Unit 12, Brixton Village, SW9 8PR 0207 733 7963
4a Meard Street, W1F 0EF 0203 609 9524
If you can recall that around about this time last
year we had that glorious spell of high summer days, by chance I had the day
off and decided to spend the day in Brixton, concentrating on activities strictly
within the vicinity of Honest Burgers. So I splashed around at the lovely
Brockwell Lido but bypassed the mediocre
lunch fare with well informed promise that Honest was the way to go. I just
made it before they closed, similar to many eateries within the market, they
shut at 4 for a couple of hours till evening kicks in.The menu didn't mess
around; cheese or plain burger with chips, I went for the cheese burger and as
soon as I took the first bite I wish I hadn't open this can of worms, knowledge
of such a great burger is fantastic but not when it is over eight miles away.
As I devoured the juicy mess I had made myself I didn't let this worry me and
vowed that distance wouldn't keep me away. But it did, until last week where
pay day meant burger Friday!!
I had passed their Soho outpost a couple of times,
peeked at the menu which has added a vegetarian fritter option and a chicken
burger, but sympathetically everything was as I remembered of the Brixton
original. When I ventured inside, passed the outdoor tables shaded by the ivy
coloured awning, I settled in a nook at the end of a wooden bench leaning on
the clean white wall. The walls were bare apart from the chalkboard flowchart
menu and there is a nod to the industrial feel with scaffold pole shelves for
condiments and cutlery. As I read the menu I realised I was lucky to grab a table
as the lunchtime rush was hitting full swing.
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There is nothing quite like a solitary meal at a
busy place, it's almost indulgent, naughtily taking up a table of two just for
one with a good book. With my order in the first half of my lunch hour ticked
by as I watched small troop of pa's, runners and hungry individuals pick up
their pre orders which seemed like a popular and wise choice. For the hour that
I was there there wasn't a spare seat in the house. My order arrived on one of
those fashionable navy rimmed tin plates and smelt like a dream. Instinctively
I eased myself into the meal with half a dozen chips, which as I remembered
were highly addictive. Honest Burger fries are skin on skinny chips but the
glorious thing about them is that they are tossed on rosemary and sea salt
which make them reminiscent of roast dinner potatoes. And unlike many others
they somehow always remain crunchy, even the lonely couple that seem to somehow
linger till the end of the meal keep their bite. The patties as a standard
served medium with the inside still slightly blushing, which suits me just
fine. Sandwiched between a sweet brioche bun and slathered in a pungent red
onion relish. The flavours are simple, components are unfussy but all are top
quality allowing the ginger pig aged meat to really sing.
With food trucks, pub pop ups and boutique
brasserie types all vying for our burger loving attention, there are few which
match a fair price to a quality product. At a respectable £7.50 for a burger
chips combo Honest Burgers are true to their name and deliver something a
little special to the saturated fast food staple. The only trouble now is that
with the Soho outpost in sniffing distance from my office, I don’t quite know how I
will keep temptation at bay.
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