Dream of BurgerFication
Like taking coals to Newcastle, a couple of Glaswegians who lived through the city’s burger-fication of St.Vincent Street were invited to try some burger-fication of a different sort whilst in London. We’d read that BurgerFi (short for BurgerFication), one of the fastest-growing burger chains in the USA had moved into the UK with an opening in Wembley, followed shortly thereafter by a restaurant on Woburn Place just off Russell Square and therefore handy for anyone travelling into, or out of, London Euston – like us!
Due to 2016’s burger overload in Glasgow, a burger has to be pretty special to get a thumbs up from us. We find that a lot of the chains tend to be greasy yet simultaneously have dry tasteless patties requiring a stack of toppings in order to really taste of anything, whilst the independent places tend to focus on messy half-cooked burgers stacked so high that they fall apart as soon as you set eyes on them.
Decor
A modern-looking, shiny new and spacious fast food joint with perched stool seating along the window, tables and chairs for small groups/couples and a large table for get-togethers. All kept clean and tidy too.
Menu
There are seven types of burger with one vegetarian option and for anyone on a low-carb/Atkins diet you can replace the bread bun with lettuce (known as “Green Style”)! Then there’s a choice of twelve additional toppings. Hot dogs are also available. Note that peanut oil is used so they can’t guarantee that everything is safe for those with an allergy. Mr Foodie picked The CEO (£9.50), and a double at that. Two Wagyu and brisket blend patties, home-made candied bacon tomato jam, truffle aioli and aged Swiss cheese. Truffle on a burger works so well with the Swiss cheese melted into gooey heaven. The patties were moist and “moo”rish and a step above average burger chain fayre.
I went for a double Cheeseburger (£7.75) featuring double Angus burger, double American cheese, lettuce, tomato and BurgerFi sauce. While not as exciting as the CEO this was still a moist and meaty burger with crisp veggies and gooey cheese. So thumbs up again. Cry & Fries (£5.50), or in other words, onion rings and chips. Given the name, I was expecting really strong onion rings but they were just regular onions but large in size and in a crisp batter. The chips were good, really crunchy and perfect for dipping. We split dessert, or we’d be certainly rolling home! They sell what they refer to as “Custard concretes” in three varieties: Oh my chocolate, Red velvet and Key Lime. These are thick full-on ice-creamy puddings in a cup.
We picked the Oh my chocolate (£5.50) which comprises chocolate custard, peanut butter, brownies, chocolate chips and sprinkles so that’s a lot of sweet chocolatey stuff. We couldn’t finish it, it was just too much!
Drinks
They’re licensed so they stock a number of beers and wine. On draught they have Blue Point twisted lager, Becks Vier, Goose IPA and Stella Artois. They also stock a number of American cream sodas that you can turn into ice-cream floats for £4.25. Shakes are £4.35 with Oreo, Peanut butter and more, and finally they have a Coca-Cola freestyle drinks machine like in Five Guy’s where you can help yourself to unlimited refills of multiple flavours and varieties. Mrs Foodie loves playing with machines so ordered a bottomless Coca-Cola freestyle £2.50 while Mr Foodie had a Virgil’s orange-flavour cream soda, a drink we hadn’t come across before, and as you would expect it tasted of fizzy orange and cream soda!
Total cost £31.25 and full to the brim. Following disappointing visits to Five Guys and Shake Shack, the burgers, sides and dessert were all of surprisingly high quality. We’d order all the same items again. Service was actually fast too (they give you one of the little buzzer things to take to your table and save you standing but it didn’t take long to buzz). Toilets were in good order and there are baby changers in both the male and female toilets. Other noteworthy factors: there’s 20% off for students, kids eat free Monday to Wednesday (with a paying adult) and you can order online too.
TL;DR
+ Tasty burgers
+ Drinks machine
+ Fast food which is actually fast!
+ American beer on draught, and wine available too
+ Full-on desserts
+ Handy location for Euston, King’s Cross or St.Pancras
+ Has more going for it than other burger chains
– No obvious flaws on this visit
Location:
40-42 Woburn Place London WC1 H0JR
Contact
websiteTelephone: 020 3865 2848
Opening times:
Mon – Sun: 11:30AM – 11:00PM
Public Transport:
The nearest tube station is Russell Square on the Piccadilly line less than a 5 minute walk away. The following buses stop on the same block: 10, 59, 68, 91, 168, 758
Disclaimer: We received a complimentary meal but the food genuinely was a cut above the other burger chains we’ve visited in the last year.