Finding The Best Burger In London (Part 1) | Food Tours | Insider Food

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Harry: I'm a London local, and I think London has some of the best food in the world. I've invited my friend Joe Avella over from the US to teach him how we do things slightly differently over here. We'll be visiting the best-rated burger spot, my personal favorite, and a wild card all in one day to see if we can find London's best burger. This is "Food Tours." Our first stop of the day: Honest Burgers. So, what is it about this place that makes these burgers so honest? I think the reviews kind of speak for themselves. On Tripadvisor, I believe, if you search "best burger in London," seven of the top 20 are Honest Burger locations. They place a lot of emphasis on finding good-quality ingredients. It's all, like, locally sourced British beef. They have beers from London breweries. Joe: Fantastic. Sounds very London-y. Harry: It is. And that's what we're doing here, so I would love to try the burgers and get one of these beers, man. Harry: We need to try just, like, the cheeseburger. Joe: Get the cheeseburger? Harry: Which I think here is just the Honest, which is an Honest beef, smoked bacon, cheddar, red-onion relish, pickles, and lettuce. Joe: Perfect. Harry: And then we need to try one of their specials. What we could do is try their new smashed burger. Get this ad out of my face. Get out of here. Yeah, let's do the smashed. That sounds good. I want to do the Honest. The regular's got bacon, cheddar. Fantastic. And then a smashed. Smash that bad boy up. Server: So, we've got the Honest. Joe: Oh, nice. Harry: That's looks great. I love that it smells like — do I smell rosemary? Harry: Smells good. There is. So, the rosemary fries are a bit of an Honest Burger thing. Joe: Oh, it's the fries. Harry: You get the cheddar as well. It's a stronger kind of smell. Caramelized red onion going on. Joe: Caramelized red onion? That I'm not used to. All right, dig in. Here we go. Oh, this — oh, man. Yeah. Yes. Are you kidding me? Oh, my God, dude. Harry: You may need one of these. Joe: Holy. Wow. It's a juicy burger. Joe: That is fantastic. Oh, my God. And these onions, like, yo, that's the secret weapon. Harry: Good sweetness. Joe: Is that common? Harry: I'd say in the sort of more upmarket burger chains. I don't want to touch the fries 'cause I don't want to waste valuable stomach space. Harry: Very fair. That's really high praise, 'cause the fries are good as well. Yeah. Like, and the bacon is fatty, so it's softer, and then the grease of it kind of works at the burger. This thing is incredible! Oh, my God! Have you guys had this before? [crew laughing] Have you guys eaten here before? This place is amazing, right? Harry: Do you see why they are dominating the charts on Tripadvisor? Joe: They should rename it the Honest Burger charts and then just, they'd name every place that isn't Honest Burger. It's a lot easier. Like, ah, this is great. Oh, yeah. Harry: That's some high praise. It's a really good burger. This is the one to beat. This is the one to beat. Do you get the, like, the quality of the beef is there. The quality of everything is really good. Everything. The meat, the cheese, the bacon, the onion. Everything together just works so perfectly. This thing's freaking fantastic. Are you kidding me? Like, everyone's looking at me. I'm sorry. Harry: I think, so, with the thicker burger, as I was saying, it's important, I think, that you can customize how you want it cooked. 'Cause my problem with some thick burgers is that if they are thick and also well done, then it becomes very dense, very dry, very chewy. This is juicy as hell. Yeah, this is, like, a light medium. I know LA's expensive, but so is London. If you ordered this exact dish, with the fries, with the burger in LA, what would you be expecting to pay for that? What would you be happy to pay for that? I think I could see this costing, like, 25 bucks. This is standalone high-quality-restaurant level. If this was in LA, like, lines out the door. Huge hype. Every celebrity would go just to get that 'Gram shot of, like, look, I'm here. This place would kill in LA. What up? What up? What up? Harry: Ooh, here we go. Server: Our new burger, the mayonnaise smashed. Got the brown-butter mayo. Joe: There you go. It's a brown-butter mayo? Harry: Brown-butter mayo, he said. Joe: