London Food Detective

Bill's, Brighton and Covent Garden: Best of Brunch

Grace and I have visited Bill's five times over the summer and it's fair to say that it has become a bit of a favourite.

Originally opening in Lewes and then moving on to Brighton, the Covent Garden branch is the fourth outlet of the laid back, chilled out, grocery store/restaurant and the only hope it that it can keep the spirit and quality of the first two branches as it expands.

The first four occasions we went to Bill's was for brunch - the meal on which it has developed it's reputation.

Vegetarian Breakfast

Grace loves the vegetarian breakfast.  It's an eclectic mix of tomatoes, poached egg, mushrooms, sweet chilli sauce, guacamole and hummus.  It sounds disgusting, but everyone I know who has tried it, absolutely loves it and adores the combination of flavours.

The couple of times I've been, I've had the scrambled eggs and bacon.  In Brighton it was fab - fresh, buttery, perfectly cooked scrambled eggs and good quality crispy bacon.  However, on my visit to the Covent Garden branch, the scrambled eggs weren't nearly as good and were badly overcooked and omlette like. 

I suspect that they were cooked in a batch and left to sit on the hotplate, rather than being made fresh as in Brighton.  Hopefully this is the sort of slip Bill's can avoid as it grows, as it will soon damage it's reputation if it doesn't maintain the quality of the Lewes and Brighton branches.  Given everything I've had there has been enjoyable, then I'll hope it was a one off. 

 

Chorizo and roasted peppers

On our post noon visit, I really enjoyed the spicy chorizo in a brioche bun with soft, moreish peppers and a cooling yoghurt.  Chips were adequate, but the burger was something I'd definitely have again.

 

Strawberry meringue

Bill's also has a good line up of desserts and a wide selection of cakes.  My two favourites have been the summery meringue with strawberries, which had the right balance of crispness and chewiness and the rich, slightly decadent, gooey chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce, a flake and vanilla icecream.  Simple, but addictive and great for a chocoholic like me!

Chocolate Brownie

Overall, I'm a big fan of Bill's and it's good to have a reasonable, quick and affordable eating place close to Covent Garden.  I'll forgive them once for the dodgy scrambled eggs, given the friendly waiting staff (makes a difference from some of the surly service I've experienced nearby) and the overall vibe of the place.

 

Viajante, Bethnall Green: Good, but not knockout...

My first visit to Bethnal Green was a few years ago, when I went along to the ABA Championships in York Hall, followed by a few pints in one of the traditional East End pubs.  If you'd asked me the chances of a high class hotel and restaurant opening more or less next door then I would have laughed at you. 

Yet, that is what has happened and Viajante, under the stewardship of Head Chef Nuno Mendes, has firmly established itself as one of London's top restaurants.

It's been on my list to go along for a while and it was one of my first choices for our week of dining out in June.  There are no menus at Viajante and you are instead asked how many courses you would like (we went for six) and if you have any particular food dislikes and allergies.  The kitchen then do the rest.

There were only four tables in for lunch, but the place still had some atmosphere with the friendly staff taking the time to have a chat with us and knocking up a superb non-alcoholic cocktail for Grace.  

We had a great table near the open plan finishing kitchen and watched the chefs working away with precision instruments and tweezers to prepare the delicate and intricate dishes.  It looked more like an operating theatre than kitchen at times!

Overall, I thought the standard of cooking was very good, although there was only one dish that thought was truly amazing and memorable.  I'll talk you through the menu...

The meal started with a 'Thai Explosion' a tasty mix of coriander, chicken and other Thai ingredients and was followed by some fresh, warm crusty bread and two flavoured butters: one black pudding (which didn't taste of much sadly) and an excellent chicken skin one that Grace and I fought over.

As we weren't given a menu and the promise of an e-mailed menu afterwards never arrived, then I'm afraid I don't have an exact description of every dish, but will do my best to describe each one...

First up was a squid (hidden under the sea lettuce) and pickled radish dish that was a bit of an underwhelming start.  Luckily the next course was much better...

I love asparagus, so this dish of asparagus four ways was a delight and a real treat for me.  Served chilled, the various textures and intense asparagus flavour made it my favourite dish of the day.  In particular the clear gel was like asparagus cordial and I could have happily slurped a whole bowl of it.  Excellent.

The next dish was also very good and it was at this point I was beginning to get excited that we were on for a truly memorable meal.

