Burgers & fries prices
Discussion
Early on in the burger boom there was a Byron in Guildford probably 10 or more years ago. It was excellent.
It then disappeared one day. Didn't see one again for several years until last year it opened a branch in Camberley.
Crap would be a bit strong but very mediocre, shoddy service, average food and pricey for what you got. They have now closed that branch as apart from the opening few weeks it was mostly empty.
It then disappeared one day. Didn't see one again for several years until last year it opened a branch in Camberley.
Crap would be a bit strong but very mediocre, shoddy service, average food and pricey for what you got. They have now closed that branch as apart from the opening few weeks it was mostly empty.
Bullett said:
Early on in the burger boom there was a Byron in Guildford probably 10 or more years ago. It was excellent.
It then disappeared one day. Didn't see one again for several years until last year it opened a branch in Camberley.
Crap would be a bit strong but very mediocre, shoddy service, average food and pricey for what you got. They have now closed that branch as apart from the opening few weeks it was mostly empty.
I remember Byron in Guildford, I only ate there once as I found it very average. It then disappeared one day. Didn't see one again for several years until last year it opened a branch in Camberley.
Crap would be a bit strong but very mediocre, shoddy service, average food and pricey for what you got. They have now closed that branch as apart from the opening few weeks it was mostly empty.
srappy said:
I wonder what the thinking behind this is? In my simplified view, once an economy worsens, most people generally tend to cut back a bit. Maybe I'm wrong..
Bread and circuses. As things get worse, people do cut back but tend to spend more distracting themselves from their other problems. So restaurants and entertainment businesses are the least badly hit. Of course if an economy is hit badly enough, nothing is safe. But as I said, GBK's expansion was a huge factor as well. It might have worked had the pound not dropped as badly as it has, but that's still a might.
Finally got around to trying Bleecker in Spitalfields market today. 17 for single patty cheese and bacon burger, a decent amount of sweet potato fries and a pint.
So, 11.50 for burger and fries.
Good quality patty slightly pink in the middle so all good there, very tasty sauce but sadly quite underwhelmed with the bun. It basically collapsed very flat as I ate the burger to the extent I felt I was holding a similar type burger to Michael Douglas in Falling Down
Not sure I could recommend based on that despite the nice taste and a good pint.
So, 11.50 for burger and fries.
Good quality patty slightly pink in the middle so all good there, very tasty sauce but sadly quite underwhelmed with the bun. It basically collapsed very flat as I ate the burger to the extent I felt I was holding a similar type burger to Michael Douglas in Falling Down
Not sure I could recommend based on that despite the nice taste and a good pint.
te. snake_oil said:
Finally got around to trying Bleecker in Spitalfields market today. 17 for single patty cheese and bacon burger, a decent amount of sweet potato fries and a pint.
So, 11.50 for burger and fries.
Good quality patty slightly pink in the middle so all good there, very tasty sauce but sadly quite underwhelmed with the bun. It basically collapsed very flat as I ate the burger to the extent I felt I was holding a similar type burger to Michael Douglas in Falling Down
Not sure I could recommend based on that despite the nice taste and a good pint.
Bleecker Burgers' buns are very light to the point of non-existence. Almost like a Krispy Kreme doughtnut, one is never quite enough. So, 11.50 for burger and fries.
Good quality patty slightly pink in the middle so all good there, very tasty sauce but sadly quite underwhelmed with the bun. It basically collapsed very flat as I ate the burger to the extent I felt I was holding a similar type burger to Michael Douglas in Falling Down
Not sure I could recommend based on that despite the nice taste and a good pint.
Heads up for the Honest Burger fans. The November burger is out. Chimi 2.0 - Beef, chorizo relish, red chimi, Taleggio, malbec onions, shallot mayo. I'm looking forward to trying this one out.
BrabusMog said:
The missus' mate and her fella are over visiting from Sweden this weekend, so I am going to head into central London for the first time in a long time for social purposes. Is Shakeshack worth a visit?
I'd give it a miss. Look for Patty & Bun or Honest. There's a few around town.
BrabusMog said:
Lol, I'm Honest's biggest fan but we've got one in Reading and will probably be going there tonight.
I went there (to the Reading branch) with the kids at half term for the first time to try it out. Overall we enjoyed it, we got table service, the meal was good value, I liked some of the different things to usual burger chains (like a "local burger with cheese nearby ingredients, the bacon gravy, and they served local ale). Not too keen on the interior, which considering it was once a grand old high street bank, is now like a concrete multi storey car park inside. Oddly, for a half term lunchtime it was very quiet.I enjoyed my bacon/cheese/mustard/pickle burger (can't remember what its name was), and fries. Burger was pretty tasty, the bun soft and fresh and the burger itself was nice and juicy which is what I like. I can't stand a dry bun and a thick dry wodge of meat. I wasn't too much of a fan of the rosemary fries they seemed to have been cooked in an odd crispy coating.