Oh, my. Harry: That sounds delicious. Joe: This looks like a quintessential smashed burger. Harry: This looks good, man. Joe: Looks like it's really well done. Harry: Yeah. Joe: What's underneath here? Harry: Is there any — ooh, there's some onions and pickles. Joe: All right, I'll have this with the pickles. Harry: Smashed burger's always best while they're fresh out the grill. Joe: Yeah, well this guy's on top of you with the camera here. Can you step back so he can eat? What are you doing? Harry: David's taking his time. All right. Joe: Ready? Harry: I'm so ready. Let's go, man. I'm excited to try this mayo. Have had the smashed burger before? Harry: No, never. This is new. Joe: Oh, OK. Let's go. Look at the butter. The butter's, like, dripping off of this. Goodness me. Joe: Uh-huh. Yeah. [Harry chuckles] That's so good. Hm. Is this better than the first one? This is, like, really good. That's real good, man. Joe: That's really good. That is so buttery. Joe: Yeah, and crispy. And with the cheese and that, what did he say? Like, a brown butter or whatever? Harry: Brown-butter mayo. Oh, my God. Harry: Anything with brown butter in it, my God, it's so good. I will say, your extra pickles, kind of making this for me. Joe: It's crazy how good that is. It's, like, ridiculous how good that is. So, obviously, smashed burgers, smashed burgers are pretty popular in — Very popular. Yeah, I gotta say, very popular in LA. There's been a smashed-burger renaissance, if you will. They're popping up everywhere. Lot of good contenders. Harry: How does this compare? Right up there with them. Harry: Wow. Joe: This is fantastic. This would kill in LA. This is so good. This might be one of the best smashed burgers I've ever had. Harry: Wow. What's setting it apart? Joe: Perfect crispiness on the beef, the way the cheese has melted to it, amazing. This butter sauce they put on there. That enhances the flavor so well. The onions too. Just the whole thing together. The flavor is just out of control on this one. It's rich, but it's not overwhelming, and this locks in with the cheese and this, ugh. [Harry laughs] Oh, my God. Harry: Are you good? You're having an experience here. Yeah, this is absolutely fantastic. We'll come back. Joe: Can we just do this — let's just do just this place. We only just pick one. It's this one. Seven out of 10 on Tripadvisor, baby. That's a C-plus in America. That's a first at a British uni. Joe: What do you mean? 70% at a British uni is, like, the top grade you can get. Really? You can't get 100%? Harry: I mean, technically you can, but it's, like, unheard of. Really? Harry: 70% at a British uni, you've killed it. No. What did you get? 55. Joe: Dumbass, this guy is. That's an F in America, bro! 56, you said? Harry: I think 55. Joe: Even worse. What a maroon. Harry: Not good. All right, well. OK, well this has been fantastic. Do you agree? Joe: Yeah, fantastic. We've got another spot to hit. Nothing complements a burger like a burger. OK. [all laugh] Let's go. Let's go. [Joe burps] Oh, my God. Play this video at my funeral. All right. You promised me a best-burger-in-London tour. Harry: I did. I couldn't help but notice we are in a Wimpy's. Harry: It's true. Joe: Why is that? They claim to be the first place to serve a hamburger-based meal in the UK, so. Not a lot has changed since the kind of '70s, or even, like, '50s in the UK. It's very traditional. Mixture of kind of fast-food elements with more classic restaurant elements. But then also I think we should try some of the specialities, which, at Wimpy, for me, it's going to be something that includes a Bendy in a bun. A Bendy in a bun is a frankfurter, like, hot-dog sausage. They kind of slice it at intervals, which then lets you bend it into a circle, add it to a burger. I do understand the dilemma of wanting to eat a hot dog or a hamburger. Harry: Right. And finally someone figured out, let's put them together. Harry: Wimpy figured it out. They've been doing it here. Get that floury bun in there, you know, that I hear so many good things about. Maybe some beans? Joe: I swear to God, if there's any beans on the burger, I'm walking out of here, all right? You put a bean on the burger, I am gone. Harry: OK, understandable. Joe: This all sounds great, man. I am starving. Harry: Yeah, me too. I think we should get ordering. Joe: Let's do it. Harry: Ay. Thank you. Joe: All right. Nice. I