Three Brothers Burgers - Food Review
Posted on: 2018-04-19
Our rating:
Spectacularly tasty burgers, a lively atmosphere, chirpy staff and prices that won't break the bank all add up to a fun dining experience that is sure to keep the city's ravenous gastronauts satisfied for many years to come.
As an occasional food critic and admittedly frequent glutton, it's always been important for me to regularly return to some of my favourite restaurants - not only for review purposes but also, naturally, gastronomic consistency and quality checks. It's part of the job and I'm humbled by its heavy burden. Three Brothers Burgers on Bristol's Welsh Back has always ranked highly on my list of top foodie venues for its alluring combination of first-rate nosh and sublime location.
Occupying what used to be Spyglass - half on the quayside and half on a moored boat - Three Brothers Burgers has reliably packed in the city's culinary connoisseurs since it opened and it's very rare you'll pass the place when it isn't bustling full of happy diners tucking into their quality burgers. And, as the name unambiguously suggests, here it is indeed all about the burgers, although they offer a stomach-satisfyingly hearty range of hot dogs, steaks and BBQ chicken wings too.
When it first opened in 2014, it's original slogan was 'Proper dirty American food served with a Brizzle accent' and, for all intents and purposes, that's still true, following in the footsteps of the likes of Grillstock for a similar but different experience that serves the same kind of dude food but gives it its own distinctive personality and spin.
During sunnier climes the outdoor seating on the terrace is packed to the gunnels with diners and drinkers, but when my brother and I visited it was a grey, chilly Thursday lunchtime so we took refuge in its cosier, warmer interior, bedecked with a plentiful array of long wooden tables and benches and bar and which, even at 12.30pm, had an vibrant, buzzy atmosphere of chatting and chomping diners.
Being as it is in such close proximity to Bristol's Beermuda Triangle, there's unsurprisingly a good selection of craft beers sourced from local suppliers (Moor, Wiper & True), but if you don't fancy anything alcoholic then you can always opt for a soft drink or one their decadently delicious shakes, sundaes or floats.
With my appetite spurned on by the dribble-inducing waft of flaming, grilling burgers and a starving, rumbling tummy demanding I satisfy its hunger pangs immediately, a quick peruse of the menu didn't take me long to plump for the Meaty Mountain Burger (£12.75). This towering testament to burger awesomeness was a single patty book-ended by two massive discs of potato rosti, Reblochon cheese, fantastically sweet and crispy cured American bacon, several generous wedges of gherkin and a judicious slathering of American mustard.
Served in a deliriously soft, glazed brioche bun, the burger was slightly pink thus rendering it moist, succulent and packed full of flavour, while the cheese oozed unctuously from the sides, and complimented faultlessly by the textures and tastes of the other ingredients. A monstrously meaty monolith that was, in fact, so big, I had to deconstruct it because my enthusiastically greedy jaws couldn't open wide enough to take a bite in one go.
My brother went for the Smokey 'Bro' Burger (£8.25), a full-on, jam-packed patty paradise that combined a single patty topped with smoked Applewood cheddar, sweet cured bacon, house-made BBQ relish and sprinkled with crispy onions. In my brother's words it was 'an amazing meal, cooked really well with all the trimmings in a steamed, glazed bun that melts the cheese. The moist, flavoursome patty worked perfectly with the crisp, smokey bacon, all smothered in the Applewood cheddar - it hit every level of decadent enjoyment.'
Of course, a burger wouldn't be a burger without some accompanying fries, so we also went for a portion of skin-on fries (£2.75) which were cooked to absolutely perfection: the slightly crispy exterior revealing a gorgeously fluffy interior. The burgers themselves were so magnificently tasty and prodigiously portioned we were wise to share just one serving between the two of us. Everything we ordered was brought out on one large tray and we we given two white, blue-rimmed enamel camping plates so we could sort out our own portions of what we'd ordered.
With its prime riverside location and superlative quality food, Three Brothers Burgers still remains one of reigning champions of burger purveyors in the city. There are also a few good deals which run throughout the week, including a burger and fries lunch offer for a more than pocket-friendly fiver, which I'd say that money-saving, burger-feasting bargain accounted for at least three-quarters of the suited, local office-based clientele when we visited.
Spectacularly tasty burgers, a lively atmosphere, chirpy staff and prices that won't break the bank all add up to a fun dining experience that is sure to keep the city's ravenous gastronauts satisfied for many years to come.
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.
