The January special at Honest Burger is the Tribute-to-bacon burger with thick cut smoked bacon, bacon ketchup and more importantly, beef and bacon GRAVY!!
It’s January. We’re broke. It’s finally getting really cold outside, and we’re all feeling bummed about life generally. So what can pull us out of this slump? My answer for everything: a cheeseburger!
I happened across the Liverpool Street branch of Honest Burger at the weekend and decided to pop in for some sustenance. Now I know that Honest Burger is not new to the London burger game by any stretch of the imagination, and I feel like they may sometimes get overlooked in favour of the dirtier of their dirty burger cousins, such as Bleecker Street, Meat Liquor or Lucky Chip.
But, I feel like we are all missing a trick here. Y’see, Honest Burger has something that the trio above do not have (no, not reservations sadly.) Firstly, all their meat is sourced from the team with the authority on high-quality meat, The Ginger Pig. Secondly, they offer up a different burger special every single month of the year. Big whoop, you say? Well you know what, their specials are so goooood and I feel they are worthy of your attention.
What happens next will shock you! Or not, I mean, we just ate a cheeseburger…
Tribute-to-bacon special (£12.50)
The January special at Honest Burger is the ‘Tribute-to-bacon’ burger, which consists of a beef patty, thick cut smoked bacon, bacon ketchup, smoked cheddar, iceberg lettuce and gherkins. This all sounds pretty awesome already. But it was actually not the over-use of bacon that caught my eye, it was the fact that this burger was also served with a side of beef and bacon GRAVY!! As somebody from north-east London who has been yearning to sample a Dip & Flip burger (which are all served with a side of gravy for dunking) for absolutely ages, this was the answer to my prayers!
Arriving on a plate with the regulation thick cut rosemary salted chips, I remember that I love the fact that every burger at Honest Burger comes with fries as standard. As who in their right mind ever wants a burger without the fries? I also love the fact that all the burgers are cooked to medium pink by default. There is no need to eat them any other way.
The burger patty itself was good and moist with the smoked cheese oozing down the sides. Despite the juicy patty, the brioche buns stand up to the test and don’t fall apart on you. The thick cut bacon IS quite thick but is super yummy and the addition of bacon ketchup means that the whole burger obviously has a very dominant bacony flavour. But that’s the point, right? It wouldn’t be a tribute to bacon otherwise.
And then of course we have the very luscious, deep flavoured gravy on the side. You only get a little pot but anything more would just be a waste, and this stuff is to be treasured! Dipping the rosemary chips into the gravy has a lovely feeling reminiscent of a roast dinner with the potatoes, rosemary and gravy combo. But you obviously HAVE to dip your burger in too, in what the French would call a…. French dip? Or maybe just a dip, then? Gravy that bacon burger, son! You will not regret it.
SCORES OUT OF 10
Bun: 7/10
Patty: 7/10
Cheese & extras: 9/10
Overall: 8/10
While this article is mostly dedicated to the marriage of cheeseburger and gravy, we did also partake in a couple of the side orders so I might as well include a my thoughts on those too.
BBQ Chicken Wings (£4)
I think these may be a fairly new addition to the menu. My first impression was that you only get about six wings per serving which seems a touch tight-fisted to me. They’re not as crunchy on the outside as our friends at Beer & Buns, but they were soft, juicy and yummy inside nonetheless. The sauce had only a mild hint of chilli so nothing that will blow your head off. My advice is order more if you want to share these.
Onion Rings (£3)
Winning an award for some of the biggest onion rings I have ever eaten, these had a good amount of onion and the batter was not too greasy. They were however peppered with fennel seeds which gave them a slight aniseed flavour. That’s not necessarily my cup of tea as I kinda hate aniseed, but I can appreciate how they have tried to add some glamour to an otherwise unglamorous diner favourite. Fans of onion rings will like these. Because they are onion rings.
Finally, I just wanted to give a quick mention to the special sauces you can buy for £1 per pot. We opted for the curry sauce, which tasted a bit like chunkier version of your chip shop curry sauce, and the chipotle mayonnaise which was was creamy and punchy at the same time. Well worth a pound in my book.
Still hungry? Maybe you’ll find something equally finger-licking in our London burgers section, including our review of The Blue’s Kitchen, Shoreditch.
