Fitzrovia, Burgers, Etc Restaurant Guide

“Does what it says on the tin”, with “no delay making choices”. This “simple, good and easy” surf-and-turf chain has grown to nine sites in the capital in 11 years – most with “sufficient space to eat and talk” (rare enough in fast-food joints). The formula is working around the world, too, with openings from New York to the Genting Highlands in Malaysia. “Love the way they give you plastic sheets to cover yourself from flying bits of lobster!”

“Dead hippie sauce is a must” at these “very loud” operations, which “remain at the head of the gourmet burger pack” for many fans with “lots of options available”. After 14 years of growth from a food van to a national chain with 10 venues in the capital, they “don’t seem to have lost their way yet”. “The dark and grungy ersatz New Orleans interior vibe” is of the love-it-or-hate-it variety.

2021 Review: “When all you want is an old-school burger”, these US-based arrivals of recent years really “hit the spot” – you can “build your own”, with “tons of accessories”; plus “seriously addictive fries”, “thick milkshakes”, and “more soda flavours than is reasonable”. “The eat-in experience is as depressing as McDonald’s”, though, in fact perhaps more so – “some branches have a strangely gloomy ambience” – but fans feel that “if you don’t mind 1980s-rock, a trip can still be surprisingly fun”.

2021 Review: “A nice, laid-back American buzz” has helped win a loyal following over the years for this small chain of Kansas City-style diners: one of the first in London to bring BBQ indoors. “It’s a fun place” (in the right mood) and the food is “decent” and in man-sized portions, but “not particularly special”.

The “Scandi bro-burger” consistently “hits the spot” at this Marylebone and Soho duo from Icelander Tómas Tómasson, who has 41 years in the burger business and a mini empire that stretches from his native Reykjavik to Copenhagen, Berlin, London and Oxford. Fun fact: Tómasson became the oldest first-time member of the Althing (Iceland’s parliament) in its 1,000-year history when he won election at the age of 72 last year.