The Burger Joint (Fishponds) - Food Review

Posted on: 2018-04-19

Our rating:

Still serving up stunningly exceptional burgers; still unpretentious and buzzy; still staffed by friendly, attentive staff; and still representing outrageously stupendous value for money.

When it comes to burgers in Bristol, only the best will survive. Recent years have seen an influx of burger-based eateries trying to exploit the current craze for dude food, burgers, ribs, pulled pork and the like, all with varying degrees of the success. Whilst the less successful have quickly come and gone, the best of the city's patty purveyors have continued to carry the torch for our insatiable madness for meat - and The Burger Joint is irrefutably one of those places.

 

My ravenous dining compadre and I visited the Fishponds restaurant on a mild Tuesday night, having starved ourselves all day in enthusiastic anticipation of the meaty feast we'd had every intention of indulging in. We'd been before several times and confidently assumed we wouldn't be disappointed - and how right we were.

 

Owner Dan Bekhradnia opened up the first Burger Joint on Whiteladies Road in 2009, the business proving so popular that he opened another one a little while later on North Street and then this one. Situated towards the top of the always-busy Fishponds Road (itself practically a wall-to-wall boulevard of eateries, take-aways, coffee shops and restaurants), the place is airy and inviting, fitted out with the usual Burger Joint colour scheme and decor - ambient lighting, cream and terracotta walls, wooden tables and chairs and the occasional framed pics adorning the walls.

 

The Burger Joint premise is slightly different in that there's a build-your-own-burger philosophy; you simply pick a menu slip, ticking off your desired starter or light-bite, then the type of bun, burger, toppings, sauces and sides. A kind of bespoke burger, if you like, that allows you be as conventional or unorthodox in your patty construction as you like.  

Peri chicken burger with chorizo and mushrooms from The Burger Joint in Bristol

Now, as a seasoned and well-accustomed diner at Burger Joint, I'm no stranger to their beef-based burgers so this time thought I'd opt for something a bit different. I went for a ciabbata bun filled with peri chicken, chorizo and sauteed mushrooms, accompanied by separate pots of sweet chilli sauce and garlic mayo and a portion of french fries. Sandwiched between a fabulously fresh bun, the grilled, charred chicken was moist, tender and delicious while the chorizo and mushrooms added respectively a nicely contrasting piquancy and earthiness; the flavours ramped up by regular dunks in the refreshingly mild sweet chilli and punch-packing garlic mayo. Accompanied by a mountain of skin-on fries, this was a colossally portioned, gleefully satisfying plate of burger/fries indulgence.

 

My dining companion opted for the 6oz prime beef burger topped with chilli, Monterey Jack cheese and guacamole, all encased in a soft, glazed brioche bun. With a burger that was expertly cooked (still maintaining a modicum of pinkness to retain its flavourful, meaty succulence) and combined with the fiery kick of the chilli, the subtly flavoured cheese and a whopping great splodge of guacamole, it was an eye-rolling, exquisitely tasting burger nirvana that hit all the right flavour and texture notes. A massive side portion of consummately cooked hand-cut thick chips rounded the whole plate of hedonistic comfort food off with in a contented, grin-inducing flourish.

Beef burger with chilli, cheese and guacamole from The Burger Joint in Bristol

From the moment we ordered our food, there was absolutely no doubt that The Burger Joint would deliver on the taste-o-meter, using top-quality, locally sourced ingredients from the nearby likes of Ruby & White, Hobbs House Bakery and Ashton Farms. The portions are also fantastically generous; never a case of size over quality but a stunning example of great, delicious food served in belt-looseningly prodigious amounts that represent a feast on the senses and insanely good value for money. 

 

There was just about room to crowbar in a pudding so, after a brief respite to digest the first course of gloriously gluttonous gastronomy, we shared a warm chocolate brownie with organic vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce. Rich, sweet and decadent, the ice-cream refreshingly cutting through the rich, intense chocolatey-ness, it was one of the best desserts of its kind I'd ever eaten. 

Chocolate brownie with organic vanilla ice cream from The Burger Joint in Bristol

Needlless to say, The Burger Joint still has the power to impress with the wow factor of its phenomenal food, serving up burger combos that are off the flavour and portion scale in comparison to other similar outlets. Essentially, it's relatively simple fast food that they've elevated to another astonishing level; a delicious, cheekily lubricious, indulgent treat that takes the humble burger and all its multifarious permutations and ups the game to such a degree it's practically impossible for other burger venues to match it. 

 

And with a variety of offers running throughout the week, including weekday lunch and afternoon meal deals and 10% off for students and NHS staff, it also has some of the best money-saving bargains for the burger-chomping multitudes. On the Tuesday early evening we visited the venue was doing a healthy, steady trade with plenty of diners filling the restaurant and the occasional punter popping in to pick up their take-away orders.  

 

Still serving up stunningly exceptional burgers; still unpretentious and buzzy; still staffed by friendly, attentive staff; and still representing outrageously stupendous value for money - for the food and two soft drinks, it clocked in at just under a very reasonable, very pocket-friendly £35 - The Burger Joint remains one of city's peerless gastronomical victors.  
 

The Burger Joint has three locations in Bristol at:

 

Clifton - 83 Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2NT or Tel. 01173 290887

Bedminster - 240 North Street, Bristol BS3 1JD or Tel. 01173 292790

Fishponds - 773 Fishponds Road, Bristol BS16 3BS or Tel. 01179 657690

 

For more information about The Burger Joint, or to book a table, head to their website at www.theburgerjoint.co.uk.


Article by:

Jamie Caddick

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.