Five Guys - Covent Garden

The second stop of my burger-voyage was the newly opened American chain Five Guys, located at the bottom of Long Acre in Covent Garden. 

With an ever-present queue outside the front door on one of the most popular shopping streets of London, Five Guys has quickly built up a significant buzz amongst Londoners. Albeit nothing else than a (successful) publicity stunt, the queue does move along pretty quickly so do not let that deter you. 

Once inside, you'll be faced with an army of burger-builders (see below) and a choice 15 toppings that you can freely add to 'personalise' your burger. Apart from bacon and cheese, all additional toppings (from grilled mushrooms and jalapeno peppers to HP sauce and mustard) are free. Five Guys proudly boast that this lends itself to over 250,000 possible burger-combo's. You'll also have to decide whether you want a regular burger or a 'little' burger. In Five Guys' speak, this translates into "do you want one or two meat patties?". A question with an easy answer surely.. 

I went for a fairly orthodox combination of toppings - adding bacon, American cheese, lettuce, grilled onions and tomatoes to my two meat patties (totalling at £8.75 excl. chips). Once unwrapped from its foil, the Five Guys creation cuts a rather unusual and messy figure with melted cheese everywhere, the fairly thin bun and very meaty middle. However, looks aisde, Five Guys do serve up a cracking burger. Apart from the tomato, which was far too tangy and cut too thick for my taste, it was a messy delight. Although the sticky cheese might not be too everyone's taste, it helped to balance out what otherwise would've been a very meat-heavy burger. With the extra patty, I did also find that the bacon got slightly lost (not a bad place to get lost in though mind you).

In addition to the many different kinds of delicious burgers on offer, Five Guys is also home to the wonderful Coca Cola Freestyle drinks machine which allows you to customise your drink as well. If you do want to experiment with the many flavour combinations on offer (such as Fanta Peach, Coke Zero Lime and Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla) make sure you only fill up your a little bit at a time unless you want your dentist to hate you..

Five Guys are also famed for their chips, cooked in pure peanut oil to keep cholesterol levels down. 'Every little helps' I believe Tesco call that.. I did slip up a little when ordering my fries, asking for the plain Five Guys Style chips rather than the Cajun Fries (which I've since learnt is the thinking man's choice). Just an(other) excuse to go back then I suppose!

After all, I'm only one down, with over 249,999 to go...

The assembly line of Five Guys, Covent Garden

Honest Burgers - Brixton Village

The first stop of my burger-tour of London was Honest Burgers in Brixton Village (recently new branches have also opened new locations in both Soho and Camden).

Honest Burgers, who pride themselves on their 100% British produce, has quickly become something of a cult destination for burger enthusiasts in London, having earned mentions in Time Our magazine (http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/honest-burgers-1) as well as a 2013 certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d2374067-Reviews-Honest_Burgers-London_England.html).

With that kind of praise in mind, I was more than a little excited for my first encounter with an Honest Burger. And I wasn't disappointed. 

I went for the 'Honest' burger, which was served in a toasted glazed bun with smoked bacon, mature cheddar, red onion relish and lettuce. The burger was absolutely delicious, amazingly well balanced. The saltiness of the cheddar and the (fantastic) smoked bacon was complimented perfectly by the sweetness of the bun and the onion relish. The burger itself (dry aged beef from the Ginger Pig farmers in Yorkshire) was very jucy and cooked to perfection. 

Given the quality of the ingredients and their execution, it was also very reasonably priced at £9 (incl. chips) which represent great value in my eyes.

Those chips really deserve a separate mention as well. As crunchy as you'd like, and served with rosemary salt, they truly are exquisite and pretty much worth the visit on their own.

All in all, I can do nothing but HIGHLY recommend Honest Burgers. I'll be going back soon, that's for sure..

Outside Honest Burgers in Brixton Village

Welcome to Burgers of London

Welcome to the Burgers of London blog, which will provide a collection of some of the best beef-&-bun combo's that London has to offer. 

I'm a first time blogger, but have been a burger-lover for as long as I can remember and thought I'd channel my eating exploits through this blog! 

The aim of this blog is not to provide high quality culinary reviews or to rate burgers on a scale out of ten etc, instead it is to share my passion for a good burger with fellow enthusiasts who - like me - have had the 'best burger in London' debate with their friends on more than one occasion.. Hopefully I'll provide some restaurant inspiration (and mouthwatering pictures) along the way!

Please follow my Twitter account (@burgersoflondon) where all the new reviews will be linked as soon as they've been posted on here. Please also get involved with any comments you have, whether that'd be your own opinion on the burger-joint in question or just a recommendation of a place I need to check out!

On to the reviews...