Burgers Burgers Burgers: ShakeShack, Burger Bear and Disco Bistro

I went recently to one of Somerset House's open air cinema events - brilliant by the way, definitely go - and for dinner I really wanted to take my friend to Patty & Bun as she has yet to try one of the best burgers in London, however this was on a Monday and I completely forgot that they are closed then. My heart absolutely sank - I had been looking forward to that for a while!

So knowing Covent Garden was nearby, we decided to see what all the hype was about and headed to brand new American import ShakeShack. They pride themselves on using 100% all-natural Angus beef, vegetarian fed and humanely raised. I have seen pictures of rows and rows of these burgers all looking perfect and exactly the same. The same Muppet-like features: the lettuce sticking out, cheese melting over the edge and tomatoes lolling like tongues over the bun. They're all bright colours and happy.

From the start I was dubious, however I had read many a review of people saying that this one was great - it was Five Guys here that wasn't so good - so I thought why not, let's forego the brilliance that is MeatMarket around the corner and let's do it - how bad could it be?!

I had no idea.










Here it is: The Muppet. (A plain ShakeShack burger)

My reaction was not good. Take the so-called "perfect-looking" burger out of it's bag and you find the horror of the saggy and deflated bun, looking a little worse for wear. It doesn't look so happy anymore.

Only when I took the burger out of the bag did I realise the lettuce was sticking half way out the burger, to give it it's muppet-esque facade. How was I supposed to eat that?!

One bite in and I knew I hated it. The meat wasn't a good patty. It was flimsy and tasteless - it did not feel like I was eating "100% beef". The "special ShakeShack sauce" was overly sweet. The cheese was not good and there no was no texture in the burger, perhaps this would have been better had I got one with bacon. It was all one soft icky mess in my mouth and I could only stomach eating half of it. It was all very reminiscent of McDonalds - and I detest McDonalds.

The chips were slightly better. I did not like that they were crinkle cut - another mass production sign I do not like to see, but they did taste good. The ones that weren't covered in the same horrible cheese that they use in the burger, however.

We also got a white and black milkshake - chocolate mixed with vanilla. No sign of vanilla in there, only that fake chocolate flavour. So that was left too.

The only redeeming thing at ShakeShake are their concretes. Different kinds of frozen custard which basically taste like ice cream. We had the Union Shack - chocolate custard with St John's Bakery chocolate hazelnut brownie, fudge sauce, Paul A Young, chocolate chunks and sea salt.
If you don't recognise the names in there, St John is an incredible bakery and restaurant - go try a doughnut - and Paul A Young makes some incredibly yummy chocolate. He was one of the first places I tried salted caramel and salted chocolate - an epiphany back then.

This was really really good. Great textures and flavours and you can never go wrong with chocolate in my book.

However after the whole ordeal I was left feeling really disgusting and that horrible fake sweet taste of a cheap burger lingered in my mouth for hours after. Lesson learned: go British and go MeatMarket.

Maybe quality has been falling since the spectacular opening. Maybe it's just not my thing, but neither of us were incredibly impressed. J however managed to finish her burger and the rest of mine.

So I knew I needed another burger STAT to get rid of that horrible memory. Burger Bear is currently in residence at the Old Nun's Head pub in Nunhead, SE London until the 25th August. You can also find him near Old Street during the week, but you have to check his twitter for details because I'm not entirely sure.

Anyway I have heard many a good thing about Burger Bear. So I thought perfect opportunity to have a great burger and see my sis at the same time.

We both ordered a Grizzly Burger - double oak smoked bacon with bacon jam on a cheeseburger along with some angry fries.

Just look at that. That is a proper burger. It is huge, with a hell of a lot of toppings and oozing with juice and cheese.

The moment it entered my mouth I knew this was good. Oh so good. The patty was fat and juicy - but not ridiculously messy. The bacon added the perfect crisp smokiness and my word the bacon jam. Bacon jam. What an absolute epiphany that was, it tasted incredible. The bun wasn't fantastic, however held together nicely with all the juiciness coming from the burger. Safe to say it is now in my top 3 burgers in London.

The angry fries were great - but I was not expecting them to be that spicy! It actually hurt a little bit, there were a few tears, but if you love super spicy you will love them guaranteed.

Next up was Disco Bistro. It's been open at the popup rollerskating rink since July and closed this weekend so I knew I had to get there before time was up!