Leek and lobster may not sound like a classic combination, but they worked fantastically well together.  The lobster was cooked two ways and was sweet, succulent and complemented the charred leek.  The accompanying consomme was moreish and devoured with fervour.

Sadly the next dish wasn't to my taste buds and I found the egg yolk and saffron foam overpowered the light, delicate flakes of cod. Technically there was nothing wrong with it, it's just it was one that didn't fit my palette and this is always a danger when you have a tasting menu.

The lamb dish disappointed.  The lamb, which was meant to be the star of the show, was under-seasoned, lacked flavour and was a bit too chewy.  The accompanying mash and broad beans were fine, but overall the dish was a bit of a let down.

When I heard the description of dessert I was a bit underwhelmed, but it turned out to be surprisingly good.  Light, delicate pieces of meringue, sweet white chocolate mousse and then sharper notes from the grapefruit sorbet and lemon made for a dessert that was different, but delicious.

Overall then, when Viajante was good, it was very good, but there were too many dishes that I didn't particularly savour.  If I'd had a three course meal consisting of larger versions of the asparagus, lobster and dessert then I'd be praising the place to high heaven, yet the take it or leave it impression of the other three dishes means that I was left with slight feeling of disappointment that the meal didn't consistently hit the heights.  I'd definitely give Viajante another go, because if it could get six dishes like the asparagus and lobster then it could be remarkable.

Belgo: Getting Quizzy with Lobster

My wife is competitive. Very competitive.

So when she had a spare afternoon before accompanying me to a lobster quiz, she used it to swot up on lobster facts.

The result? We ran away with the quiz organised by Belgo* to celebrate their annual Lobsterfest, which is on throughout June.

While everyone else was enjoying the lobster dishes and Belgian beers, Grace was explaining to me what she had discovered during the day, such as a lobster's favourite sexual position and how long they live for!

It was worthwhile though, as we won a very generous prize of restaurant vouchers and a booth at Lucky Voice - another of Grace's favourite pastimes, so thanks Belgo Bill!

Anyway, on to the food...

We started with a satisfying rich, creamy, lobster bisque.

The surf and turf

On to the star of the show and the signature Maine Lobster with a five ounce ribeye steak.

I've always enjoyed the work involved in eating lobster (and crab) and using the precision instruments to pull, scrape and dig around for the tasty morsels of sweet meat.  There's something very satisfying about it and I got stuck into my lobster and had bits of shell flying about the table as I pulled out the meat.  Good stuff.

My favourite thing about Belgo is it's range of beers and I was delighted to have the chance to have a Delerium, which brought back happy (if somewhat hazy) memories of a boozy trip to Brussels.

Overall, a fab night and Grace has already got the karaoke planned!

Lobsterfest runs until the end of June and you can pick up (or even eat) a whole, grilled 1lb lobster with fries and salad for £24.95.  I was invited along as guest of Belgo to this bloggers event.

 

Salt Yard, Fitzrovia: Some hits, some misses at tapas tavern

Before we all got partners and settled down a bit, I used to go on regular football, food and drinking trips to Spain with some friends from uni.  My love of Spanish food developed from trips to Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao and other Spanish cities.

Anytime we meet up (usually in London or Liverpool) the first thought is to look for a Spanish restaurant to try and so it was with this in mind that four of us decided to give the Salt Yard a try on a cold Monday night.

It's normally a good sign if a restaurant is full on a Monday night and as were led through the bustling bar area to a downstairs table the place had a good vibe to it.

The menu is compact with six or seven choices in the meat, fish and vegetable sections of the menu.

The good:

If a Spanish restaurant can't get it's chorizo right then it's in trouble. Fortunately, the Salt Yard produced some excellent, hot, smoky chorizo on a bed of slow roasted peppers. Moreish.

It's only in the last few years that i've really got into calamari, but it's now one of my favourites. This crisp, lightly battered version came with a powerful aioli and went in a flash.

The butternut squash gnocchi was an unexpected hit.  Served with sweet, golden sultanas, pine nuts and a sage and butter sauce the contrasts of textures and flavours worked really well.  My favourite dish of the night.

The mediocre

My friends reported that "an excellent salsa verde didn’t quite rescue the Fillet of Lamb, which didn’t seem well matched with crushed Jerusalem artichokes."

The bavette (flank steak) would have been sent back if it wasn't the last dish we received and we weren't so full already. Served with luke warm onion rings, the beef was chewy, tasteless and very disappointing. I've a feeling this was the last bit of steak they had on the evening (another table near us were told it was finished) and it just wasn't up to scratch.

