I remember the early days when Byron was the new kid on the block, did sliders and was firmly a West London thing. I didn’t think much of them back then, but all that’s change. I am a little amazed that some of my friends still haven’t tried a Byron yet. There are now ten locations spread across the most densely populated parts of town, while they maintain a reticent philosophy to burgers and life, each branch has its own individual character.
I’m not going to pontificate about burgers – I know very little about them to be quite honest (I remain un-shacked) – but I do visit a Byron at least once every month (actually, I now use it as an incentive to go running) and I just love them to bits. The charred beefiness… ohh… I am a gruyère, medium rare with skinny chips. My local is Gloucester Road, but I like the new Old Brompton branch, a little further away from me, which opened last month. However, my favourite is the Intrepid Fox in Soho. Just ambiance I mean, burgers are consistent across the board, it’s a franchise afterall.
Let’s see now, I have been to the High Street Ken one, Westfield, Gloucester Road, Old Brompton Road, Intrepid Fox, Covent Garden…. but have never been to the Canary Wharf, Islington, Kings Road or Kingston ones.
As an aside, this is the first of a new category of blog posts I intend to create weekly (in addition to the usual long form reviews). As much as I am a firm believer of never cropping my images, I have recently become obsessed with grid systems and am exploring ways of applying it to photography. The actual inspiration, however, came when I saw the dynamically generated photo montages in flipboard, really impressive stuff, and has to been seen if you have an iPad near you. I also have swish new software in Lightroom 3, which has a much better imaging engine, that allows me to recycle my old images and make them look brand new. It is just another reason for me to work on my food photography.
These panels are inspired by comic book panels, you got to get Surrogates, especially the hardcover Owner’s Manual, it’s brilliant.
About the only thing better than a Byron… is the Byron Big D. It was a special item that ran for a few months earlier this year (or was it 09?). The patty is made with using O’Shea’s excellent Irish beef…. oh man, now that was a burger…. and it is still available to buy at O’Sheas, the butchers in Knightsbridge. So if you are planning one last barbecue, I highly recommend getting a couple of patties from Darragh.
Accessible, affordable and simply delicious, as hamburgers should be.
Thegistofit Byron Hamburgers, £7.25, all over.
What the Burgerrati say about Byron: Will Eat for Money ; Food by Mark ; Cheese and Biscuits ; Young and Foodish ; The Epicurean.
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All text and photography on this blogpost is copyright and belongs to Kang Leong, LondonEater.com. If you repost this without my permission, bad things will happen. So please don’t do it.
Tags: burgers, byron hamburger, old brompton road, south kensington
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kang, UK Food Blogs and PostGlow, Chris Titley. Chris Titley said: From @LondonEater Byron Hamburgers: Patty Zenith.: I remember the early days when Byron was the new kid on the bl… http://bit.ly/aBmdGJ [...]
Love to stop by my local Byron every now and then, mine’s at Islington. Have always gone for the classic and hand cut chips. It’s the comfortable setting that won me over. Of course, the medium rare patty as well.
[...] and Biscuits /Sunday Times / London Eater / Tom Eats Jen [...]
[...] I used to think Byron was contrived, but that was two years ago, when they only had three branches. Now, I think they produce the best burgers in town. And they have ten locations. I don’t think burgers should ever be gourmet, I think they should be accessible, affordable and simple. I eat byron hamburgers so regularly, I may as well invest in them. Read more. [...]
[...] Too expensive. Galvin Bistro de Luxe then. Actually to be quite honest, I wouldn’t mind a Byron. Subject for a standalone post perhaps. I shall [...]
[...] burger (charred yet succulent breast), but I don’t care about them. Most people don’t. Kang apparently visits Byron as an incentive to exercise – you simply go here to meat up. With that in mind, I order: a Byron burger, medium rare [...]
[...] I used to think Byron was contrived, but that was two years ago, when they only had three branches. Now, I think they produce the best burgers in town. And they have ten locations. I don’t think burgers should ever be gourmet, I think they should be accessible, affordable and simple. I eat byron hamburgers so regularly, I may as well invest in them. Read more. [...]
[...] If all else fails, get a Byron. I’ve lost track of all the locations in London, but if you fall in the camp who think that burgers should never be gourmet, then eat here. I eat byron hamburgers so regularly, I should invest in them. Latest openings in Camden mean that I can finally resume my one-byron-a-month plan. Read more. [...]
Byron still keeps selling Rare Burgers under the table.