Gourmet Burger Kitchen – burger restaurant
A no-frills, family-friendly restaurant chain specialising in high-end gourmet burgers.
The Gourmet Burger Kitchen – or GBK to its friends – is arguably the granddaddy of the current trend for upmarket burger restaurants. Some might say it’s still the original and the best, and certainly, it’s hard to match in terms of the wide variety of inventive burgers on offer.
That said, on this visit I was so spoilt for choice (with so many interesting and intriguing flavour combinations on offer), I actually decided to just go for an old fashioned, straightforward, bacon and cheeseburger.
Starters: Grilled Halloumi Bites & Chargrilled Chicken Skewers
First, I shared two starters with my dining companion, which meant that we got to try a selection of light bites.
Normally I’m not a huge fan of halloumi (which, let’s face it, can be like tasteless rubber if not cooked properly), but this was probably the nicest halloumi dish I’ve ever had. The halloumi was cooked in such a way that it was chargrilled (and almost crispy) on the outside, but soft and practically melting on the inside. The icing on the cake? The kiwi and habanero dipping sauce, which struck a nigh-on perfect balance between sweetness and spicy heat, and which added a whole extra dimension to the halloumi bites.
Not to be outdone, the chargrilled chicken skewers may have been a simpler concept, but they were executed to perfection. The chicken breast pieces were deliciously seared on the outside, but were so tender and moist on the inside that they practically fell off the skewers when you bit into them. And once again, GBK’s flair with the dipping sauces elevated the whole dish, as the smoked chilli mayo complimented the chargrilled chicken perfectly.
I could have easily just eaten a giant portion of both these starters for my dinner and been happy!
Grilled Halloumi Bites & Chargrilled Chicken Skewers, with kiwi & habanero and smoked chilli mayo dips
Main: “The Mighty” burger
Of course, when I said that I ordered a “straightforward” bacon and cheeseburger, I may have failed to mention that “The Mighty” still involved a stack of two beef patties with a double layer of mature Cheddar and GBK’s own garlic mayo, alongside crispy bacon, relish and pickle. This may have been GBK’s spin on a bacon cheeseburger, but there was nothing “straightforward” about it.
The beef patties themselves were succulent and flavoursome, seared and crispy on the outside but very moist on the inside. I ordered mine cooked medium, and on reflection, I probably should have gone for medium-rare, as the burger was a little on the well-done side for my tastes – but that was my mistake and I can’t fault GBK for giving me what I asked for!
As bacon cheeseburgers go, this was impossible to fault, and the side of Chunky Skin-On Fries with Blue Cheese Mayo dip was one of the better side dishes I’ve have at an upmarket burger restaurant. I washed the meal down with a thick, ice cream based Honeycomb Milkshake, which came complete with crushed honeycomb mixed in, and which also doubled as a dessert!
"The Mighty" burger
Overall impression: Gourmet Burger Kitchen is happy to let the food do the talking, as the “restaurant” elements are squarely in the “no frills” category. You order your food at the counter (giving the number of your utilitarian metal table), and the burger is presented on a plain white quarter-plate, with the starters and side dishes served in an equally simple fashion. But don’t mistake “no frills” for “unsatisfactory” – the staff at the counter and bringing the food were top notch, friendly and always happy to help, and the speed of service was swift but without making you feel like they were trying to clear you out the door.
“…too many interesting variations that you want to try…”
All in all, the starters were exceptional, and the burger was flawless, and when your main complaint about a high-end burger restaurant is that they have too many interesting variations that you want to try, it’s a pretty good sign!
