The
Burger Joint all but saved the day last Tuesday from what could have
otherwise been hailed as a dinner-time disaster. I think it speaks
volumes that my friends and I opted to trek all the way from
Gloucester Road, in no less than monsoon-style conditions, from the
venue initially chosen for our natter and nosh up. Although our
'first choice' served up a catalogue of errors which caused us to
jump ship, the pull of The Burger Joint's undisputed reliability
factor led to a burger-based pilgrimage across town and will no doubt
underpin the (rather gushing) review that follows...
Date
and Time: Tuesday 7th August 2012
Name
of Establishment: The Burger Joint*
Location:
Cotham Hill, Bristol
Reason
for Visit: A trustworthy tummy tantaliser!
Intimately
inviting, The Burger Joint hints at an American diner theme and yet
ditches the tried-and-tested 'retro' effect for block-colour and
sophisticated simplicity. It fathoms a similar appeal to that of a
friend's gaff in that the venue's established neighbourhood-favourite
badge has been channelled through its closely-arranged furniture and
friendly ambiance; the latter clearly securing a strong following in
that it can sometimes prove difficult to bag a table at all. In fact,
this is perhaps the primary reason for the hotly anticipated
re-location of The Burger Joint whereby owner, Dan and his crew will
be swapping premises with the Whiteladies Road branch of Planet Pizza
in the Autumn of 2012.
On
to the menu and first of all, I have to commend the novelty-factor of
ordering from tick-lists; checking the boxes that correspond to your
chosen content; toppings, sauces and side-orders. I almost always opt
for the grilled chicken burger as it ultimately constitutes a
free-range, amply-sized and juicy chicken breast which, coupled with
crispy bacon and slathered with melted Swiss is simply delicious!
Besides chicken, you can choose from the likes of 6oz prime beef,
lamb and mint, pork sage and apple, mixed mushroom and even venison –
on the large part, burgers have been priced at £7.50, though there
are often 'Voucher Cloud'* deals to be had to satisfy the
spending-savvy amongst us!
Toppings,
at 70p each or three for £1.80, are positively plentiful and you're
encouraged to unleash your creativity with
a multitude of available combinations; in fact, a
friend of mine once ordered the unthinkable and 'doubled up' his
burger via an unusual multi-meat approach; sandwiching chicken with
beef with a buffer of onion rings - tasty? We can only take his word
for it...! Extremities aside, there are four varieties of cheese on
offer including the aforementioned Swiss as well as Brie, Cheddar and
a good-quality blue. There is also the option to add chorizo, roasted
peppers, grilled red chillis, sautéed mushrooms or even a free-range
fried egg! Sides (the first of which is free with your burger) are as
equally abundant; the hand-cut chips proving thick and moreish and
the home-made coleslaw, flavoursome and creamy. That said, the
absolute winner for me has to be the sweet potato fries which are by
far, the best I've ever tasted given their well-executed composition
whereby a crisp exterior suitably encases the distinctive soft,
earthiness within. We're also talking thirteen different sauces - two
of which you can choose for free - which include all the usual
suspects. These can can either be added to your burger or provided in
rather lady-like dipping pots on the side of your plate! When it
comes to the bap itself, gone is the doughy, anaemic-looking
bloat-provoker that can so often be cheaply sourced elsewhere and
instead, ciabatta rolls have been facilitated from a nearby artisan
bakery. It is also worth mentioning that lettuce, red onions, sliced
tomato and slithers of (the dreaded) gherkin are added to each burger
as standard and so if any of these ingredients don't particularly
float your boat, it is best to add a brief sub-note to your form,
(complete with smiley face as let's face it, it always pays to be
polite). Finally, you can remove the carb-component altogether in
favour of the burger salad which is exactly what it says on the tin –
your choice of burger, with all the trimmings, sans bread!
 |
| Grilled Chicken Burger with all my favourite trimmings! |
 |
| Check out those sweet potato fries! |
As
a licensed venue, The Burger Joint offers a compact yet thoughtfully
arranged selection of beers, wines and cider which, in my view, stand
at prices outside of the usual Clifton-style spectrum, (vino coming
in at just over three quid for a medium-sized glass). Alcohol aside
however, the milkshakes (at a mere £2.60 each) are definitely where
it's at given their thick, rich-tasting appeal; the caramel edition
in particular proving especially decadent. This also makes up for the
limited line-up of puddings which, to be fair, I've never had room to
sample!
In
conclusion, I really can't recommend The Burger joint enough; if the
premise of tasty, build-your-own burgers doesn't move you, nor the
notion of fresh, locally sourced ingredients whereby an 'emphasis on
quality' denotes that everything is hand-made in a cutesy
home-from-home style kitchen, then surely the timely money-saving
deals, in addition to the option to order your din dins 'to-go' so to
enjoy it from the comfort of your own home, will swing it for you!
Yes, it may not be considered gourmet cuisine but The Burger Joint is
definitely the best of its kind in our beloved Bristol – get
involved...you'll definitely be glad that you did!
And
now for the second opinion...
My
fellow diner, the beautiful SM, gave The Burger Joint an impressive
10/10 and in three words, summed up her experience as 'satisfying',
'delicious' and 'consistent'.
References:
This looks YUM, I shall drag Ben there :) Thanks for the advice.
ReplyDeleteThat looks absolutely delicious, and I've got to say, I'd go with the chicken too. Divine! Think perhaps I'm dragging the supper club gang down for a night out in Bristol...as if the nightlife wasn't good enough to merit a visit I now have meat and cheese to tempt me! Good work Sam...
ReplyDeletewao looking amazing bruger and fries
ReplyDelete