Giraffe - Heathrow Terminal 5

Burger name: Avec Cheese
Price: £10.25

Menu description:

British farm assured beef (170g) with choice of either mature cheddar, american or monteray jack cheese & lettuce, tomato, dill pickle, mayo & our house chipotle sauce.

Rating:

Review:

I ordered mine with cheddar cheese and a side order of onion rings.  I've reviewed a Giraffe burger before and felt that they are above average for airport food and this one was the same.  Nothing special but doesn't have that mass produced look and feel to it.  I enjoyed it as it marked the start of my holiday during which I planned to eat and review a number of burgers.

If you are travelling via Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and looking for a quick meal then I can recommend this burger as an option.

About the venue:

Giraffe is a busy restaurant located on the upper floor of Heathrow Terminal 5 near the North security area. Giraffe also have high street outlets in many towns and cities around the UK.

Marriott Hotel, Budapest, Hungary

This is a guest review by my work colleague, Andrey.  He sent me a photo of his burger while I was travelling in the Netherlands, I can't tell you how jealous I was!!

Andrey's Dining Out Philosophy:
I am a great believer in importance of aesthetics and therefore invariably I am  more concerned with the ambiance and the mood of the place as well as the presentation of the food, and, probably, less about the taste itself. Why would you go out if you are not expecting to have an experience that ideally should begin with anticipation of something to happen, then, perhaps, it should continue with you either making an informed choice on where to go in case you have a pre-existing expectations or with you making a daring decision to try something new? Then you would go, try, and reflect with all these little elements that form your experience. Well, occasionally you just have to stop at a place and then make the best out of it. And sure enough, then you get very critical of what you are served.

About the Burger:

A standard burger, I would say. Well, at least the only one that was there on the menu with little other options. You probably could get a chicken one as well.

Rating:

Review:

Of course, it was reasonable to believe that Marriott will offer a good quality even in the lounge, but, I would say in this case, the quality from my perspective was very respectable. First, all these little burgers individually prepared. Secondly, a choice of variety of sauces as opposed to the cellophane packets with ketchup - these formed a very convincing view. The quantity was enough to settle your hunger for a good while and I opted to order it yet again the next day.

About the venue:
The Marriott Hotel in Budpest is located on the bank of the Danube River in Hungary.

"El Restaurante" at Los Naranjos - Puerto Banus, Spain

About the Burger:

A great burger at a great venue with fantastic views across the golf course and hillside above Puerto Banus in Spain.



Menu description:

The waiter took the menu before I'd noted the description and price so this is my second review in a row were I've missed this piece of information.  I'll try and recall the description:
Hamburger with cheese, pineapple, fried egg, salad and fries - €11.95

Rating:

Review:

A good burger and my first with a fried egg and pineapple although the egg was too overdone on the underside - I'm fussy about my fried eggs.  It was also my first to have Marie Rose sauce as a salad dressing.  I enjoyed this burger and the taste was above average but not enough to elevate it above a 3 burger rating.  I gave my egg to a friend who also took some fries so she could have egg and chips - I guess living in Spain you must miss some British classics.

About the venue:

I'd eaten at "El Restaurante" at Los Naranjos in the hills above Puerto Banus before when visiting a friend who now lives in Spain and I was looking forward to going back.  It's the restaurant for one of the many golf clubs in this area with a dining terrace that offers views of the golf course and the surrounding hills.

Est Caffe - Luton Airport, England

About the Burger:

An above average burger for an airport, better than expected and I would have it again.

Menu description:

I didn't get a menu description and price and I cannot find it on the internet - I'll update this posting the next time I visit again.  From memory it was something like:
100% beef burger with cheese, lettuce, bacon and skin-on fries - £11.50

Rating:

Review:

I was pleasantly surprised with this burger. I was expecting a mass produced burger with fatty bacon and a dry or over toasted bun.  The burger shape made it look more home made and the bacon was nice (although I prefer mine more crispy with my burger) and the bun was soft and fresh.  The fries were a bit tasteless and I'm not sure what leaving the skin on does for taste - probably nothing.  The burger itself was nice and although it lacked the taste of my recent 5 burger rated review specimen it wasn't bad.  If you're travelling from an airport with an Est Caffe venue I suggest you give it a try.

