Anyone who has followed me on twitter or visited my cam-room will know I am a huge food nut. The king of all foods for me however is the burger. The burger is a simple concept but with endless possibilities! It encompasses everything I love about food and cooking. And so, long over-due, here is my current list of the 5 Top Burgers in London! This list will be updated as well, as I’m constantly finding new, exciting burgers to try.
#5 – McDonalds – Double Sausage and Egg McMuffin
Before you decide my list has no relevance whatsoever to anyone with a taste palette, give me a moment. I thought long and hard about which burgers to place into my top 5. I mean, I have eaten a lot of burgers, including special edition event burgers by chefs who don’t even make burgers. McDonalds being #5 isn’t because of lack of choice. Instead, see my “Honourable Mentions ” blog next week about great burgers that didn’t make this list!
So why indeed the Double Sausage and Egg McMuffin? Short answer? Because I love it. I know exactly what to expect from McDonalds, and every single time it’s the same, delicious breakfast burger I need to help start my day. It’s the only burger I’ve been able to wake up (or stay up) at 5am to walk the short distance to my local and grab one. I know it’s always going to be there, even if I’m visiting my sister in another city. There’s something real special about a reliable burger that you can have anywhere.
I know that Patty & Bun as well as Dirty Burger do breakfast burgers, but until I wake up early enough to catch a train across London in time to eat one, I won’t be able to say. And honestly? I probably eat more of these than I should. Around 1 a month – but I can’t say I do that with any of the other burgers.
As great as my praise is for the sweet and succulent pork patty, it’s really not good enough to place anywhere higher.
#4 – Dip’n’Flip – The Dip ‘n’ Flip Burger
Dip’n’Flip have a great thing going. I forget their motto, but it’s surely something along the lines of “AND GRAVY!” because everything is served to you either drenched in, or accompanied by gravy. Not some small, silly drizzle either. Like a whole bowl. A whole bowl of delicious, delicious gravy. It’s where the “Dip” part of their name comes in, and I can tell you, dipping a burger isn’t as easy as they make it sound. This is one messy meal.
The burger itself consists of a patty, lettuce, pickles, mustard and ketchup, brioche bun – oh, and they throw in a whole lot of roast beef. And cheese. There’s cheese too. I honestly forget how much goes into one of these burgers. It’s impressive and tall and just not something you’d think you’d be dunking into gravy. However you do, and it’s glorious. Highly recommend going with friends, or a date that doesn’t mind getting down and dirty.
#3 -African Volcano – The Dirty Burger
I actually lie, this burger isn’t called The Dirty Burger. I mean, that’s what’s on their menu, along with an amazing steak sandwich (amazing simple because I recommend it. I very, very rarely recommend steak being eaten any way other than straight off the cow) – What I had when I visited the Maltby street market was their special of the day which didn’t have a name. It was their normal dirty burger, only with pulled pork on top. Their burgers are made with amazingly good cuts of beef and served in their own African Volcano peri peri sauce. Now, you remember how I said the Dip’n’Flip burger was messy? This one could probably give it a tight run in a “messy burger” contest, especially amazing considering it doesn’t come with a bowl of gravy.
Instead, the burger towered in a mess of bun, meat, sauce and juice.Wet wipes were given with burgers and copious amounts of tissues were available at the table. We were sat with a lot of people at the table and not a single person was left clean. However, the table was completely quiet and everyone took apart their burgers in various ways and occasionally we’d say something like “Man, this is good.” and proceed to lick our fingers. I wasn’t really expecting much from a burger stall at a street market, but the African Volcano burger has won awards for a reason.
#2 – Bleeker St Burger – Bleeker Black
Bleeker Burger are probably the crowd favourite. I mean, they have a fan gathering that could take on the cronut. They had a special one off at Spitafields market (Where they will be opening up a proper joint) and the line to get to a burger that night took me just under an hour and a half. An hour and a half for a burger I basically breathed in. I finished that thing off in less than 10 minutes.
Some of you might be thinking “that doesn’t really sound desirable??” but I’m going to tell you now, Bleeker St Burger do the sexiest burgers I have ever laid eyes on. I know it sounds weird, but there really is no other way to describe it, other than it being one sexy mother burger. After trying the Bleeker Burger for the first time half a year ago, my idea on what a burger is was completely redefined. Afterwards, all burgers that I ate were ranked according to a new set of standards that Bleeker Burger were directly in charge of creating.
What makes them so special? Firstly, Bleeker has a very simple burger. Two thin beef patties, cheese, sauce and bun. My favourite is the Bleeker black which has black pudding in-between the patties, however that’s a special burger that isn’t always on the menu. Despite being a simple burger in a burger world of complicated shenanigans, Bleeker Burger shine through because they’re just so damn good at what they do. The meat is ridiculously tender and moist, full of juice and flavour. Bleeker prefer two thin patties instead of one large one and it works. Without a doubt these patties are the star of the show, and to be honest, shouldnt’ that be said about all burgers? The cheese (as I accidentally found out) is the kind you can get from Tesco but it’s delicious and the perfect texture as well as loaded with nostalgia. The bun is also ridiculously soft. It’s like eating a cloud. The tender meat, the melted cheese, the cloud bun – this is a burger that’s so easy to eat, you’d wonder why all burgers aren’t like this.
#1 – Burger Bear
I have spent a long time hearing amazing things about Burger Bear from my friends. They would RAVE about it (especially the black sesame bun) and when I asked why, the could never really pinpoint it. Things like “Bacon Jam” and “Disco Music” were thrown about a lot, but Burger Bear is simply and experience that you can’t describe.
And yes, it’s an experience. In terms of the burger, a thick, meaty patty that’s perfectly seasoned, lettuce, ketchup and sauce. The thing that makes the burger stand out however is their very own bacon jam, a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly popular. I first heard about bacon jam however from the Burger Bear, and it’s the only type of bacon jam I’ve tried. It actually makes a lot of sense, since I find when eating salty, meaty things I also like to have sugary things to offset the taste. When I first had a “Grizzly Bear” burger at a burger contest I knew straight away I had bitten into the winning burger. The succulent patty really is made better by the sweet contrast of the jam. There was simple nothing wrong with the burger, and I made a mental note to eat more in the future.
But what really sets Burger bear apart from the rest of the burgers, is the whole experience. Burger Tom and his crew are dancing away, making jokes and flipping burgers. They will answer any questions you have for them, and they’ll be whooping all along to cooking. I’ve never had so much fun just watching someone cook burgers before. It made my burger taste better for sure.
And there you have it guys. My 5 top burgers in London. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Think there are some obvious contenders missing? Patty & Bun and Honest burgers will be making an appearance on my “honourable mentions” blog with reasons why didn’t make the final cut.