Byron Burger in Bristol - Review
Posted on: 2016-10-24
Our rating:
It was a tasty, potent fusion of flavours, each one discernable and delicious. Gourmet or posh might be stretching it, but it was a more than flavoursome version of a burger.
If there's one thing the city's gastronauts have an insatiable appetite for, it's burgers - and Byron on The Triangle in Bristol is still serving up its own tasty version on this reassuringly delicious and filling staple.
The twist and USP with Byron, however, is that it promotes itself a a posh alternative to the other patty-based emporiums, boasting an emphasis on more gourmet, upmarket burgers and a more sophisticated deviation from the city's other meat-themed contenders. Whilst I'm not entirely convinced by this somewhat erroneous marketing ploy, there's nevertheless no denying the quality and tastiness of the food on offer here.
Byron - which originally began life as a mobile van disseminating its deliciousness throughout the streets of London - is now a franchise with branches all over the UK. The 'dude food' craze of burgers, steaks, ribs, pulled pork and BBQ food has already been exploited by the likes of Grillstock, Chomp, MEATLiquor, Atomic Burger, Five Guys and The Burger Joint to name but six, so a certain saturation point had already been reached by the time Byron opened its doors.
Still, ex-Chancellor George Osborne was once seen munching on a Byron burger in his Downing Street office, so the venue's positioning close to Bristol University seems fitting for diners and students with supposedly more elitist, discerning palates.
It's a nice looking restaurant set over two floors and furnished with exposed white tiles, diner-style booths, black button-back banquettes and retro tables, and there's a engaging, easy-going yet vibrant buzz to the place. The menu covers 'proper hamburgers', chicken burgers, vegetarian options, salads, a selection of starter nibbles, and fries and sides.
My Smoky burger (£9.95) comprised of a 6oz British beef patty and was loaded with mature Cheddar, streaky bacon, crispy onions, shredded iceberg, pickles and smoked chilli BBQ sauce. It's worth pointing out that, unless you specify otherwise, then the burger will be cooked medium so, seeing as I'm not a huge fan of pink, slightly blood-dribbling slabs of meat, emphasised I wanted mine well done, which it was. It was a tasty, potent fusion of flavours, each one discernable and delicious. Gourmet or posh might be stretching it, but it was a more than flavoursome version of a burger.
Opting for the Cheese burger (£8.25), my culinary companion's medium-cooked patty (ultimately not quite as pink as I'd originally envisaged) was crammed with her cheese of choice, Cheddar, and lettuce, tomato, red onion and mayonnaise. Her gastronomic consensus was pretty much the same as mine; it was a competently cooked, more than serviceable burger, filling a gap and tantalizing the tastebuds, but nothing more and nothing less.
Burgers here don't automatically come with a serving of fries, so you have order these separately (and that, if you're not careful, is where the costs can start racking up), but our two portions of french fries (£2.95 each) were, as far as fries go, pretty darned good. Lightly salted, piping hot, thin, crispy and delicious, they were the perfect accompaniment to our burgers.
So the whole concept of a posh, gourmet burger - as I've long, suspiciously suspected - is then something of a misnomer. Burger, bun, fillings, nothing to it. And the best food of this simplest, most uncomplicated sort is the kind that doesn't try to out-jump its own shadow or be something it's not. Simple food done well, which is, at its very core, precisely what Byron does.
Well made and tasty in its own perfunctory, perfectly serviceable way and served up by friendly, efficient staff, Byron burger is a chain restaurant that ticks all the contemporary, trendy boxes yet might want to learn a few lessons from the likes of Clifton Wine Bar or independents Chomp and The Burger Joint if it wants to up the burger ante and truly make it worthy of that reassuringly expensive claim.
Value: 3.5
Service: 4
Food: 3.5
Venue: 4
For more info on Byron Burger please visit www.byronhamburgers.com/the-triangle. Address: 62 Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RE. Tel: 0117 9256666
Article by:
Jamie is a writer, blogger, journalist, critic, film fan, soundtrack nerd and all-round Bristolian good egg. He loves the music of Philip Glass, the art of Salvador Dali, the writings of Charles Bukowksi and Hunter S Thompson, the irreverence of Harry Hill, and the timeless, straw-chomping exuberance of The Wurzels. You can sometimes find him railing against a surging tide of passing cyclists, or gorging himself senseless on the Oriental delights of a Cosmos all-you-can-eat buffet.