About the venue:

Est Caffe (yes, there are 2 F's) is a chain of venues that I've seen at various airports around the UK.  They provide a quick and convenient place to eat and kill some time while waiting for your flight.

The Windmill - Somersham, Cambridgeshire, England

About the Burger:

The first five burger rated review.  A perfect combination of a fresh bread roll with a very tasty burger and accompaniments.

Menu description:

The Windmill Beef Burger with Extra Mature Cheddar, Smoked Bacon, Topped with Onion Rings Mayonnaise & Hand Cut Chips £9.95

Rating:

 

 

 

Review:

Burger reviews are a very personal thing and mine take into account lots of factors outside of the actual burger, the feel of the venue, the other stuff on the plate, the service and the general feel of the meal.  With this burger all these things came together along the tastiest burger I've eaten since I started this blog.  The smoked bacon, the onion ring, the soft and fresh bread roll all added to the experience.

The flavour of the burger was exactly what I've been seeking for the last four months.  In addition to this The Windmill serves the best fries I've ever had, the chef triple cooks them resulting in a crispy outside and a light and fluffy inside.  One striking aspect, the observant amongst you will have spotted in the photo, is the steak knife spearing the burger - a great way of providing the correct cutlery.

I'm looking forward to finding an excuse to go back to The Windmill to see whether this was a fluke or whether they can deliver this quality consistently.

About the venue:
The Windmill is a nice pub on the outskirts of the pretty village of Somersham in the Cambridgeshire countryside.  The restaurant has a very good menu that should appeal to anybody.  The staff are friendly and service is good.

The Garden Street Grill - Cromer, Norfolk, England

About the Burger:

A surprisingly good burger at a family restaurant in Cromer and the first one to get a four burger rating.

Menu description:

8oz Homemade Cheeseburger £8.50
served in a warmed bun with steak chips or spicy wedges and side salad.

Rating:

Review:

We were looking for somewhere to have lunch close to the centre of Cromer, a seaside town in Norfolk.  We saw The Garden Street Grill which had free tables and a good range of meals on the menu to suit everybody, including a burger for me.  My expectations were low but I'm pleased to say they were exceeded.  The burger was handmade and was served with a lot of fries plus a small side salad, I also added a side order of onion rings.  As usual I ate the salad first, the fries next and left the burger to last.  This burger had many of the qualities I've been looking for since I started this blog in April.  The bread roll was soft and fresh and the burger had the flavour I was looking for.  It could have had a five burger rating if the rest of the dining experience had been up to the same standard, the fries lacked flavour and were a little disappointing.  Overall I can highly recommend this burger and restaurant, don't be put off by the appearance venue.

About the venue:

The Garden Street Grill is on a street that leads down to the sea front and pier at Cromer in Norfolk.  It's a traditional family seaside restaurant with broad range of items on the menu.

Stravinsky's - Newmarket Racecourse, Suffolk, England

About the Burger:

A tasty burger served as a light bite sized meal on soft, fresh ciabatta.

Menu description:

Organic 100% Beef Burger £9.95
Served with Ciabatta Roll, with Tomato Red Onion Relish, Beef Tomato, Roquette Salad and hand chopped Coleslaw.

Rating:

Review:

When I first saw this burger as it was delivered to my table I was disappointed.  The lack of cheese and fries and the plain appearance made me think this was a meal designed to get the customers in and out quickly.  I'm pleased to say that I was wrong.  The onion relish and the soft, fresh ciabatta roll lifted the whole burger beyond its looks and my poor first impressions.  The burger itself was nicely cooked and had a good taste.

About the venue:

Stravinsky's is one of many restaurants at Newmarket Racecourse in Suffolk.  It is a modern venue situated on a raised walkway in the Premier Enclosure and is a good place to people watch while waiting for your food to arrive.