The kids felt short changed with their special kids burger meal (essentially a slider sized mini burger and some fries, being 7&8 they can still wolf down an adult burger though), but it was only 4.50 each which was pretty good value and they weren't hungry afterwards (they also had a kids milkshake, and I also ordered some extra onion rings in case - though these were very salty).
We got persuaded to have a dish of their bacon gravy which was a bit of a treat to dip our chips & onion rings in. As we liked it so much the waiter let us have it for free, which was nice.
So, it was a very different (and more pleasant) dining experience to the Five Guys round the corner, and much preferable to GBK and Byron which you can tell are on their downward curve. My younger son still prefers McDonalds though!
theplayingmantis said:
For something different you could try Jollibee at Earls Court!
Or KFC’s new fries and chizza...
Probably a bit too council though!
Having lived in the Philippines, Jolibee is not something I'd wish upon my worst enemy. Or KFC’s new fries and chizza...
Probably a bit too council though!
Although KFC's chips were awful, hopefully the newer ones are better. One may partake in Zinger burger in the near future.
Good to see a few more mentions of Honest Burger here.
I've been a fan since I moved to a new job in early 2015 and their branch off Bishopsgate was two minutes away.
The thing I don't like with Honest Burger is that they say their fries are free. I think their burgers are good, but not *that* good! Otherwise, I rarely have a bad meal there.
I saw last week that the owner of GBK blamed Brexit negotiations for dwindling demand for its burgers. Have they looked at footfall at Honest branches?! Such a lazy excuse in my opinion!
I've been a fan since I moved to a new job in early 2015 and their branch off Bishopsgate was two minutes away.
The thing I don't like with Honest Burger is that they say their fries are free. I think their burgers are good, but not *that* good! Otherwise, I rarely have a bad meal there.
I saw last week that the owner of GBK blamed Brexit negotiations for dwindling demand for its burgers. Have they looked at footfall at Honest branches?! Such a lazy excuse in my opinion!
Tried Honest Burger for the first time yesterday, based on favourable comments above. Went for the "Tribute" burger, and the Bacon Gravy. Pretty impressive, far from the best burger I've had, but a lot better than most. And the bacon gravy is fab, although I could have done with a fork to fish out some of the smaller chips once dunked in it.
Didn't think a lot of the chips themselves.
Was pleased to find that they took my order at my table and brought the food to me too, i.e. full table service, I wasn't made to go up to a counter like in GBK. Or at least this particular branch of Honest did table service, not sure if others do.
Plenty of people calling in to pick up takeaway orders as well.
Didn't think a lot of the chips themselves.
Was pleased to find that they took my order at my table and brought the food to me too, i.e. full table service, I wasn't made to go up to a counter like in GBK. Or at least this particular branch of Honest did table service, not sure if others do.
Plenty of people calling in to pick up takeaway orders as well.
Ended up in a GBK on Friday night.
Was OK but nothing better, burger was cooked well and reasonably tasty but the fries were very generic/McCain.
My biggest problem was the go to the counter model. It presents as a restaurant but orders like a fast food place, confused and disruptive and not that efficient as they still had staff back and forth to serve the actual food.
They also ballsed up one of the orders (no chips) but then handled it well with full refund for that meal.
I'd only go again if there was no better choice.
Was OK but nothing better, burger was cooked well and reasonably tasty but the fries were very generic/McCain.
My biggest problem was the go to the counter model. It presents as a restaurant but orders like a fast food place, confused and disruptive and not that efficient as they still had staff back and forth to serve the actual food.
They also ballsed up one of the orders (no chips) but then handled it well with full refund for that meal.
I'd only go again if there was no better choice.
Bullett said:
Ended up in a GBK on Friday night.
Was OK but nothing better, burger was cooked well and reasonably tasty but the fries were very generic/McCain.
My biggest problem was the go to the counter model. It presents as a restaurant but orders like a fast food place, confused and disruptive and not that efficient as they still had staff back and forth to serve the actual food.
They also ballsed up one of the orders (no chips) but then handled it well with full refund for that meal.
I'd only go again if there was no better choice.
It's a low-end burger chain, barely a step above Five Guys. I think your expectations were a bit high...Was OK but nothing better, burger was cooked well and reasonably tasty but the fries were very generic/McCain.
My biggest problem was the go to the counter model. It presents as a restaurant but orders like a fast food place, confused and disruptive and not that efficient as they still had staff back and forth to serve the actual food.
They also ballsed up one of the orders (no chips) but then handled it well with full refund for that meal.
I'd only go again if there was no better choice.
C70R said:
It's a low-end burger chain, barely a step above Five Guys. I think your expectations were a bit high...
To be honest, I see Five Guys on the same level as a burger off the market... maybe the foil doesn't help?Been to Hache (Camden) and GBK (Mailbox, Birmingham) this week and both were pretty good. Nothing special, but nothing dreadful.
Of the chains, Honest remains my favourite.
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