see why it's called Wimpy's, though, 'cause this is a wimpy-ass-looking burger. [Harry laughs] Look at this thing here. Like, what's going on over here? Harry: That is disrespectful. What's wimpy about this burger? Joe: It's a little thinner than I thought it was gonna be. I mean, I think 'cause the bun is so much bigger, it just makes the patty look a lot smaller. Cheers. [coughs] Man. They're generous with their signature ketchup on this one. Harry: Are you good? Yeah. Oh, man. All right. This is pretty good. I get it. I can see why this would be, like, a burger people keep coming back to. It has a distinct enough flavor, but it's not so overpowering and overwhelming that it would turn people off. You see why people were losing their minds about this in the '50s? Joe: [laughs] I could see after a night of doing the Lindy Hop with the fellow blokes leaving the, I don't know, box social, hitting a Wimpy's on the way home. This was definitely ahead of its time around the same time as the polio vaccine. Yeah, I get it. Harry: Thoughts — [laughs] Thoughts on the dusty, aka floury, bun? Yeah, it's fine. Harry: Yeah, it's OK? No strong opinions. I don't know, whatever. What am I tasting here? It's like a mayo, but it's got relish in it? Harry: Thousand Island would be the closest thing you have, maybe? Joe: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Thousand Island, yeah. I think basically in the UK we call that burger sauce. Not bad. Harry: Not bad. Have you ever tried English breakfast tea? Joe: All teas taste the same. Harry: OK, interesting. All tea tastes the same. Harry: That's a hot take. Oh, thank you. Joe: Hey, hey. Harry: Here we go. [Joe laughs] [Joe continues laughing] Harry: Is this — Joe: What the f—? What's in the middle? Not a lot, I don't think. Joe: Oh, onions. Harry: Talk me through your gut reaction to the Bendy in a bun. Joe: This looks like something a kid would make when occasionally parents are like, "Hey, why don't you make lunch?" And then you gotta be like, "Ah, thanks, Timmy." What's funny about it is that you said this has been around forever. Harry: Yes. And they haven't solved the, hot dogs are long, and buns are circle. I think we should eat this. Let's go. Joe: I'm morbidly curious. All right. Bendy in a bun. Welcome to the UK. So juvenile. [laughs] Mm. Harry: Uh-huh? Well ... the hot dog is a little more, like, spiced or flavorful than a regular hot dog. Harry: I will concede, logistically, not the best thing to eat. I think you kind of have to go round it in a circle. 'Cause if you try and eat just through the middle of this, you're going to get bites that are just cheese and onion. Which might be to some people's taste. Might be not to others. I don't wanna eat this. [Harry laughs] I don't wanna eat this. I'll take one more bite, 'cause I'm being employed to do so. Can I shock you, Joe? I quite like this. It might be because I have the sort of palate of that, like, little 8-year-old kid who's been left on his own to cook dinner. But this is good! What are you not liking about this? The hot dog's weird. I know there's a lot to be desired about UK cuisine. Case in point, on my way to this fine country of yours, I mentioned to three different people, three different strangers, while I was traversing over here, that I was going to the UK specifically to do a show about food, and all three of them were like, "Ugh. What?" And I'm like, "Yeah." But I don't know about this hot dog, man. I mean, like, it's just, I hate it. So, that is a miss. Have we ruined hot dogs? No, but you've ruined Bendys, and to be honest, I got a bit of a headache now. Harry: Bendy headache. You've got the bends! Yeah, I've got the bends. Oh, God. That's what it's named after. And they're like, "You can't keep calling it that. We're not moving these. I don't know what's wrong!" So, I mean, this was maybe not the perfect way to end, 'cause you seem to have not enjoyed the Bendy in a bun. Joe: Yeah. We're just going to put this to one side for a minute. As an overall experience at Wimpy and also focusing more on maybe the burger than the Bendy, like, do you have some thoughts? I do like it. I liked it more than I thought I was going to. Admittedly, I came in here with expectations real low. No, I did like the burger. I get why it has a nostalgia to it. If I lived in the UK or if there was a Wimpy's nearby, I think I would frequent