Patty & Bun: Contender to Meat Liquor for Best Burger Joint in London

The last year or so has seen London embrace the classic American cheese burger. Sure there are burgers in London, but with the arrival of pop-ups turned restaurants like Meat Liquour, the greasy, oozy, dripping with love, meat feast of burger has arrived in London. I’ve written about the burgers at Meat Liquor before…which were so good that I no longer crave for burgers from Burger Joint in New York but this weekend, I had chance to suss out the competition – Patty & Bun.

Just a few streets away from Meat Liquor on St. Christopher Lane near Oxford Street is a burger joint that’s  been getting rave reviews since it opened. Having seen the lines that snake out of this tiny restaurant and hearing about the infamous hour and a half long wait times, I never really actively sought out a visit. Until one sunny day, when I was in Hyde Park with a friend and heard him moan about how hungry he was – a flash of inspiration hit me. It was 4 o’clock in the afternoon and highly unlikely that there would be a hungry crowd waiting outside Patty & Bun and my friend in his hunger-induced state, having no idea what or where Patty & Bun was, agreed to join me.

And I was spot on – only three people ahead of us and we sat down in minutes and ordered our burgers with fries and the much lauded smoked confit chicken wings with barbecue sauce. The burgers came on fluffy brioche buns and the meat was char-grilled, slightly pink on the inside and oozing with ketchup, mayo and cheese. The chicken wings were outstanding, the meat was falling off the bone, and the skin was crispy with sweetish tang of barbecue sauce.

To be honest, I was more entranced with the wings than the burger. After that explosion of flavour from the chicken wings, the burgers became a secondary focus for me. Not too say it wasn't good, the bun, meat and cheese all make for one messy glorious combo and it totally hits the spot and I’ll definitely go back again if there’s no gigantic line outside. But personally, I prefer the Meat Liquor burgers – the bread is different; softer and the quality of the meat really stands out. Also ML is much larger so you’re more likely to get seated faster. 

Nonetheless both places are pretty awesome, though you are in for a messy time. I used probably around 20 napkins by the time I was done with the burger.The staff at Patty & Bun are quirky and friendly and double bonus points for dessert –old-school choc ices which are ice-cream sticks covered in a casing of chocolate. I had the peanut butter with chocolate and it was perfect for a hot summer day.

No reservations but they do take-away which sounds like perfectly good idea to me. Grab a burger, sit in the park, make a mess of yourself and then have a nap. Best way to spend a Sunday afternoon :)

Patty & Bun

54 James Street, London W1U 1EU

Tel: 0207 487 3188 (No Reservations)

Tube: Bond Street

www.pattyandbun.co.uk