All over the place
http://www.fineburger.co.uk/
We had a mere forty minutes before we needed to be at the cinema. There wasn’t much time and some food definitely had to be found before we headed in to a two-hour plus film. When you have that little time you really shouldn’t expect to find anything resembling haut cuisine, and it’s definitely not long enough for anything resembling a civilised sit down meal. But burgers – the ultimate meal-in-one – they would be perfect, right? Right?
And sitting there, right opposite the cinema was a branch of the Fine Burger Co. Posters of their friendly local farmer were displayed in the window boasting about the quality of their beef. This was promising. Even if it was a chain, it was still promising. It wasn’t as if we expected a Hawksmoor, Goodman’s or Byron special – just a decent beef patty, cooked ever so slightly pink in the middle.
What arrived at our table was distinctly underwhelming, particularly considering there is a Hamburger Union, Diner and a few other burger orientated places within a few minutes. Unless they’re all that bad. God, what a depressing thought. What really got me was that it wasn’t terrible – this wasn’t some kitchen cock-up, or newbie chef cooking his first ever burger. This was obviously just how they came, cooked pink like we asked and presented nicely on a bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion and some sort of relish.
Hang on… I’m sure I ordered a cheddar cheese burger… surely that snotty yellow dribble wasn’t the cheese, was it? It was. It was almost a cheeseless cheese burger. I wouldn’t have minded if the burger was good. But what we got was very average ground beef that tasted, to me at least, processed and boring. And this burger had almost no browning on it – it was the right colour, but the taste just wasn’t there. A bit like those mangoes you get from the supermarket that look great but don’t actually taste of anything.
And for upwards of £7 a burger without any additions, they should be serving a lot better. I have had far better burgers in Gourmet Burger for not much more. They look much the same, but the quality of the beef, the texture and cooking were all better.
So, the lesson? Even if you only have forty minutes before a film starts, head for real fast food – a decent grilled shish would have been a far better, tastier and much cheaper option.
I can only echo everything you said – I had one of their burgers this week, it was one of the most unmemorable meals I have ever had. To add insult to injury, 12.5% service charge is added to the total bill which I thought was unusual for a burger bar. Don’t be tempted by The Diner, it is equally forgettable.
Luiz @ The London Foodie
I had one when the branch first opened and, while not brilliant, it wasn’t bad. Either my memory is playing nostalgic tricks, or they’ve just got worse over time. Entirely, and depressingly, possible in my experience of chains, big or small. Oh well, c’est la vie.