Tommi's Burger Joint, Marylebone - Review

Tommi's Burger Joint

So we hit the hotly anticipated Tommi's Burger Joint his evening (opening night) to see whether it would actually live up to the hype. It's on Marylebone Lane near Bond Street Station so a very central location if you're out doing some shopping in London.

The place isn't very big - enough seating for 16-18 people, but has a nice laid back atmosphere. As we visited on opening night, all food had 50% off and 'Tommi's Cocktail Sauce' was free and unlimited (normally 50p). One big down side though was that they weren't doing any shakes - the previews suggested that in Iceland, the shakes are one of the highlights. However, free coffee was available and that's an ongoing offer.

Anyway, on to the burger. I ordered the steak burger, which is usually £7.95 ($12). It was good, but not great and looked like a tad underwhelming when it was brought over. I ordered it medium rare and while it was pink in the centre, the patty was fairly standard in all honestly. Was decent enough fare, but you expect more for £8, especially as it's order at the counter rather than table service. It did come with ketchup, mustard, mayo and salad as standard so there a good combination of tastes in terms of the sauces. You don't have to have all these sauces if you don't want - you just need to make it clear when you order.

The menu

As for the fries, these were very standard - could easily have been from McDonalds. They are an extra £2.90 for a moderate portion.

All in all was a nice enough meal which I was happy with it at half price. If I'd paid £11 for it, I probably would have been a bit disappointed, particularly when MeatLiquor is nearby and offers superior burgers for equal(ly high) prices. However, it does get packed at times.

The standard burger is however only £5 and I didn't try it, so I might give Tommi's another whirl at some point - and get a shake!

We've also got some pictures of the steak burger with cheese & bearnaise, so check these out at the bottom of the post.

If you're in central London and fancy a quick burger (but not McDs / BK !) you could do worse than Tommi's. But, you could also do better. You can find Tommi's Burger joint at 58 Marylebone Lane, W1.

Steak burger with cheese & bernaise

View from above

View from the side

Dach & Sons Hampstead - Burger Review

Hampstead is nice. It's near to where I live, has a nice village feel to it, there are lots of nice gastropubs, a fantastic crêpe stand and it's within easy reach of central London. Now it also has a few restaurants - mostly chains but a few independents as well.

What it was missing was a laid back bar with decent food. That's now been sorted with the arrival of Dach & Sons which is right by the tube station in a great location.

I went with a friend for an lunch on a Saturday only a couple of weeks after opening. As I went early it was easy to get a table, but I can hear it can be more difficult in the evenings as it is quite popular. They do not take reservations. The interior is good, a new New York vibe with a bar serving beers that are different to the norm - we're talking American craft beers of different strengths and tastes. A decent match to the food that is offered.

Cheeseburger

Salt beef chilli

We both went for the cheeseburger. As you can see from the picture, it is exactly the colour you want it to be - pink throughout. It's a decent size and the bun is soft and holds it all together fine. While not the best burger I've ever had, it was solid and they're not all about the burgers - they have a variety of hot dogs as well, which looked great. They are the main focus, rather than the burger. I think everything is made on site, so it's all fresh and certainly tasted that way.




Now, look at the chilli. This was fantastic. I think it was made from salt beef which gave it a slightly different flavour to regular chilli, but in a good way!
It was eating it on its own and also putting some on the burger as well, as I couldn't get enough of it.

I hope that in the future they do a chilli burger as I think it would work really well.

The fries equalled the high standard set by the chilli. They are triple cooked using beef dripping which gives them tremendous flavour and a crunchy outside.

Mains costs £8 each and sides are about £4, so not cheap, but certainly fair and good value for Hampstead!

There is also an upstairs Purl bar run separately that serves high end cocktails. But what really impressed me was the outside terrace, which will be a great place to have a drink on a nice day. I think you'll be able to take food from the main dining area out there as well.

Outdoor terrace

Space is limited out on the terrace, but you don't have to go all the way up there to see if there is space. If you have a look at the picture at the start of the post you will see a 'lucky' light. If it just says lucky, you're fine and there is space out on the terrace. However, if the red "un" is also lit, well you can work out what this means.

Dach & Sons is certainly worth a visit, especially if you have each access to the Northern line and are a fan of hot dogs and American craft beers. They are at 68 Heath Street, Hampstead NW3.

Michelin starred In N Out burger in London

Ok, so not quite what the post title says, but Hot Dinners which is a great London restaurant review site, has details of the latest In N Out inspired burger.

Fattburger (not to be confused with the US chain Fatburger!) is going to be in Soho for 3 months at at The Sun and 13 Cantons on the corner of Great Pulteney Street and Beak Street in Soho. While the chefs do not have Michelin stars themselves, they have both cooked at different Michelin starred establishments. You can find more details out from Hot Dinners here.

Now the burger doesn't exactly look like an In N Out burger as there is much more filling, but they have gone for a slim patty which is the In N Out way, as opposed to the thick patties we tend to see in many London restaurants. The chefs also went on a trip to LA recently and In N Out was their favourite burger. Unfortunately, they are most certainly London prices ranging between £6.50 and £9 plus extra for fries (of course!). Remember In N Out is about $5 including fries and drink, although it is a 'fast food' environment.

The trouble is with so many burger places opening in London at the moment (we mentioned another new one Dach & Sons the other day) I don't know how we will find the time to try them all.

Dach & Sons London - new burger?

A New York style bar/restaurant has just opened in Hampstead, North London. It's called Dach & Sons. Hot dogs, sliders and a burger will all be featuring on the menu.

The important question is how will the burger compare to an In N Out burger?

Ok, so it will probably be quite different since it's quite a different concept, but we're looking forward to trying it nonetheless.

If you ever go to California / Nevada...

...make sure you go to In N Out burger.

I could devote pages and pages to the various situations we've gotten ourselves into in our pursuit of In N Out burger (including being followed by a crazy person after we found ourselves in an underpass below the freeway in Las Vegas trying to walk there...).

But it really is the best burger in the world. Here's a tip though - it has a secret menu so at the very least get the burger 'animal style' (that's fried in mustard with onions and secret sauce), also get the fries that way - although they are still superb plain.

We've hunted high and low in the UK for an equivalent and as yet, have been disappointed. Although if you know of one please leave a comment!!