Overall, though we had a really good meal.  It was great to catch up with friends and the relaxed, informal and unobtrusive service added to the ambiance. 

You can see why the Salt Yard is a popular restaurant.  The beef aside, everything was of a high quality and, like the best Spanish cooking, the kitchen kept things simple and let the quality of the produce shine through.

 

Chinese New Year at Ping Pong

Chinese New Year began on the 3rd February this year and I was invited along to Ping Pong to sample some of their special dishes and drinks to celebrate the year of the rabbit. 

Ping Pong is a bit of a favourite of mine and Grace's and we often take friends and family if they are visiting and have also held a couple of work outings there.  It's package of decent dim sum, good drinks list, quick service and well designed restaurants is a winner for me.

Anyway, we started off with some of the Chinese New Year specials before Khin, Ping Pong's development chef, ordered us a selection from the main menu to sample.  I'll pick out some of my highlights from the evening.  See if you can spot Ping Pong's PR photos v my phone ones... ;)

Chinese shitake mushroom & chicken hotpot

My favourite of the specials was this hotpot.  The slow cooked chicken and the mushrooms both soaked up all the flavour from the cooking juices and were delicious.

Celery dumpling in pumpkin pastry and Seabass dumpling in red cabbage pastry

As well as being aesthetically pleasing, the seabass was also very good with a generous chunk of seabass being surrounded by bits of water chestnut and prawn.  As a bit of a soy sauce addict I added a generous splash on it which I thought went well with the seabass.

Char Sui buns remain a favourite.

From previous visits I knew the duck spring rolls (like a deep fried duck pancake) with hoisin sauce and the sweet and sticky char sui buns with honey roast barbequed pork were both favourites and I was pleased when Keith had included these in his order.  Both lived up to expectations.

Vietnamese rice paper prawn roll

Out of dishes that I hadn't previously tried then two stood out.

The green chive dumplings with king prawn.  They were a lurid green colour, but you could really taste the chive in the pastry and they were completely different to anything else we had.

I also enjoyed the Vietnamese prawn rolls, which you wrapped in a lettuce leaf and a sprig of mint.  

My only disappointment was the prawn toast.  It used to be a favourite, but a couple of visits ago they changed the recipe and I don't think it's as good as previous.

Pear and Elderflower Collins

Another big plus point of Ping Pong is the drinks list.  They have one of the best range of non-alcoholic drinks I've seen and the cocktail menu is excellent.

We were given a couple of the special Pear and Elderflower Collins to kick start the evening before I moved on to my favourite Lemongrass and Lime.

Overall Ping Pong remains a guilty pleasure and one that I'll continue to go back to.

I'll be honest and say that I haven't visited any of the top London dim-sum places like Royal China or Yautacha (and I'd like to go and compare), but in a dozen or so visits to Ping Pong I haven't had a complaint and the people I have taken along have always enjoyed it.

 

Burgers, beef & rhubarb pannacotta - January's Restaurant Highlights

I tend to eat out at least once a week, but often circumstances don’t allow me to take photos or write up where I’ve been. 

For example, it would be a little bit rude if I’m out with non-foody friends or with work and I write up a scathing or just simply dull review of a place.  Frankly, I’d look a bit of a **** and I do this blog as a hobby rather than anything too serious.

Anyway, the orginal idea of the blog was to be an online diary and so I’m going to make a more conscious effort to round up the places I’ve been in a particularly month.

So, in short, that’s really a long, convoluted way of saying here is a quick summary of places I’ve eaten in January...

#MEATEASY, New Cross

There’s been a lot of hype and reviews about this place and even Marina at the Metro (my fav restaurant critic) reviewed it this week.  I took my friend who was on a flying visit from Uganda and said she was craving meat, so it seemed an obvious choice.

It was a fun place – a cool, speakeasy type joint above a pub in New Cross.  They had a slightly chaotic ordering system and the food arrived in a bit of a haphazard way, but it was made up by a top-notch burger and some of the best onion rings I’ve ever had.

Would I go back? Possibly, but MEATEASY might lose its charm/novelty factor on subsequent visits. Although the burgers were really good, I’m not sure they were that much better than my favourite Byron burger (and Byron’s fries are much better) and I’ll probably stay in town with them and their ordered service and professionalism then venture out to New Cross. 

