I'm not the greatest fan of chain restaurants (despite my positive reviews of some in my post date food). Generally the thought of turning out exactly the same dishes time after time, day after day in venues across the country is a bit boring in soulless. I also don't like the idea of swelling the coffers of a corporate giant when there are lots of small, passionate chefs and restaurateurs out there struggling to get by.
So with all this in mind it may come as a bit of a surprise to hear that a couple of weeks ago I paid a visit to the latest chain to be making it's mark in the UK; Byron Burger. An American-style burger bar specialising in... you guessed it. Burgers!
It won't lie; my reason for visiting was entirely due to peer pressure. Friends banged on about it so incessantly that eventually I capitulated and decided to give it ago. As well as a latent spirit of exploration, I thought it would be fun to get some innovative ideas for things to do with burgers.
Our first impressions were good. Excellent even. We were greeted by the waitress in a warm, friendly way that so many places aspire to yet so many aspire to. I also really liked the decoration. If I were the pretentious, flouncy type I would describe it as "shabby chic" however I'm not so I will opt for decaying elegance.Lots of exposed brickwork and nothing too polished.
The menu was refreshingly simple and straight forward with only a few signature dishes available. This stopped an endless internal and external debate over what to have and gave enticing prospect of quality. It wasn't just the food menu I was impressed by. The beer menu was excellent too. Not only did it have an impressive selection of local beers, there was a good range of American craft beers.
Starters were limited. There was a choice between nachos with salsa or olives. See what I mean? But we didn't come for starters. Refreshingly, both the nachos and the accompanying salsa and guacamole were hand made rather than scooped out of a packet. They also arrived with reasonable speed.
My main course was the rather festively named triple cheesmas burger which, surprisingly was a burger smothered in three types of cheese. It was delicious. The Scottish beef (added plus points) was cooked to a beautiful medium rare and melted deliciously in the mouth. The bun had a lovely consistency and the chips were not only deliciously crunchy but perfectly seasoned. I also really liked the courgette chips I pinched from my then girlfriend (see previous post) which were cooked in a light and crispy batter - well we wouldn't want it being too healthy would we. Unfortunately, the giant pile of burger and bun, while visually appealing, was almost impossible to eat to utterly impossible to consume with any degree of grace of elegance. Not somewhere to go on a first date!
This was relative small fry though. Timings proved the biggest disappointment. The starters arrived towards the end of the acceptable time limit for starters. All very well but slightly concerning given the restaurant was virtually empty. Worse still, the main courses arrived within only minutes of our starter. Having the two in front of us simultaneously was distinctly off putting and meant that we didn't really have the opportunity to enjoy the starter. Not only was it a bit galling to be paying for something that we didn't really enjoy, I hate seeing food wasted.
So overall, I like the feel of the restaurant. The food is excellent and well thought out. Not only that, the burgers manage to be interesting without being naff. As well as all this, the staff are excellent. It's just a shame that the two courses turned up in such quick succession. I think next time I have one, I might be trying it as a takeaway.
TFB
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