My attempts at chronicling London's best pub burgers haven't been too successful. The thing is, whilst I've been down the boozer, I haven't been eating burgers. However, I rectified that one Sunday lunch and burger-ed up at the Dog & Fox in swanky Wimbledon Village. Hey, even Mr Noodles likes to go posh sometimes (oh crap I've written in the 3rd person but does using your alias count?).
As you can see, the burger was very thick with the beef being quite coarsely ground. This may not be to all tastes but I liked this homemade patty as it was juicy and not overcooked. I also liked the proper chips that came with it. There were some minuses like the mature cheddar, which I found a tad overpowering and the floury bap was clearly not fit for purpose. Overall though it was a decent burger and I could understand why they seemed to be selling as well as the Sunday roasts.
Being a traditionalist, my mate, Mr Pak Choi plumped for the tried and trusted Sunday roast. They gave it the big one about the beef being aged for 28 days but I'm not sure you could tell. There's not a lot you can write about this except they didn't balls it up. Looking at the photos, I think the presentation is a bit pretentious – come on guys, do you think we give a toss where you stick the Yorkshire pudding ?
When in this part of town you're paying for real estate and my burger cost £11.45, which is only marginally less expensive than somewhere like Goodman and the roast beef cost £12.95. Beer is also pricey here and I think some pints cost more than £4.
Verdict: Wimbledon Village is kind of within walking distance for me – well the estate agents reckon it is so it must be true – so I sometimes lunch here. Mind you, I wouldn't bother traipsing halfway across town unless you want to buy me an overpriced pint of Kirin lager.
I like the loose coarse ground meatball style burger a lot - i think it often has more taste and moisture than the fine ground ones a la Goodmans. That said, i'm not sure i would cross the whole of London just to sample one though ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe patty looks chunky but also a tad overcooked, I prefer mine slightly pink inside. £11.45 isn't a bargain but I would happily pay that for a good burger.
ReplyDeleteLuiz @ The London Foodie
Gworm - in which case you would've have loved this burger ! I also reckon the mature cheddar would've been to your liking too. Whilst I'm a pub burger advocate, they're really meant for local consumption so I wouldn't bother crossing town for this one !
ReplyDeleteLF - I'm sure there would've been some pinkness if you asked for it to be medium rare. As it was I asked for it to be medium and it was juicy enough for my liking.
Ha Ha Mr Noodles - yes using your alias does count!
ReplyDeleteGC - I have to 'fess up, I wrote the sentence in the 3rd person and only picked up on it on final proofreading. the shame, the shame......
ReplyDelete