it every once in a while. Wimpy's, I get it. OK. But not the Bendy. Never touching that again, ever. I look forward — my life will be pre-Bendy and post-Bendy, and I look forward to existing and never having that ever again. But I am looking forward to where you take me next. OK. Let's go. Joe: Let's do it. Yo, what's up with that egg over there? What is that? Harry: That's the Gherkin. Joe: What is it really? Harry: It's literally the Gherkin. Joe: It's not the Gherkin. Harry: That's the Gherkin! Joe: Why is it called it the Gherkin? Harry: Because it looks like a gherkin. The next stop isn't technically on the list, but I did want to show Joe a true British burger experience, and we happened to stumble across one. How you doing? I'm trying to show my friend here some British burgers. Can we order two beef burgers please? Chef: Yeah. You're gonna love it. Harry: This, to me, is a very traditional British burger experience. We're at Petticoat Lane Market in East London, and I thought there were some more British burger lessons to be taught from here. Joe: And what lesson is that? Harry: A lot of the burgers I would eat growing up, especially when I was out and about, were, I guess, like, burger-van burgers, is what they'd be called. This is similar to that. It's a store, but similar vibe. It's, you know, outdoors, cooked on one big grill. And what you get here is, it's a beef burger. It's very simple. It's beef, usually cheese, fried onions, and then ketchup and mustard. And that's kind of all you need to create a very simple but elegant British burger. Joe: Looks simple and elegant. This actually looks really good. I saw him smash it on the grill, which I like to see. Doing an authentic smash with the — I don't know what those tools are called, but he's definitely smashing it the right way. I love grilled onions. The cheese is nice and unnaturally yellow, so, and not a lot of other obnoxious vegetables that I don't want on my burger anyway. So I could see why there'd be nostalgia factor to this. Harry: Without further ado, should we give this a try? Yeah, let's go. Harry: Cool. I want to try this. Oh, yo. Yeah, dude. Oh, you see it's, like, piping hot? See that? Harry: Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah! This for me is very nostalgic. It's definitely better quality than what I'm used to from burger vans, the kind of roadside burger vans that you might find on a sort of A road or at a car-boot sale, for example. If either of those things mean anything to you. No. Harry: Fair enough. We can move on. Joe: All right. The quality's good here. The beef is actually really good. Like you say, smashed burgers, delicious. Love those onions. The onions give such a nice texture to it. It's also just really simple, right? It's a simple burger. I was going to say, the simplicity is clutch here. Especially if you're kind of eating it on the street or on the go. Like, you can just kind of get the whole meal here on your way to work, on your way to the train, on your way to the pub to meet up with the lads. I mean, I like, yeah, I like how — I mean, they also put some pepper on here too, which I really like. Harry: Little bit of fresh pepper. Joe: Yeah. Harry: So, this is English mustard. Does that taste vaguely similar to the mustard that you're used to? It's quite potent, right? Joe: Yeah, yeah. It's a little bit stronger. I was thinking maybe they just put a lot of mustard on here, but that makes more sense. Yeah. But no, I love it. 'Cause I love mustard, so, mustard in this is legit. Yeah, the fries are really good too. Harry: They are really good. Yeah, this is awesome. Like, this is totally an upscale, on-the-go burger. Yeah. I really like this. Joe: Burger & Beyond. Harry: Our last stop on this. Joe: You've been here before. Harry: I have. Joe: And you seem to like it very much. I do. So, we did a video a while ago where we were ranking some of our favorite burgers in London. This was my favorite. So I'm holding this personally to high standards, and I hope it lives up. What do you think made this one the best? They don't try and overcomplicate things. It's just good-quality beef, good-quality toppings, in a nice bun. So I think, again, we'll order just, like, a cheeseburger and then one of the slightly fancier options, I think. Joe: Ooh, fancy ones. Harry: In the past I've gone for the bacon butter burger, which is really good. But