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Thursday 20 May 2010

Mission: Find the Best Burger in London – Fine Burger Co.


**THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED DOWN**

Following my disastrous visit in May 10 which you can read below, I REVISITED Fine Burger Co. on 4th and 9th December 2010 - for the updated review of this Burger joint, please go here.


Fine Burger Co.


There is little to say about the burgers at this popular chain – the only “fine” thing about them is in the restaurant’s name.


Dr G and I visited our local Upper Street branch one evening before going to watch a movie at the nearby Screen on the Green.

The menu read well and I was tempted to “supersize” by paying an extra £2 for a 12 ounce patty. Luckily I didn’t and ordered a single “Sizzler Burger” @ £7.80 (6oz beef patty, smoked bacon, aged cheddar, tomato relish and mayo).



Despite asking for my burger to be medium rare, my patty was so overcooked and dry I could hardly swallow it. But hang on – wasn’t this supposed to be made from “traditionally reared, free range Aberdeen Angus beef cattle?” – so how could it be so utterly tasteless?


There was little if any “aged cheddar”, and the little I could see tasted completely non-descript. The bun “handmade fresh everyday by an Italian baker” had been topped with seeds but had no flavour or texture to hold the dried-out patty. What a disaster!



Dr G ordered a “Catalan Burger” @ £7.65 (beef patty, grilled Spanish chorizo, piquillo peppers and aioli). Similarly, the burger was overcooked, dried-out and tasted industrially processed. The chorizo was also dry and very hard. A completely forgettable burger in Dr G’s opinion.

We ordered a portion of “onion rings” @ £2.95. The batter was thick and drenched in oil, and the rings tasted like they had just come out of a frozen packet despite the price.

Little does farmer "Stuart" know what FBC will do to his quality beef. I wish the Fine Burger Co. would concern themselves with making good quality burgers rather than trying to save the planet.


The “chunky chips” also @ £2.95 were crisp and, surprisingly, tasted quite good.

We ordered a bottle of their house red wine, a 2008 Fleur de Vigne, a blend of Grenache and Merlot grapes from the Languedoc @ £13.50. The wine was very easy drinking, soft and mellow, and at that price we felt it was also very good value.


Cost: £30 including 12.5% service added to the bill, and after a 50% discount on the food bill (FBC is part of the TasteLondon card scheme, to which I belong).

Likes: good but expensive chips, reasonably priced wine list.

Dislikes: the food, a large patch of mould on the wall in the passageway to the lavatories half an inch thick, use of every marketing cliché available to advertise their burgers.

Verdict: Completely forgettable dining experience - avoid at all costs.

Fine Burger Company on Urbanspoon

31 comments:

  1. I had been tempted to eat in FBC, especially with their 2 for 1 offer they have on some days.
    Thankfully with your review the temptation has gone. Cheers.
    We ate at Byron a week or so ago. Very good for a chain.

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  2. There is quite an obsession with burgers of, late but when you get a good one, it becomes instantly memorable. Those look memorable for all the wrong reasons. Doesn't look like there is any texture and the shades of grey would impress even the likes of Mr Grey John Major himself.

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  3. I misguidedly bought one of these once at St Pancras station for lunch. I'd heard they were crap but they were giving out vouchers and I realised why after I ate it. My god it was awful. The meat was grey and everything was so greasy. When I got back to work, it 'sat' in my stomach all afternoon. Not far off being the worse burger I've had outside of a festival or a sports ground.

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  4. I've never heard of these, but I shall be wary in future. I'm also sick of Gourmet Burger Kitchen who have gone way down hill lately although some branches fare better than others. (I did a post a few weeks ago featuring their revolting brown guacamole).

    That burger and bun looks so dry and unappealing. The chips do look good though!

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  5. @ Dave - hi Dave, thanks for stopping by, you have a great blog. I love Byron burgers and am pleased they opened a branch in Angel, I live very near Upper Street but have not had the time to visit it yet.

    @ Tehbus - hi Euwen, indeed a memorable experience not to be repeated.

    @ Mr Noodles - what annoys me about this place is that they use all these marketing cliches to sell those burgers, or give them away on BOGOFFs, but why don't they focus on improving their food, surely this is not a long term strategy?!

    @ Maison Cupcakes - hi Sarah, I also feel that GBK has gone down in quality since a couple of years ago but still they are much better than FBC.

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  6. It's a shame - when they first opened a number of years back on Upper St they were OK, a good pre-cinema spot. Recently, well, your review says it all. Utterly utterly forgettable. Tasteless, bland and generally crap. And considering there is a Byron Burger serving great burgers a few doors down, they can't be much longer for this world, can they?

