London’s Bleecker Burger has been named the ‘World’s Best Burger Place’ so I decided to go there and see if it lived up to the title.
More often than not, round-up lists ranking ‘The World’s Best’ something or the other tend to make tall claims, with the onground reality often proving to be a disappointment.
To find out whether this rang true for the ‘World’s Best Burger Place’ – Bleecker Burger in London – I got my hungry behind into one of their wooden benches to put their burgers (and their restaurant) to the test.
The folks behind the ‘World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants’ have just unveiled their rankings for the ‘World’s 101 Best Burger Places’ and Bleecker Burger in London was top of the pops.
The rankings judge the meat quality and composition of the burgers themselves, alongside criteria such as atmosphere and authenticity of the concept, consistency, cleanliness, guest experience, sustainability, service quality, and online presence and reputation. Turns out, Bleecker has it all. Or so the rankings conclude.
Because I’m a big believer of ‘see it to believe it’ (who doesn’t love a healthy dose of cynicism), I decided to put ‘The World’s Best Burger Place’ through its paces. The results were *checks notes* shocking.
I walked into Bleecker Burger’s London Bridge location at 9:30pm on a Monday and thronging crowds and an electric vibe did not await. Surprisingly, the footfall picked up after 10pm, with a strong rotation of Gen Z and Millennial crowds stopping by for a quick bite after their padel/pickelball/hyrox sessions.
After placing my order with a sweet and hospitable lady at the counter – one Cheeseburger, one Blue Burger, one Bacon Cheeseburger, a side of Angry Fries, a Double Chocolate Milkshake and a pint (I had a hungry husband to feed as well) – I settled down to take in the atmosphere and cleanliness that had landed Bleecker in the top spot.
The first thing that stood out to me were the all-encompassing white tiles, with design inspo taken straight from an old-timey public bathroom in the 1900s. A quick google search confirmed Bleecker’s dine-in locations all have the same design, which I felt was… a choice.
The restaurant itself had a ‘fast-casual’ vibe, feeling both as though you can sit down for a relaxed meal if you wish, or promptly take a burger and be on the go. Basically, it felt less fancy than Honest Burgers but more decadent than a Five Guys.
The food itself was fairly priced (a conclusion I came to after tasting), with the Cheeseburger costing £10.50, the Blue Burger £11.60 and the Bacon Cheeseburger £11.50. The Angry Fries came in at £5.50, the Double Chocolate Milkshake cost £5.95 and the ‘L&G Extra Nice Pint’ was £6.95.
At first glance, the burgers definitely looked like they were on the smaller side, but one bite into the juicy, soft as silk, dry-aged beef patty and all was forgiven. We asked for medium-cooked patties and let’s just say – we were not disappointed.
It may well have been the best burger patty I’ve ever eaten in my life, and I’ve devoured a fair few of those bad boys.
The burgers themselves were bare bones – only the beef patty, some Bleecker ‘secret sauce’, a few slivers of onions and bright orange melted cheese in the Cheeseburger, all that plus some bacon in the Bacon Cheeseburger, and the addition of some lettuce and blue cheese in the Blue Burger. It’s safe to say in Bleecker’s case, deliciousness lies in simplicity.
The taste was 10/10, no notes. Well, one little note, which would be to give more of this mouthwatering goodness in each serving.
The sesame buns were, no joke, the softest burger buns I’ve ever had in my life, perfectly buttery and soft. But that may have also been the Achilles’ heel of Bleecker’s burgers – a bun that was perhaps a little too soft.
The blue cheese in the Blue Burger was the perfect intensity and pungency – kind of mellow and not too overpowering, yet making its presence felt just enough to be branded the cool kid in the room everyone wants to be friends with.
The bacon in the Bacon Cheeseburger was thin, crispy and not too salty – yet another element that Bleecker Burger got just right.
With all that said, if you’re someone who prefers a fully loaded burger with loads of different toppings, Bleecker may not be the place for you.
Coming to the drinks, the Double Chocolate Milkshake was thick and flavourful, but it didn’t hold a candle to Five Guys’ famous shakes. The pint of beer was indeed ‘Extra Nice’ – cool and crisp in the British heatwave.
Surprisingly, both my husband and I concluded that we didn’t feel overstuffed after our meal – something we feel by default after smashing a Five Guys or even an Honest burger. It was a frankly nice, albeit alien feeling.
The one thing that really shocked me though, was the fact that for the first time in my life, a burger and fries meal didn’t feel unhealthy – and I’m someone who grills up a smashing homemade burger with oven-baked fries. It didn’t feel like I had just gone drilling for oil, and my hands and mouth didn’t automatically switch onto the greasy setting.
Was London’s Bleecker Burger the ‘World’s Best Burger Place’? In my opinion, those are big boots to fill, but its unmatched beef patties came fairly close to perfection.