Sartoria, Saville Row

An agency I used to work with invited me to their post-Christmas dinner at Sartoria, a D&D restaurant near Saville Row.  They’d hired the whole restaurant and as well as having our glasses of wine generously topped up at every opportunity we were served a surprisingly good medium-rare steak, which is unusual for banqueting/mass catering as it’s usually over done and/or cold.

I’d consider going back and trying the normal menu and hope it’s more Launceston Place (yay!) than the Blueprint Cafe (boo!) in the D&D stable...

Giraffe, South Bank

This place is fast becoming my quick dinner (i.e. lunch to you non-northerners) meeting venue near work and I went three times in January.  Plenty of choice, good booths to have a conversation in and excellent value.  The food is consistent and flavoursome with my favourites being the hot 'Thai' duck stir fry and the simple but tasty chicken schnitzel. Along with Byron it’s probably my favourite restaurant chain in London.

Zucca, Bermondsey

I wanted to take my team out somewhere nice before Christmas to say thank you for their hard work over the course of 2010.  Unfortunately we had to postpone due to illness and so went along a couple of weeks ago and I was seriously impressed.

I’m not always the biggest Italian fan, but the food from the small, compact menu was excellent.  I had a luxurious, warming oxtail ragu with polenta to begin with, followed by a rustic, wholesome slow cooked chicken stew with sausage.  The chicken was especially good – served on the bone in the pot it fell off the bone and melted in the mouth and was simply delicious.

I finished off with an excellent milky pannacotta with teasingly tart stewed rhubarb.  I will definitely be back...

Bob Bob Ricard: Super Sunday lunch in sumptious surroundings

I've been wanting an excuse to go to Bob Bob Ricard for a long time and when my parents got tickets for Terry Wogan and wanted to go somewhere for Sunday lunch afterwards then I knew the time had come.

Located in Soho, the first thing to say is that decor in BBR is a decadent, opulent and over the top.  It conjures up images of a fancy dining car on the Orient Express and is a delightful throw back. You instantly feel like you're somewhere special and we received a warm welcome from the staff. 

In some ways the whole experience - menu, service, venue - at BBR reminds me of the The Ivy, but done just better on the whole.  The menu is nothing too flash or pretentious containing classic British dishes with a Russian influence.  I know that doesn't sound too inspiring, but it works.

Before moving on to the food a quick word about the service. 

Our server really struggled with my dad's North-East accent and it resulted in us being brought a wrong drinks order and having to repeat things a number of times (which we found quite amusing). 

However, I thought the waitress handled it really well - she apologised profusely about the drinks, proclaiming the memorable "It is no problem - here is the customer is king! I will sort it out for you" and then making sure she repeated everything we ordered back to us *very* slowly.  She was affable, friendly and attentive - for example, she made sure the water on the table was topped up constantly without asking.  A small thing, but it does make a difference and it's amazing how many restaurants fail to do it without asking.

As it was a Sunday three of us went for the roast beef Sunday lunch:

 

Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roasted veg and gravy

On our last Sunday lunch out together we went to Corrigan's and we all agreed this was better.  The roast beef (sourced from O'Shea's) was excellent.  Served medium-rare it was full of flavour and melted in the mouth.  The huge Yorkshire puddings were light and crisp and the roasted veg and greens all cooked perfectly.  Overall I was really impressed and it's got to be one of the best Sunday lunches I've had.

Cornish Crab Cake with tomatoes, leeks and a fired Quail's egg

My mum went for the crab cakes and was equally delighted. There was plenty of sweet crab meat in the cake and it went well with the tomoatoes and egg.

Chocolate Raspberry Trifle

I was a little disappointed with my chocolate raspberry trifle as I felt the proportions were wrong.  Too much cream on the top and not enough of the delicious chocolate and raspberry at the bottom!

A mini-selection of cakes

Grace went for a mini-selection of cakes, which she wolfed down in a flash and didn't share with anyone! Her favourites were a rum-baba (minus the rum) and a light Battenberg cake.

Overall, BBR really impressed from start to finish. It's now the place I'd go and  recommend to people if they want a high quality, but non-Michelin star style, meal in London. Good stuff.

 

Hawksmoor, Seven Dials: Stupendous steaks, champion chips & classy cocktails

Often when I have steak in a restaurant I end up disappointed as it turns up badly cooked or is a poor cut of meat.  I generally prefer to buy the best quality of steak I can and cook it at home in my trusty griddle pan.