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  7. Of late I do wonder why some food retail chains exist? This is one of them, providing poor value and charging high prices, a large proportion of which did not go towards ensuring the product offering is adequate let alone acceptable? Is this a franchised business? I have a nagging feeling that it might be. At the end of the day, honest value food sells itself. No gimmicks are needed.

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  8. OH NO! At least the wine and chips were good.

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  9. @ Grubworm - I remember reading a review at your blog recently about this place, interesting you seem to have had a very similar experience there too, so it couldn't have been an isolated experience.

    @ Louise - I believe this to be a franchise, and most annoyingly was their use of all marketing cliches to sell their burgers.

    @ Niamh - the saving grace...

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  10. Urgh - looks awful! Worse than something you get in a van during a rugby match :) Definitely want to try Byron...

    Sasha

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  11. Hello all, today I listened to the food show on radio 4 around lunch time and heard of a burger van selling the best burger in london in an obscure south east london car park which apparently attracts hundreds of people. As a lover of a good burger I was immediately intrigued and have tried searching for this online but with no luck. Does anyone have any idea of where this car park is? I would really love to know as I feel I am missing out on the best burger London has to offer!
    thanks
    Sabrina

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  12. Hi all, as a fellow lover of a good burger today I heard of the best street burger whilst listening to radio 4's food show today at lunchtime. The presenter spoke of the 'best burger to be found in london' which was sold from a burger van in an obscure car park in south east london which attracted hundreds of customers. I was immediately intrigued and began my search online however I wasnt able to find anything and was hoping that someone may be able to shed some light on the whereabouts of the carpark/ van?

    thanks
    Sabrina

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  13. @ Sasha - I know I was so disappointed, Byron is excellent and so is Goodman and Hawksmoor! So many places to visit, so little time.

    @ Sabrina- very intrriguing, I am very curious too, and will start investigating. Pls let me know if you ever find this van in SE London.

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  14. I also need to know where this car park is, having listened to the show!

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  15. Well Steven, if you ever find out pls let me know! You have a really good blog, I will be visiting for inspiration! Thanks for your comment.

    Luiz @ The London Foodie

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  16. MISTERY SOLVED - my friend Gary just texted me to say that the mistery burger man is YANNI, he sells his burgers from a van at an East Dulwich estate.

    I googled YANNI and found a small write up on him at this address: http://britishstreetfood.co.uk/2010/04/468/

    I will track him down and let you know where he is, watch this space!

    Luiz @ The London Foodie

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  17. Here is his website:

    http://www.themeatwagon.co.uk/

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  18. Hi Steven, thank you for that, I checked their site, they will be in North London tomorrow, 3rd June, at the Red Lion and Sun in Highgate from 7pm. I will check them out! Cheers!

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  19. Did you go? I really wanted to but none of my friends were free to go with me :-(

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  20. Hi Steven - I am gutted I couldn't go either - someone is off sick at work, so I had to cover until about 7pm, so got home just about an hour ago! I will keep an eye and find out where his next place is going to be, we should do a joint visit/review. Luiz @ The London Foodie

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  21. hi every one1
    check out a new place in kilburn, call X BURGER , largest burger in london - BRAZILIAN STYLE BURGER. very tasty!!! nw6 7st

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  22. the cross keys in chelsea, their wagyu burger in a brioche bun with truffle fries is awesome!

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  23. Big Yellow Van are by far the best removals/van hire company I have ever had the pleasure to use. They were fast, efficient and good value for money! I will be booking another van with them for my daughter when she moves house in August. Call 0203 2420511 for a quote.

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  24. Do Goats eat fried eggs?

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  25. Check out the Young and Foodish top 10 burger list which is getting updated regularly. I'm hoping to make a move on one of those places in the top 10 this week. They look like real burgers!

    All else failing, Byron at Angel is the best in the neighbourhood, and isn't at all shabby, and have a great selection of real beer!

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  26. I've seen very little from these guys recently, are they still around?!

    How many more burgers have you tried in London?

    I've been running my one-man-burger-blog for a year now and have created my Top 5 Best Burgers in London list: http://www.hamburger-me.com/p/top-5-best-burgers-in-london.html

    I'm still to try Bouluud and Joe Allen, which I've heard good things about.

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  27. ohlala... burgers are delicious and tasty, i can't live without them!

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  28. Hi there - I'm looking for a really great burger company who will make burgers for a small private party - only about 75 covers. Do you know if Byron or GBK etc can do this?

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  29. Do Goats like fried eggs?? Surely someone can answer??

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  30. NO. Byron or GBK won't do it!

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  31. Why would you expect anything better than what you got at that price? It really takes no genius.

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