Monday 10 December 2012

Party and Bun....

Patty & Bun.



Yes I hear you moan, 'another burger review Ash, really?' Hey, you know what? If they keep serving burgers to me, I'm gonna eat em and I'm gonna write about em. But I promise after this one, I will lay off the meat and bread. For a short while at least. Anyway, moving on. After a successful residency at The Endurance, Soho, Patty and Bun have gone and got themselves a permanent base in their very own, brand spanking new, and VERY shiny restaurant off Bond Street. We took to the very cold yet festive streets to give them a try.  

The 30 covers restaurant is no bigger than a large living room. And I love it. You get a real sense that Patty and Bun isn't the type of place you visit to sit for hours and muse over the dishes and an expensive bottle of red. This is a 'get in, enjoy and get out' experience. We are greeted by friendly and eager staff who show us to our 'P&B' branded tables  . Literally branded. Like a cows behind. Smaller details such as this make it clear this is a project painstakingly thought of, and the effort put in is clear form the outset.




On the recommendation of our waitress we started off with a caraffe of Rum Punch, and some table water served in old school glass milk bottles. Such kitsch details as this make me giddy. The Rum punch smelled strong yet didn't taste of alcohol. The most dangerous combo in the booze world I reckon. I decided on the Patty and Bun signature, 'Ari Gold' (Brioche bun, Beef Patty, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickled Onion, Ketchup, P&B Mayo and I added bacon too) one of my companions chose the 'Lamb shank Redemption' (Brioche, Coriander & Chilli, Braised Red Cabbage, Cumin Aioli and Feta). YUM. And the other the Veggie burger. And attention Vegetarians. My vegetarian friend firmly believes that the mushroom is a vegetarians worst nightmare, so I was hesitant to inform her of the veggie burger on offer, although the clue was in the title, Portabello 'Dig it' Mushroom Burger (portabello mushroom, garlic parsley butter, cheese, slaw, buttermilk baby courgette, tarragon mayo and salad) on devouring it, she said, and I quote, 'that was the best veggie burger I have ever eaten' Lord knows what they did to that mushroom. We also order every side on the menu.  Maybe the rum punch has taken affect by this early stage because when the food does arrive, the amount is slightly overwhelming. Wrapped in paper and served on a silver tray, the sides in small cardboard bowls, its feeding time. The brioche buns are so shiny you could almost do your make up off them. The pickled onion add a crunch otherwise provided by gherkins and they really work well. The star of these burgers though, as it should be, are the patties. They're not too thick and are perfectly pink in the middle, which can be off putting for some but in my opinion I feel this is how burgers should be served. And just as a side note, I HOPE WESTMINSTER COUNCIL CAN HEAR ME RIGHT NOW. Would be a travesty for burgers everywhere if this comes to pass.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/westminster-council-cracks-down-on-rare-and-mediumrare-burgers-8398336.html




Anyway. The sides are great. The 'Winger Winger Chicken Dinner' wings are so sticky and messy, smothered in a gorgeous BBQ sauce, and sprinkled with spring onions. The Rosemary chips are tasty and the coleslaw adds a freshness and a zing. I loved it. So after all of this, you would think dessert would be out of the question. Well it wasn't. We had to try the ever so retro choc ices. I plumped for hazelnut. Served in paper wrappers they instantly took me back to being 10 years old and chomping the ice cream and inadvertently eating the paper wrapper too. Bliss.

As far as burger joints go Patty and Bun does exactly what it says on the tin. Which is no bad thing. The staff are very helpful, and the owner, Joe, has energy and enthusiasm that would put Tigger to shame. As gluttonous as it is to admit, I ate there 3 times in its opening week (hangs head in shame) and the quality of both food and service never faltered once. My waistline however is another story altogether...

www.pattyandbun.co.uk
@pattyandbunjoe

54 James Street W1U 1HE