A few nights ago I went to the Highbury Hotel with the family. They generally serve up decent fare, but nothing to write home about. I felt obliged to get the reviews started, but found that the burger was not on the bistro menu. As a friend had ordered the burger from the bar menu previously, I thought I'd ask if it was available. It was.
The burger came with fries and a small salad. First up, the fries were ok. Nothing brilliant. The Highbury hotel previously used cinammon on their fries (yes, cinammon), and I'm glad to report that this is no longer the case. The burger was big, and the bun was lightly toasted. Inside, there was egg, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, the meat and cheese.
Meat:
The burger pattie was large, but dry. It was over-spiced, and barely tasted of meat, which to me is very important. It was passable, but average at best.
Score: 2/5
Cheese
The all important cheese was almost non-existent. It was hidden under some lettuce on the bottom part of the bun. It was normal cheddar cheese, not processed cheese (as is common in many burgers due to meltability). As such, it wasn't melted enough, and was bland.
Score: 2/5
The all important cheese was almost non-existent. It was hidden under some lettuce on the bottom part of the bun. It was normal cheddar cheese, not processed cheese (as is common in many burgers due to meltability). As such, it wasn't melted enough, and was bland.
Score: 2/5
Bun
The bun was toasted, but could have done with a bit more time under the grill/on the hot plate. It was a fairly standard sesame seed bun. It was good, but only at holding the contents in.
Score: 2/5
Score: 2/5
Extras
Extras can really add to a burger, but simple is usually best in my opinion. Egg can work well, but when combined with beetroot, extremely soft/gritty tomato and minimal sauce, it did not work well.
Score: 2/5
Score: 2/5
Fries
Fries can really add to the burger experience. It's hard to completely ruin fries, but it's also very hard to do them extremely well. The fries were long, soggy and under-cooked. I like slightly under-cooked fries generally, but this was too much. The flavour was good, but nothing special. At least they are now using regular salt only, and no cinammon.
Fries can really add to the burger experience. It's hard to completely ruin fries, but it's also very hard to do them extremely well. The fries were long, soggy and under-cooked. I like slightly under-cooked fries generally, but this was too much. The flavour was good, but nothing special. At least they are now using regular salt only, and no cinammon.
Score: 2/5
Apologies for the quality of the photo, it was from my iphone. I will be using my 5DII in the future!
In conclusion, the Highbury hotel burger is ok. I wouldn't rush back to get it, nor would I likely choose the next time I go to the Highbury. The Highbury have a long way to go. Having said that, you could do a lot worse.
Total score: 10/25
(Don't bother!)
(Don't bother!)
ABB.
