and a half ago in Marylebone and then again on a trip to Iceland in December 2012 and very single time I've tried one of their burgers the taste and quality remains consistently good. The burgers are cooked to perfection, as are the fries and now I'm looking forward to the permanent Kings Road restaurant opening up (finally a decent burger joint in my neighbourhood).

This time around I tried the New Yorker which is a bacon and Monterey Jack cheese burger complete with sweet pickles, onions and horseradish mustard i.e. my idea of burger heaven (minus the pickles, I don't like pickles). It really was delicious, the meat was nice and pink, the burger held together even though it was on the messy side and the individual flavours of the different toppings really came through. All in all an extremely delicious dinner.

To accompany the burgers the Princess of Wales were serving up some lovely drinks. There were a few tasty cocktails on the menu so I went for the Ginger Ninja, a ginger and honey infused rum and ginger beer mix followed by the Breakfast Margarita which includes tequila, grapefruit juice and marmalade. Neither of these were drinks I'd normally go for and considering I'm not a huge fan of ginger or grapefruit I found them rather tasty, the Ginger Ninja especially so. My friend also tried the Peanut Butter Milkshake (vanilla vodka, caramel spiced rum, vanilla ice cream, milk and peanut butter) which is my idea of hell (I hate milk) but she LOVED it! And for all you beer lovers do not fear because the Princess of Wales has a mighty fine collection of craft beers too!

During their residency Tommi's Burger Joint is running a diferent theme each night. On this particular evening it was a Man vs Food challenge where the contestants have 5 minutes to devour the Ultimate Burger i.e. a super New Yorker with 3 patties instead of 1.The next night is on the 20th March and I'm sure the theme will be just as exciting!

Will you be tempted by this Primrose Hill pop-up x

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Dirty Burger

 

1.Menu 2. Napkins 3. Beer fridge 4. Branding

5. Burger, crinkle cut fries and onion rings 6. - 8. Cheese burger

I popped up to Kentish Town on Friday to watch some bands at the HMV Forum and after a couple of ciders it would have been rude not to pop into Dirty Burger on the way home for a pre-emptive hangover cure. Found in a glorified tin shed around the back of Pizza East this burger joint is a nice little place and not as grubby as the name would suggest. We popped in just before 1am closing and there were only a few other people there which meant we got a seat around the large table. After acquiring some cider from the help yourself fridge (you do have to pay for them by the way) we patiently waited for our burgers, chips and onions rings.

The burgers are that perfect takeaway size, small enough to be eaten easily without too much mess and big enough to satisfy you cider induced hunger. They were very tasty and reminded me of a bigger and better quality double cheese burger from McDonald's which is a compliment as those bad boys are damn tasty! The chips and onion rings were delicious, you can't beat crunchy crinkle fries and deep fries chunks of onion can you?

All in all a nice little burger joint. They only do a cheese burger and at £5.50 it's pretty good value for money, the beef was good quality, it held together well and most importantly tasted good. I wouldn't say it's worth the trek to Kentish Town if you live on the other side of London but if you're in the area then definitely check it out. If you're looking for a proper restaurant I'd recommend Chicken Shop next door which I will be reviewing next.

MEATmission

1. MEATmission 2. Menu 3. Food menu

4. Sweet Cheeks cider 5. Ceiling 6. Bar

7. Food (Dead Hippie x2, Dirty Chicken burger, Green Chilli burger, chilli cheese fries, fries, deep fried gherkins) 8. Monkey Fingers 9. No Brainer cider

I finally made it to Yianni Papoutsis' new baby for lunch yesterday, MEATmission. From the success of MEATwagon, MEATeasy, MEATliquor and MEATmarket this Hoxton Market burger joint opened just before Christmas and I can confirm that once again they've hit the nail on the head. The interior is dark and edgy with evil eye symbols on the ceiling and caged up bar. The seating area is a mixture of high booths and long benches arranged in what I image a hipster themed Oktoberfest hall would look like. Despite my use of the word 'edgy' I actually prefer this place over MEATliquor as the vibe is a little more casual and a little less Dalston Superstore despite being a stones throw away from the area. Anyway, onto the food. I shared a Dirty Chicken burger and Dead Hippie with my friend Katie, we had heard great things about the chicken burger but fancied some beef hence the reason for half and half. What I can say is that the Dirty Chicken burger did not live up to the hype. I find chicken burgers a bit bland, they just don't have all the interesting flavours and mixtures a beef burger can have and in comparison to the much loved Dead Hippie it isn't something I would order again. Don't get me wrong it did taste good but I just preferred the Dead Hippie x213123. However, the Monkey Fingers i.e. deep fried BBQ chicken strips was a whole other story. Holy moly these tasted amazing, so tangy and coupled with the blue cheese sauce they were by far my favourite component of the entire meal! If I have to recommend one thing on the menu it would be the Monkey Fingers, they were bloody delicious.

I like MEATmission a lot but I'm not sure I would readily make the journey from SW LDN to Shoreditch to just to eat here. Sometimes I feel a get a bit bored of the whole MEATliquor empire. I'll go a couple of times and absolutely love it, then decide I'm fed up of the place and then rediscover my love 6 months later. So for now I'm going to stay clear for a little while but I know in 6 months time I will be craving a Dead Hippie and Monkey Fingers like nobodies business.

PS you can book a table here which is amazing - no queueing for hours thanks very much!