PART 8 - AUGUST: HONEST BURGERS (Soho / Oxford Circus)

Ordered: Honest Burger (incl Rosemary Fries) & Buffalo Wings

Rosemary fries were great. Esp considering they come with the burgers. Has the nice crispness of well cooked fry, the TASTE THE POTATO of having the skin on and the home-roasties flavour added by the rosemary. Seeing the rosemary on top also helps.
- The quantity is also nice and big. You often get so much less from places where to pay for your fries so a generous bale on your plate is a very welcome sight. These fries were the clear winner for this trip and if I had a CHIP WIN award this would go here today.

Buffalo wings are in the same style as Patty & Bun: fried batter coated with sauce and spring onions to garnish. The sauce however is a fiery red, closer to Meat Markets. The staff asked if I'd like them as a starter or a side and whilst I can seeing it working as both I'd take it as a service side. That way you can mix it up with the fries and have beefy burger bites in between wings.

THE HONEST BURGER of course is the main attraction here and it did not fail to deliver on its namesake promise. The bun has the glazed brioche appearance that is popular now but without the yellow and over sweetness that others get wrong.

For some, the way the onions were done will be either hit or miss. Instead of grilled, raw or fried onion (or onion rings) the Honest Burger uses sweet onion chutney much like a Branston pickle or onion jam. I happen to like this type of onion but, like a brioche, this can add a bit of sweetness that might not be welcome for some.

Whilst standard condiments come free on each table you can pay £1 for special pots of Chipotle Mayo, Curry Sauce or Bacon Ketchup. I wouldn't say any sauce on its own would be worth an extra quid but a ketchup made of BACON comes very very close.

When we visited the Soho restaurant we found that on top of the selection of burgers and specials you can have the FEDERATION version which essentially doubles every single item that lies between your bun halves. This suddenly takes your middle weight burger (on par with Patty & Bun and Meat Market) in to heavy weight territory, matching Hawksmoor for cost and size. For the hungry fools that dare a veritable mountain awaits you and all balance is scarified in the name of juicy, messy, MEAT.

Every burger ordered came with its own knife for you to cut in half and enjoy the layered cross-section but if you choose to go double cutting is not advised as you will need all the bun integrity you can get.

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It is, however, worth noting that not all Honest Burger joints have the same menu. We found in Soho (due to the size of their kitchen) that their menu was limited and did not include the same sides like chicken wings.