Christopher’s – The Burger

We’ve long suspected this is the best burger in London but the last time we visited we were without a camera, knowing how infuriating a post without pictures is we decided to delay the write-up until we could capture the burger in all it’s glory. It took a while but a Friday night shopping trip to Neal’s Yard Dairy provided us with the perfect opportunity to go back and get our shot. I’m not sure it does capture the full glory unfortunately since the bar was pretty dark by the time we got round to eating but it gives you an idea at least.

We’ve been going to Christopher’s American Bar and Grill for years, since we both used to work around the corner. Inevitably, we would end up there at the end of a long evening, order far too many of their very well-made cocktails and need something to soak up the alcohol. The burger was always the best option and never failed to disappoint (apart from one dodgy period somewhere around 2007 when the burgers became strangely tasteless so we stuck to Martinis and relied on the olives for sustenance).

The Christopher’s burger is big and juicy with a proper meaty flavour that is evident despite the bacon and cheese (Monterey Jack) accompaniments, Stephen thought he could detect a hint of rosemary but I’m recovering from a cold so can’t confirm. It’s big but not so big that you can’t bite into it and resort to using a knife and fork. The bun is soft but not so soft that it can’t handle the escaping meat juices, it isn’t toasted though which would definitely add an extra mark for me.

The fries are Proper Fries: thin and crispy, just as they should be. There’s none of those ridiculous hand-cut, triple-cooked chips, arranged Jenga style on your plate that are always raw in the middle; there’s exactly the right amount for the size of the burger too, allowing for a couple of fries per bite which is another thing I find very important in the burger experience.

There’s no pickle though which I imagine would disappoint some people, I like pickles but it’s not the main focus for me so I’m happy to let it go. It would be a good addition though.

At £9.50, it’s almost £2 cheaper than the equivalent burger at Byron (a branch of which is opening opposite, incidentally) who I think make a pretty good burger. The Christopher’s burger is a lot bigger and much more substantial and it feels wrong to compare it a Byron burger, it’s in a different league. Byron vs GBK is probably fairer alongside Christopher’s vs a pretty good steak. How it compares to a proper American burger I don’t know, since I’ve never eaten one and therefore isn’t a mark of quality for me as it is a lot of people.

So, we’ve done Hawksmoor and Byron. We did Goodman too but didn’t write it up since the pictures were blurry – it was pretty good but definitely lacking something compared to Christopher’s, the chips were ridiculous wedge-type affairs too. We’ve done GBK which wasn’t even worth commenting on. Next up is Hache, and possibly Guerilla Burgers (although I’m yet to read a single decent write-up) then we’ll really be in a position to decide on our favourite burger in London. They’ll have to do something pretty amazing to compete with Christopher’s.

Christopher’s American Bar and Grill
18 Wellington Street
Covent Garden
London
WC2E 7DD
020 7240 4222

PS The burger is on the bar food menu in the bar on the ground floor and I don’t think it appears on the menu in the restaurant proper, which is upstairs.