I think today we should maybe try the bougie burger. Joe: Look at this. Dry-aged beef patty, American cheese, steak sauce, "marrownaise," which is bone marrow and mayonnaise. Harry: Bone-marrow mayo. Yeah, dude. That sounds ridiculous. Oh, my God. Joe: What's up? Harry: There we go. Server: Two bougie burgers. Thank you so much. Look at these. Server: And two cheeseburgers. Harry: Thank you. Wow. Joe: Nice. Oh, yeah. Server: Enjoy. Can I get you guys anything else? Harry: First thoughts? Joe: Yeah, looks incredible. Smells incredible, too. This looks like such a perfect burger. It's one of those things where, like, I'm tempted to cut into it and find out it's actually cake. Harry: Literally! Joe: It looks like the cheeseburger emoji. Harry: Yes. Joe: Ready? Sleeves. Sleeves rolled slightly. Joe: Sleeves rolled up. It's going to be a little bit messy. Joe: Here we go. Harry: Here we go. [chuckles] Mm. Yeah, dude. This is so flavorful. That's, like, incredible. I got the two ones confused on what's on it. This, whatever this white sauce is, paired with — the burger's cooked perfectly. The cheese is incredible. Like, this thing is amazing! And sometimes, the bun is really fluffy, yet crunchy on the outside. I'm like, I don't have the vocabulary to describe it, but this thing is incredible. Harry: Yeah. Joe: Yeah, after a day of eating burgers, like, this is incredible. You look, like, revitalized slightly by this burger. I was worried this would just kill you off, but it's done the opposite. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay! Harry: It's, like, brought you back to life. Like CPR. Joe: This is absolutely fantastic. You've been defibrillated by this burger. Joe: So you've been here before? I have. Yeah. Joe: Talk me through it. What am I eating? What am I tasting here? Harry: I mean, I shamelessly love this burger. It's really, really good. Like I say, it previously was my top pick in London. I was going into today with an open mind, and I still am, but this is, it's so good, man. It's simultaneously very rich but also quite tangy. It cuts through itself in a way. Yeah. This is fantastic. Good call on this place. Little bits of pickled white onion as well. You kind of need that when it's this rich. Joe: Yeah, 'cause the onions, I was tasting the onions, but they tasted like not just straight-up onions. Not even like grilled ones. You're telling me they're pickled? Harry: Mm-hmm. Joe: Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. Wow, dude. Harry: Mm-hmm. Joe: That's fantastic. Whew! I mean, I want to keep eating it, but we got what appears to be a burger sundae. I don't even know where, like, what angle to go into this next one. Have you had this before? This one? I have, yeah. I'm a Burger & Beyond fanboy. I've tried pretty much everything on the menu. Joe: So you come here a lot? I try to, yeah. It's really good. You got that second date coming up. Harry: Exactly. Is she Burger & Beyond worthy? She's vegetarian. So, tricky. Yeah, break up. Forget it. Delete her number. Delete her. What are you, what? Look at what we're doing. Who's this person going to be with? Harry: Maybe she will — We almost fired Charlie because he's a vegetarian. Maybe she'll see this video and she'll be so inspired that this will bring her back -- Joe: Oh, she's gonna see this? Harry: This will bring her back to the dark side. Hi. You sound nice. [Harry laughs] I was kidding with that earlier stuff. How you doing? Harry: So, what we have here, Joe, we have the bougie burger. Joe: This is ridiculous-looking. Harry: So, you know, bougie means you're feeling a little bit fancy. I mean, I'm thinking, like, I don't know if I can just pick this up with one thing if it's gonna be — am I going to ruin this video by doing this? I think I just want to kind of ... I am going to judge you for doing that. If you're comfortable living with that, please be my guest. People of the internet, you cannot expect me to pick this up with my hands. People of the internet, I'm gonna pick this up with my hands. This one was incredible. But they're advertising this one as, like, "Yo, we took it up a notch." Which is, like, I can't fathom taste-wise how they could have increased the decadence of this. On that note, I think we try it. Joe: All right. Harry: Good luck. Whew. Harry: Napkins at the ready. Goodness me. The absurdity has gotten to Joe. Oh, man. Wow. Yeah, that