It’s a bit of a stroll from the Barbican, but you’ll enjoy your burger all the more, Burger & Beyond is true street food turned restaurant.  Created by Craig Povoas and Tom Stock, the beef comes from their own farm in Essex so they can choose their own cuts for their famous burgers.  After three and a half years on the street, formerly in Soho, and now in Camden’s Assembly, Camden Market and at Woolwich’s Street Feast Public, their first bricks and mortar site is on Shoreditch High Street just south of St Leonard’s Church on the other side of the road.

Burger & Beyond’s Instagram feed has been ‘of note’ and popular for at least the last 2 years; it didn’t hurt that Buzzfeed listed their burgers as one of the best things to do in London and Gary Lineker has tweeted about them, too.

Interior downstairs

The venue is simple and casual, a cool and stripped back interior in calming and muted neutral bamboo browns.  A long counter-dining bar seats singles comfortably dining alone. Concrete-base pews along the walls with sink-into cushions and steel studded tables are really novel twists.  There is also plenty of additional seating upstairs (better suited for a long luxurious visit).

In addition to their famous burgers, they can now offer small plates and cocktails, and we start with a couple of deliciously refreshing and fruity ones: Rhubarb Margarita and a Rhubarb Spritz mocktail, both superb.

Rhubarb Margarita, Tequila, Lime, Rhubarb  and Rhubarb Spritz mocktail

There is a range of nibbles if you just want a snack and a drink: Giant Chilli Corn £3, Smoked Belly Scratchings £4 and Nashville Noccarellas £4.  We started with some delicious cod strips and cauliflower cheese croquettes.  The cod strips could have been a meal by themselves or a dish to share; the fish was firm and flaky and perfect with a generous amount of dressing and a satisfyingly tangy sprinkling of pickle chunks.  I found the croquettes were very cheesy (overly so for my taste, but my partner was a fan because he adores cheese to excess).

Cauliflower Cheese Balls with Hot Sauce £6.50 Hot Cod Strips, Ranch, Pickle £6

Other starters include:

Fried Chicken Bites, Pickles, Secret Sauce £6

Lamb Nuggets, Cumin, Mint Dip £6.50

Black Pudding Croquettes, Habanero £6.50

Heritage Tomato, Buffalo Mozzorella, Basil Emolsion £6.50 (v)

I love the way this place doesn’t try to be what it isn’t.  Food is honest here and they only do what they know they do well.

For mains, we choose burgers, obviously, because burgers is all there is.  They aren’t the cheapest in town and you have to buy your sides separately, but they are fresh and fearsome.  To be honest, you could skip the chips because the burgers are large and filling.

We had a bacon butter burger which was up there with the best; the juicy burger, salty bacon and cheese works so well with the fresh brioche buns.  My veggie mushroom burger was also scrumptious and full of flavour with the sweet onions, but it was also so big, and so filled, that I had to succumb to knife and fork in the end.  If I had to pick something that was disappointing, it was that the raclette cheese was melted well in the middle but was a little hard around the edges, but really there was so much cheese anyway, I just left the hard bit.  Overall, the mushroom burger was a really great veggie option, but just be prepared to lick your fingers at the end.

MUSHROOM RACLETTE Burger £10 (V) and BACON BUTTER BURGER £11.50

 

Burgers include:

CHEESEBURGER £9 SGL £12 DBL (Signature Dry Aged Beef Patty, Double American Cheese, Smoky Mayo, Onion)

BACON BUTTER BURGER £11.50 SGL £14.50 DBL (Signature Dry Aged Beef Patty, Double American Cheese, Crispy Pancetta Bacon, Burnt Butter Mayo, Onion)

THE BOUGIE BURG £13.50 SGL £16.50 DBL (Signature Dry Aged Beef Patty, Cold Smoked American Cheese, Steak Sauce 2.0, Marrownaise, Beef Fat Onions)

KRISPIE FRIED CHICKEN £12.50 (Rice Krispie Fried Chicken, Miso Maple Butter, Ranch Pickle Slaw, ADD BACON £1.50 ADD CHEESE £1)

FRIED HOT FISH £13 (Crispy Line Caught Cod, Nashville Hot Sauce, Kaffir Lime Herb Mayo, Crunchy Slaw)

MUSHROOM RACLETTE £10 (V) (Panko Crusted Mushroom Patty, Melted Raclette, Caramelised Onion, Green Leaves, Smoked Garlic Mayo)

There is a modest but decent wine list with some available by the glass and selection of beers.  Water is also freely available and you don’t have to beg.

With the Burger & Beyond foodies sourcing their meat from their own farm, premium beef is guaranteed; I’d like to say that the burgers were the highlight of the meal, and they were certainly well worth the trip out, but the star of the evening for me was my dessert.  My partner had something akin to a McDonald’s apple pie (£6.50).  The Burger & Beyond version is filled to oozing with tangy blueberries.

DESSERTS:   Deep fried blueberry pie (£6) and chocolate mousse sundae (£6.50)

My piece of heaven was the giant mug of rich chocolate mousse topped with creamy, sweet caramel sauce and tiny, crunchy bacon bits.  With a thin spongey biscuit base, it was like a huge Mars bar in a mug.

Burger & Beyond only opened late last year so Google Maps still shows the address as the previous Vietnamese restaurant.  I hope Burger & Beyond has more longevity and they have certainly put in the work to get here.  Give them a go and don’t worry about the walk because you’ll appreciate the opportunity to work off the burger, trust me!

Burger & Beyond

burgerandbeyond.co.uk

147 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JE

Mon-Wed: 12:00-15:00, 17:00-22:30

Thu: 12:00-15:00, 17:00-23:00

Fri-Sat: 12:00-23:00

Sun: 12:00-20:30

Please note kitchen stops taking orders 30 minutes before closure of the restaurant.

Helen Hudson