Patty & Bun

The third stop on the meat tour around London was to Patty & Bun for an evening meal. This restaurant is often regarded as serving some of the best burger in London so we couldn't miss this off while in the city. 

They have two restaurants within the city but we opted for the one near to Oxford Road on James Street (the other is located near Bishop Gate). This is a street full of little restaurants and is very busy in an evening for people eating out and socialising. It seems that Patty and Bun are one of the few which doesn't offer outside seating as almost all the other restaurants on the street have seating to the front of the shop. 

The small, open front restaurant stands out on the street thanks to the red paintwork. Arriving, your welcomed by a member of staff at the front door who asks how many you're with and then asks you to wait outside while your table is prepared. Being a weekend evening it was quite busy for our visit and we had to wait 20 minutes or so. 

Normally this isn't a problem, but with only a small bench for a number of people waiting outside at such a busy time it means you're left standing in the street waiting. There is a menu to look over but this would probably be little consolation should the weather be anything like traditional English weather. There is a small overhang to the front of the restaurant but it wouldn't be able to shelter everyone waiting (unless you were all suddenly very comfortable with each other).

Front of the restaurant

Menu

Once we were offered our table the waiter showed us to a table toward the rear of the restaurant. Inside the restaurant is quite small and dimly lit and it becomes clear why you're made to wait on the street, there's just no room for waiting customers inside. There are a set of tables along either side of the restaurant and a small bar tot the back. The kitchen and toilets are located down the stairs to the rear of the restaurant. The decoration is quite simple with chip board lining the walls, and sketches on cardboard hung from the walls higher up. 

Open fronted

Inside the restaurant

Decoration

Each step of a burger?

Having been sat at our table we were offered a paper menu to look over and reconsider our choices. The burgers vary with a wide range of flavours of different sauces and relishes. They also offer chicken and lamb burgers in case beef isn't your bag. Having heard great things about their "Smokey Robinson Burger" this was my choice, combined with sides of fries and "Winger Winger chicken dinner" BBQ chicken wings. It wasn't long before the waiter was back to take our order and deliver our drinks we'd ordered on entering. 

Paper Menu

They also offer a daily special but due to the time of day they had sold out of this option on our arrival. 

Places are then set with a brown paper place mat to save on any plate washing and the centre of the table has cutlery and additional sauces to save you having to get your own. I'm a fan of this as it's more like a restaurant. They've managed to eliminate most of the washing up but keep the need for service staff, as the trend nowadays seems to be for customers to get their own cutlery etc.

Centre pieces

The wait isn't too long before the food is delivered, despite how busy this little restaurant is. 

The sides come in a polystyrene cup and the burger is wrapped and sealed with a signature P&B sticker indicating which burger is wrapped inside. 

Smokey Robinson Burger & Fries

The burger is huge! I was feeling hungry and was tempted to ask if they did any double burgers before ordering but the beef patty in these burgers is so thick a single is adequate enough. 

As you unwrap the burger the cheese tries to hold the burger to the wrapping. Thick, stringy, melted cheese which has to be pulled away from the wrapping. It's great to see proper cheese on a burger, not the usual thin cheese slices. 

Unwrapping

Beneath the patty, the bun is coated in thick ketchup and P&B mayo, along with the lettuce. Then on top of the patty they have a big dollop of caramelised onions and the thick cheese. 

Smokey Robinson Burger (£8.50)

Inside the thick beef patty is a slightly pink in the centre and seems to be high quality minced beef. Under all the onions it's difficult to see the bacon but it's in there! The caramelised onions really flavour the meat and Patty and Buns mayo is a really great sauce. Really sweet flavour. This is easily the best burger I'd found in London so far! 

Burger Section

It's also possibly the messiest burger in London. 

Burger Mess

The fries are crispy with skin on, and quite heavily salted (£2.75). They taste great though. They don't taste like they're cooked in regular cooking oil, there's something different about these fries. They're then seasoned with some rosemary for a bit of extra flavouring.

The wings are also served in a polystyrene cups like the fries, but there's a decent number within the cup (roughly 6 wings). They're doused in a thick BBQ sauce which is very messy to eat. The sauce is has a tangy tomato flavour to it followed by a very sweet sugary flavour. The wings are cooked so well that when I put one down and picked it up again by the bone it left the chicken on the table. Couldn't be cooked better. 

Winger Winger Chicken Dinner (£5.50)

Conclusion

Patty and Bun was the best burger I ate on my search around London. The beef patty was good quality and cooked to perfection. The sides were spot on too! And P&B sauces are fantastic! They've done a great job on the recipes for these sauces. 

The only thing that lets it down is the restaurant size. It's not too bad once you're inside but having to queue outside I imagine puts a lot of people off, especially in poor weather. It's worth the wait though for those willing to wait around outside! I'd be willing to wait in the rain next time as this will be my place to visit next time I'm in London! 

@pattyandbunjoe

Meat Rating: 9/10

Money for Meat: Paid in Full