gravy is, like, unbelievable. Do they sell that? Can they? Harry: They could make a killing if they started doing that. Joe: That gravy's incredible. And, yeah, the bone marrow, like, it makes this whole thing incredibly rich. The fact that they're able to take the bone marrow and make it like a mayo sauce. Ugh, this is incredible. Is it a good delivery system for the bone marrow? The only note, and we're being picky 'cause it's kind of a review show, is it's a bit sloppy. Harry: A bit sloppy. It is, yeah. Joe: Burgers are fantastic. Harry: Yep. Joe: The bun's incredible. Harry: Yep. Joe: But the key is whatever sauce they have made and put on either of these is like, what is this, how did you invent this, and where can I get it? Like, wow, wow, wow. Harry: Get some sauce. Need a spoon or straw, maybe. I'm going, I'm so full, but I'm going in for one more bite. I cannot stop myself. Joe: It's incredible, but dare I say, it's a tinge too decadent. This one over here, I mean, this guy, hoo-hoo-hoo, you! I'm mad that you took me here, because before, when I walked out of Honest Burger, I'm like, crown them. They're the kings. But ... Harry: Man, you got a decision to make now. Oh, man. The cocktail finale. Another cheers? We can cheers cocktails when we're halfway through them, right? Harry: I think so. Joe: All right. Harry: Cheers, Joe. Joe: All right. Cheers. Well. Successful day of burger eating. I mean, I knew you guys were gonna bring the heat, but this is a really hard decision. Harry: It is. Joe: Oh, my God. Some of these burgers are maybe the best burgers I've ever had. These are absolutely incredible burgers. I'm almost dizzy. We've been eating burgers all day, and I'm still so full I feel like I'm going to burst, and also I want to eat more of that burger. So, we're going to focus primarily on just the cheeseburgers that we've had today. Joe: Yeah. We have had some great signature burgers, but to keep it a fair comparison, we'll stick to the classics. As a tourist visiting London, if you had to pick one of the spots we hit today to recommend as a must-visit spot for the next person the next time someone comes to London, which one are you picking and why? Goddamn it. This is really hard. Harry: Take all the time you need. And we obviously know the hard decision. Harry: They're all great. To be clear, all of these are great. Would you happily recommend any of these places? No. Harry: No? Joe: Not all of them, no. Harry: Maybe one exception. Yeah, yeah. Obviously it's between Honest and this place. When I left Honest, I was thinking that's the winner. I couldn't conceive a burger topping that. And then we came here, and I'm like, f---. Oh, damn it, this is really good. So I have to pick one? I'm picking here. Harry: Yeah? Yeah, I'm picking Burger & Beyond. All the burgers are cooked really well. This one was cooked perfectly. The cheese, everything, but, like, this one, just whatever they're putting on that burger to enhance that flavor, I'll use your guys' measurement system. We're talking millimeters, if that, ahead of Honest Burger. My opinion, it's still Burger & Beyond. Joe: Yeah! I was gonna say, like, what? Like, you've been talking about this place all day. Harry: I know. It's really good. But Honest Burger's ridiculous. It's really good. And I came into this with an open mind. I've been to Honest before, and I do think it's great. And also, like, value for money, really good. Like, that smashed burger we had at Honest, £8.50 for that and fries. Joe: Yeah. Insane deal. Really, really good deal. This place is slightly more on the expensive side when compared to that. But, yeah, the quality on this is amazing. Joe: You need to go here and have this burger. Like, that's a must. It's fantastic. And I'm dizzy with burgers. And if you had something s----y to say in the comments, go ahead and do so now. And we'll be sure to get back to you on YouTube. Thanks for watching.
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Channel: Insider Food
Views: 2,738,040
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: INSIDER, FOOD INSIDER, Burgers, Food Tours, London, United Kingdom, Resturants, Best, Food, British, Culinary, Cuisine, English, Beef, Buns, Fries
Id: -a_wDBYNZzk
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 24min 28sec (1468 seconds)
Published: Sun Jan 08 2023
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