Small bite. Big flavour.

On my first night in London—after wandering around aimlessly, hungry and lost for hours—I finally made it to familiar territory in this nice plaza with restaurants, just a short walk from my hotel. I would have loved to go to a restaurant, but I was alone and it’s weird eating at a nice restaurant by yourself. I saw an interesting menu from Gourmet Burger Kitchen so I decided to order takeout [or as the Brits say it: “takeaway”].

I’ve never had a burger worthy enough to be called gourmet. I’ve had a lamb burger and a bison burger; burgers with toppings like avocado, gorgonzola cheese, crispy onions, smoked cheese, and spread with special mayos and sauces. But for me, something that is ‘gourmet’ needs to really step out of the bounds of a classic. I’ve been to a burger joint that considers themselves to be gourmet, but the meat is all the same, the buns are the same for each burger, and there aren’t many unique toppings or combinations.

I wouldn’t say Gourmet Burger Kitchen is that ‘gourmet’ or original as other burger joints I’ve seen on Triple D [Diners, Drive-ins and Dives] but there are special toppings like the onion jam and cajun relish, and unique combinations.

One thing that definitely attracted me was the names of their burgers such as Kiwiburger [beetroot, egg, pineapple, aged Cheddar, salad, mayo & relish], Pesterella [mozzarella, basil mayo, salad & relish] and Jolly Cow [brioche bun, grilled mushroom, gorgonzola, crispy onion ring, garlic mayo, salad & relish]

I ordered rosemary fries and 3 beef sliders:

The Frenchie – brioche bun, gorgonzola cheese, crispy bacon, onion jam, salad and relish

Habanero – fiery tomato & habanero jam, mozzarella, lettuce and mayo

Taxidriver – brioche bun, American cheese, crispy onion ring, cajun relish, dill pickle, lettuce and smoked chilli mayo

If I had to rank them, Taxidriver was the clear winner because of it hit all taste buds of sweet, sour, spicy and savoury and the different textures from the crisp pickle and lettuce, crunchy onion ring, creamy cheese and chunky relish. However, the Frenchie was a close second. The gorgonzola cheese killed it for me because I’m not that big of a fan of gorgonzola. Habanero was good but way too spicy for me to handle, even with the bit of mayo to cool it down. I particularly liked the mini bun for it, which had toasted fennel seeds on top.

As for the skinny fries with rosemary—a perfect pairing. I love rosemary and potatoes. Usually when I roast potatoes with rosemary, the rosemary is not too edible, often hard. But when it’s fried, it is crisp and delicious even on its own.

I was so full afterwards [and in desperate need of milk]. These sliders may have been small, but they packed a ton of flavour, heat and probably calories. Totally worth it.