This is a listing of burgers which I, subjectively, think are outstanding. I do not claim that they are “the best”. I simply assert that I loved them.
With the pandemic lockdowns in the rear mirror, it’s time to eat some outstanding burgers. I’ve been annoyed by people in the past who assert that their preferences and tastes are objectively correct, when at best, they can only be subjectively preferred.
I am reminded of the wise advice from a girl I used to date:
Q: “What’s the best wine in the world?”
A: “The one that makes you happy.”
She is on a mission to demystify wine, eliminate snobbery and empower everybody to make great wine choices. I am on a relatively trivial mission to demystify burgers, eliminate snobbery and empower everybody to make great burger choices.
If you would have a different listing of outstanding burgers in London (or any other city or region for that matter) then please send ’em over. I would be happy to add and host your contribution, and I’m sure I would not be the only person who would enjoy benefiting from your thoughts and experiences.
Thus, in that vein, here are a series of burgers which I feel are outstanding, and which I’ve enjoyed since the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated disruptions. They are in a rough geographical order, but not ranked in any particular way.
Hopefully you can learn from my experiences.
Bleecker Street Burgers, Victoria, Spitalfields and Westfield
These are typically fairly simple burgers: a great bun, great meat (with an unusually high bone marrow content to make it more flavoursome) and cheese or bacon or a single piece of lettuce, and their own house sauce.
Black Bear, Shoreditch Box Park
The blue cheese burger is above, and it is just outstanding. If I was forced to choose a current “best” burger, this would likely be it.
Nanny Bill’s, various locations
It’s just a great burger. Their Shoreditch location is in the Goose Island pub.
Filth and Co
This burger lives out west, adjacent to Earls’ Court stations. It’s beautifully filthy.
Meat Liquor, various locations
A whole series of extravagant burgers. One weakness is that as the brand has grown throughout London, the patties are thinner and cooked more. This reduces the risk of food poisoning if there’s an error, but it also does make the burgers a little less tasty. But there’s a huge amount of sauces and other flavourings, so it’s hardly an arduous problem.
In memory: Bad Egg, Moorgate
Sadly, Bad Egg closed down late in the pandemic.
I had the great fortune of enjoying a Bad Egg Burger before the restaurant was launched, at a special event organised by my good friend, Daniel Young. Thus, part of my love of this burger came from the fact that I knew it before it was born.
But it tasted great too. It makes me sad that this is no longer commercially available.
