I thought about using a line from one of Byron's poems as a hook, but let's be honest, I'm literally that good. However, thankfully, Byron's burgers live up to its namesake (I'm just going to assume here that for some reason they named a burger chain after a famous poet).
Byron is all about the burgers and, while I imagine they do have something else on the menu, I went there strictly to try it out and see where it stacked up in my quest for the best Burger in London. And to be honest, I'd rank it in the top half but not worthy of the crown.
I opted for the "Byron" burger as I felt that should give me a good idea of the quality of the joint. It comes with dry cured bacon, mature cheddar, and some mysterious Byron sauce (which to be honest reminded me a bit of the McD's special sauce). The meat was tender and flavourful and perfectly medium. Slight problem was that I ordered medium rare but it's a burger so not much of a problem. The bacon was invisible in all but calories and didn't add much to the overall taste. The cheddar was good and provided a sharper note to the meal while the Byron sauce smoothed things out a bit but didn't stand out as anything in particular. The bun was soft and slightly sweet and best of all didn't break apart in the eating like so many too dry buns do.
The skin on chips were delicious and in great quantities demolished. The regular string fries were also tasty but not as crispy as I would have expected or hoped for.
Special mention must be made to the Byron Pale Ale which perfectly suited the burger and was light yet slightly hoppy. I happily washed down the burger with a bottle of it.
Overall, it's a good burger with a solid meat foundation, few (if any) flaws, and a decent size but lacking anything to make me sing for joy. Price wise, it's a tad expensive but not overly so with a burger and fries being around a tenner. It's a good stable choice and great for a catch up meal although they do have a tendency to pack the diners in one area and privacy is not really possible. read more