PATTY & BUN, CENTRAL LONDON

Whilst I absolutely love Christmas, I absolutely hate the Christmas shopping crowds and so avoid Oxford Street like the plague. Unfortunately Pascal's battery pack for his phone stopped charging so we had to go to Selfridges to exchange it. The tube was slow and busy, there were so many people on the streets it was hard to move and then to top it off the battery pack started miraculously working again so the entire journey was a waste!!

As Pascal felt guilty about dragging me over there, I was allowed to choose the restaurant for lunch....I knew I wanted a burger and exactly where I wanted to go. I have read about Patty and Bun on other food blogger sites and some describe it as one of the best burgers in London. I needed something stodgy as we had Arabella's class Christmas party that evening and I more than anyone know the dangers of drinking on an empty stomach (cue super embarrassing moments)!!

Patty & Bun is a couple of minutes walk from Selfridges and as we walked in I realised it is Pascal's idea of hell - loud music, tables joined together and absolutely packed (they only do 30 covers). We took the last two seats on a table with another guy and I could tell Pascal was super unimpressed!! Anyway I wasn't going to let this ruin our meal and I ordered for the both of us - service was very good and quick.

There is a choice of 6 different burgers and 3 sides. We both went for the Ari Gold burger which is a beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled onions, ketchup, P&B smokey mayo & brioche. You can add bacon but for some very stupid reason we forgot!! I had mine medium and Pascal had his rare and they are served to you on a tray (I think they copied this from McDonald's)!

The burger was good - cooked perfectly, extremely juicy, plenty of cheese and a soft sweet bun. I took out my tomato and but enjoyed the onions and lettuce. I did however add some more mayo and mustard. Our only complaints were that it was hard to get in your mouth as it's so big (it's a proper piece of meat), it was very very messy - I used about 10 napkins - and it felt and tasted a bit greasy (it left an after taste).

We had it with fries with rosemary salt and coleslaw.

The fries were incredible - just the way I like them, crispy and salty, I could have had a portion just to me. The coleslaw was also good, flavoured with herbs but could have done with a little bit more mayonnaise.

The meal was over and done with within 30 minutes and the music was so loud that we were pleased to leave. 

I am happy we went and I finally tried an Ari Gold burger as I have coveted one for a long long time (foodspotting is full of amazing pictures). Although I have to say I would prefer a Shake Shack burger while watching Ari Gold on Entourage any day...while the burger was good it was not my best and I would not rush back. I prefer Shake Shack or Five Guys - a much better "no frills" burger experience - better burgers and a better ambiance.

Patty & Bun

54 James Street

London 

W1U 1HE

Tel: 020 7487 3188