My current butcher of choice of is the Ginger Pig and I've popped in a few times to their branch in Greensmiths on Lower Marsh near work to pick up a steak or two.  It isn't cheap (about £8-£12 per steak), but the quality of the meat makes it far better value than going to an average restaurant for one.

The only restaurants that serve a similar quality meat are generally out my price range and so I jumped at the chance to sample Hawksmoor, Seven Dials, not once, but twice, during their soft opening.

Based close to Covent Garden they've done a great job in converting a basement (apparently it used to be a brewery) into a dark, atmospheric dining space and bar.

They also use beef from the Ginger Pig and have a chalk board with the cuts of steak and sizes available listed, which is a nice touch.

My first visit was for the excellent Dine with Dos Hermanos event and we were lucky enough to sample a huge part of the menu.  I then returned on the Saturday for second helpings.

There is a wide selection of meaty and fishy starters and my favourites on two visits were the lamb chops and the corned beef.

The lamb chops & corned beef, pickles & mustard

However, it's the beef that's the star of the show and on both occassions we were served the different cuts of beef sliced in a large platter.

The star of the show & bone marow

All the larger steaks are served on the bone and have a perfect char and a juicy, bloody centre, which makes for a great steak.  My favourite cut on my two visits was the tenderloin part of the Porterhouse.  It just melted in the mouth and was packed full of flavour.

Another big plus for Hawksmoor is the quality of their sides. The bone marrow (pictured) was rich, unctious and delicious on the bread we were served. 

My favourite of the two types of chips were the beef dripping roast potatoes.  Incredibly crisp on the outside and super fluffy inside they are simply some of the best i've ever had and worth a visit for those alone.  The tokens bits of veg I consumed were also well cooked, though can easily be neglected in favour of the beef, chips and moreish bernaise sauce.

Seeing how much effort goes into the steak, then you might think that desserts would be a secondary consideration, but they were a pleasant surprise.

Lemon curd & shortbread and Chocolate pudding

I particularly enjoyed the lemon curd and short bread.  The zesty lemon and sugary shortbread were a perfect pallette cleanser after all the beef.

A rich chocolate pudding should have been too heavy a finish to the meal, but somehow I managed to shovel all the gooey chocolately goodness in!

With an impressive cocktail and drinks menu, Hawksmoor really has a lot going for it and it is definitely up there with Goodman as the best steak restaurant in London. 

I know a lot of people who name the Gaucho Grill as their favourite London steak place.  However, to me these two restaurants are a class above and now Hawksmoor has a more central branch, i'd urge you to give it a try and see the difference.  I'm confident you won't be disappointed... 

 

Camino: Eating the whole menu!

I recently visited Camino as a paying customer and had it in my list of reviews to do in the coming weeks. However, before getting chance to write it up I received an invite to attend their training session for the staff of their new branch opening in Westferry.

As I'd enjoyed my meal there a few weeks ago I jumped at the chance, even if it did mean taking a long lunch from work and having to work into the evening!

The tasting was hosted by Nacho, the Head Chef and he talked us through the menu, answering any questions that the five bloggers or new staff had.

Now, it would be a bit much to review every single dish on the menu, so instead I've picked out some highs and occasional lows from each section.

Meats & Cold Cuts

 First up was a fabulous selection of cold cuts and cheese. We received them on individual plates, but Nacho also brought out a board showing how they'd be presented in the restaurant.

A selection of cold cuts & cheese

Highs:

The Jamon Iberico, which had been cured for 36 months, was superb. It had an intense, heavy, nutty flavour (from the acorns that the pigs feast on) and wasn't too salty. The slithers of ham just melted in the mouth.

Lomo Iberico was was the fattiest of the salamis, but none the worse for it. The fat just dissolved in the mouth leaving little morsels of cured meat to enjoy.

Manchego cheese. I can sometime find manchego a bit bland, but this was a lot stronger than most I'd had. Matured for 8 months it had a nutty flavour to it that worked perfectly with the sweet quince.

Lows:

Compared to the other cheeses the Tetilla was a little bland and unmemorable.

Salads & Vegetables

Next up was a range of salads and vegetable accompaniments.

My two favourite salads: the artichoke on the left and the fab figs on the right

Highs:

Fig, Mahon cheese and ham salad was wonderful. The figs were wrapped in ham and contained a small cube of cheese. They had been grilled and the sweet figs, melted cheese and salty ham was a fantastic combination. It came served with some mixed leaves and a sherry vinegar dressing, but it's the figs that stick in the memory. Nacho explained that this dish is only on the menu for a short time as figs are only in season for a couple of months.