The burger sounded pretty epic. Cheese, secret "bun sauce", pineapple, onions and -ohmygoodness it's back - bacon jam!!!

This was deliciously oozy, however maybe a little too much. It was dripping everywhere, on my clothes, on body parts and grease was pooling in the bottom of the basket. I guess you definitely can't say it wasn't moist!! As such, the bun didn't hold together great, but it's not something I'm too fussed about.

The burger was really good. The thick-cut onion were delicious and the pineapple - which I wasn't sure on before trying - added a new dimension, a sweet extra flavour. The pineapple was in fact the best bit in there for me! Unfortunately this, plus their bun sauce, didn't allow the bacon jam to shine. Knowing what it tastes like, I couldn't detect it amongst all the other flavours, but it wasn't missed since the burger tasted pretty great already. It was dirty, messy and fabulous.

I'm not sure as yet when the next Disco Bistro burger will be available, but the same chef has collaborated at Rotary Bar Diner (just off Old St roundabout) on their menu, so for a burger of similar style and quality, head there.

Peckham Bazaar

Trudge deep into the heart of Peckham, towards the middle of nowhere, and you will be rewarded, for there is a little restaurant called The Peckham Bazaar which will satisfy all your Greek and grilled needs.

Opening with little fanfare in the middle of sunshine in Summer, Peckham Bazaar has only one chef and a little kitchen outside (soon to be moving inside to be able to stay open for the Winter months), word of mouth has spread and now you are unlikely to be able to eat here without a reservation. 

Food is heavily influenced by Greek and Middle Eastern cooking and with a weekly changing menu, produce is always fresh, innovative and delicious. 

The weather was warm enough for us to sit outside in one of the last hazy Summer evening we had. The atmosphere outside is wonderful, it is sat in the middle of a quiet housing estate and we hardly saw anybody about whilst we were there. Try to visit when you can still sit outside for it all adds to the magic of the evening.

We started with, what Peckham Bazaar are calling, a #wrongungina. Turkish spirit raki mixed with orangina. You wouldn't think it would work but it really does!

Having had a look at the menu earlier, we knew we wanted to order one of everything and with the prices of the food this wasn't going to be a problem!!

We started with grilled pork souvlaki with pickled carrots, nigella seeds and tzatziki and unfortunately I have no picture because we ate it too fast. A mark I think of just how good it was. The pork came on skewers all tender and with a slight smokiness from the grill.

Next was a marinated grilled prawn saganaki, which is apparently a traditional Greek way of preparing a dish in a small frying pan. As all food is prepared on the grill it all comes with a gorgeous but not overpowering smokey flavour. The prawns were juicy and for ease their shells had been taken off. Didn't have to get too messy.

This next one may have been my favourite of them all. At the time I couldn't pick between all of them, they were all too good but I still remember (and I went about two weeks ago now) the flavours that came from the spices in the meatball and how tender it was that it completely fell apart on my fork and melted in my mouth.
It was a huge single veal and pork meatball with a courgette and almond puree and Turkish tarator. The puree was delicious and so different and accompanied the meatball perfectly. 

 Ok wait maybe this one was my fave. Grilled octopus with Greek fava, braised silver skins and capers.  The octopus was crispy from the grill and the puree of fava - yellow split peas - complemented this wonderfully for a beautiful texture.

There was only one dessert to choose from and at the time I thought that it sounded a little boring - cherry baklava with walnut ice cream. Having a parent from a Middle Eastern background I have had plenty of baklava in my life and thought I had been there, done that and knew what to expect.

I was so wrong!

I haven't baklava with huge pieces of real fruit in before - let alone sweet and succulent cherry. The juice of the cherry mixed with the syrup from the baklava toned down the overall sweetness of the pastry and made for a gorgeous, gooey, every so slightly (in a good way) sticky texture. The walnut ice cream was pure brilliance, and when it all started to melt together and there were syrup and cherry flavours all over the bowl I was in pure heaven.

Again, no picture. It was that good.

Reliving them all over again, I can't decide which one was the best. Even the dessert stood up to the mighty meatball!

The service was a little slow - but with there only being one chef on a small grill and a very busy restaurant I will happily let them off.  A warning, it is also cash only!

You can't at the moment get much better value for money anywhere else. The chef clearly loves the food he is cooking and the place has true values and it shows. I hope their success only continues to grow.