Grilled artichoke, red and yellow peppers, green beans and tomatoes on a bed of cracked wheat was an unusual combination that worked surprisingly well.

Sauteed piquillo peppers in white wine and garlic is a favourite of mine and this was a good version. The peppers were soft, sweet and delicious.

Smoked cod and orange and the pimientos
 

Lows:

For me, the orange overpowered the delicate smoked cod in a salad which also contained black olive, red onion and new potatoes.

Everyone else loved the pimientos de padron (little green peppers with sea salt), but I found them slightly bitter and too salty. They are a bit of an acquired taste and weren't for me.

Fish

A selection of seafood dishes

I'm not a massive fish lover, so I didn't over indulge on these courses (I was saving myself for the meat still to come) and my favourites were all the shellfish dishes.

The crisp fried baby squid had a light crunchy batter, was not at all chewy (which often happens), and came served with a light, creamy alioli.

King prawns were served cold in their shells and were some of the most succulent, sweet prawns I've had.

 
The spectacular looking octopus tentacle

 

I've never had octopus before and was pleasantly surprised by this dish. It was very meaty and tender - not at all rubbery as the appearance would make you think.

Meat

This was the course I was most looking forward to and on my first visit I'd been really impressed by the quality of the meat selection.  Nacho explained that Camino use a two tonne charcoal grill that they imported specially from Bilbao.

Highs:

Iberico black pig shoulder blade was served like steak and came medium rare, which is unusual for pork. It had a lovely char on it from the grill and was super succulent and was a real porky treat.

The rib-eye steak was equally good. It was served very simply with just a bit of olive oil and salt, which let the quality of the beef shine through.

On my first visit, I was also served some really good morcilla. It was served with apples and had a soft, crumbly texture and was some of the best I've had in the UK.

Lamb skewers, chicken skewers and lamb cutlets

Lows:

I like my lamb served rare, so I thought the lamb skewers were a little over-cooked, though the marinade of paprika, chilli, garlic and chilli did provide a good flavour.

Overall:

It was a real pleasure to spend the afternoon grazing through the Camino menu.  Nacho's passion for his food shone through and he answered all our questions enthusiastically and appeared to really value our feedback. I was impressed that he had such a commitment to training his staff, so they understood the food they would be serving.

Camino's food philosophy seems to be to find the best ingredients and serve them in simple, tasty ways and on the whole they do this very well. There aren't too many elaborate flavours or techniques, which allows them to get the food out of the kitchen quickly. It seems to be a winning formula, as when I went on a Thursday evening the place was packed and there was a 45 minute wait for the table.

Byron Hamburgers: London's Best Burger Chain

I've written before about my love of a good burger, yet for some reason it has taken me nearly 18 months to visit Byron.  Trust me, the gap between my first and second trip will be somewhat shorter...

Many plaudits have been bestowed on Byron and after my first visit I can see why.

Put simply they have the best burgers I've had in London.

What makes them so good? Well, the burger is served perfectly pink with a good, charred flavour on the outside. The meat is so succulent and I had juices running down my chin after every mouthful - it was a pleasure to tuck into and the burger left me with a big satisfied smile on my face. 

The Byron burger: before and half way through...

Now, some of the top steak restaurants and fine dining restaurants (see Goodman, Hawksmoor, Bar Boulud for example) also do great burgers and they may well top Byron's, but they aren't Byron's competition.

As Byron only charge £6.25 for their classic burger, then it's chains like Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Fine Burger Company, Ultimate Burger etc that need to be worried.

Byron blows them out the water in terms of quality and if they can maintain their standards as they expand (which is easier said then done, just ask Strada...) then they are going to be huge.

The only specialist burger place that I've been to that comes close to Byron is Hache. However, what makes Hache is so good is the variety and quality of it's toppings, where Byron is all about the burger.

I suppose the only possible downside to Byron is if you like lot's of unusual toppings on your burger as they are limited to cheese, bacon and salad...

Chips and onion rings: a mixed bag

The side attractions were a bit more of a mixed bag.  Skin on chips were only average, as they seemed to be having an identity crisis and were somewhere between a skinny and a chunky chip and sadly they didn't have the qualities of either, which was a shame.  When I do go back I will be having the skinny fries as they did look good.

On the other hand, I thought the onion rings were great. A good light, crisp batter and thick, sweet onions that were highly satisfying.

Next time I want a burger in central London then I'll be back to Byron.