After a ludicrous experience at Marco Pierre White Steakhouse nearby, I decided to call at Gourmet Burger Kitchen with it being just a short walk away from my hotel: having been impressed with numerous branches of the chain in the past I had good expectations I would be able to get a safe, good and tasty gluten-free meal however I was sadly wrong to have such expectations from GBK at the Angel Centre in the London borough of Islington. Firstly the prices are still really high - no wonder lots of branches are shutting down and GBK is struggling and rolling back promotions on their app, even with 25% off through NUS it still remained rather above average. I mean come on paying close to £10 for a burger and having to spend another £3 or so on fries and £4.90 for a milkshake (similar price for alcohol) just isn't right. I mean I get it's London, but these prices are nationwide and they're even high for London. The store actually had a rather nice and modern feel to it, it felt like it had been refurbished recently which gave me, even more, hope about this place which sadly crashed with my burger. I ordered a Small Gluten Free Classic Cheese with American Cheese and I was rather disappointed as the burger was firstly messy, the sauce had been blobbed on one side and was dripping off alongside only partially melted cheese and mediocre meat. The fries weren't much better which tasted a little soggy and bland, to the point even their spicy ho ho salt (normally known as hei hei but it's Christmas) and pepper couldn't fix it. It was obviously just a bad cut of potato. The bun was probably the worst part of my dish, it was flaky and doughy and it tasted as it had just been defrosted, it wasn't even heated! My milkshake was probably the only decent thing about the menu, but again it was hard to drink with the paper straw which seemed to sog almost straight away. The Truffle Infused Mayo was really sickly, and I normally like a truffle. Considering it was £1,25 it was overpriced for a sauce, especially a bad one. GBK really has gone down-hill, it seems they're raising prices in-store with service and food quality going down - this is a dangerous spiral which if it carries on like the branch here in Islington, the whole company will be closed within months. 1* read more

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Burgers so dry they are barely edible. On the plus side, the fries were really good. Unfortunately we each only tasted a fry or two because we had to sacrifice the ketchup for our burgers. The burgers were so excruciatingly dry that an entire packet of ketchup and Mayo disappeared completely and the burger still remained extremely dry. This level of dessiccation is even more remarkable when you consider the fact that the burgers were completely raw in the centers!!! I would have thought that this country would have learned its lesion after Mad Cow disease. I'm not ever allowed to donate blood in the states because I lived here 30 years ago, and yet this place is serving up raw ground beef like nothing ever happened. Amazing. I would have thought that the undercooking would at least have preserved the juiciness of the burger, but not even that. Again it was dry dry dry. I could have eaten the burger in white gloves without getting a spot. Also we had to wait 30 minutes for our takeout. I'm not sure what they were doing for 30 minutes. Obviously they were not cooking for much of that time. The fries--although delicious--were completely cold by the time we got them, so they had clearly been cooked right at the beginning of the wait. They did not seem particularly busy. Apparently 30 minutes is just how long they think is normal to provide bad burgers. The insult to injury was the two packets of ketchup. The portions of fries are quite generous. The burgers are quite large. The idea that someone looked at two burgers and two fries and decided that two tiny packets of ketchup should be sufficient for the whole lot is insane. I understand that there are some French fry purists in the world who eat them without ketchup, but in my experience at least 95% of people want to dip their fries and even if we didn't have to poach the ketchup to rescue the failed burgers, there would not have been anywhere close to enough. For £36 you'd think they could have spared a few extra packets of ketchup. All told it was a negative experience. Dry, cold, and super slow. I would not recommend. read more

I used to visit GBK for their Skinny Fries, Hei Hei Salt and Waha-Wera Sauce ( a Habanero and Kiwi Fruit sauce). The burgers are not bad but I find that the awesome Waha-Wera made the burger delicious!!! Unfortunately they have now replaced the Waha-Wera with their own home-made replica sauce which is not even close to the original one. I still visit once it a while for lunch because they offer a 20% discount on the lunch menu for my company and I get a large classic burger and skinny fries under six quid! On the chain itself, the Islington branch is spacious and bright with Friendly staff. Good selection of burgers and sides, huge milkshakes and free peanuts! In the price front their speciality burgers are close to £10 or more. They have an app which keeps tracks of your visits and gets you freebies. The service is quick as well and the burgers themselves are pretty nice although the Waha-Wera sauce is sorely missed hence a 4 star. read more

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The ambience reminds me of Galaxy Diner. Hip 60s surf music like the Ventures. The Habanero burger was delicious. It was a habanero jam that was spread on the burger. It was sweet and had some heat. Head sweating good! The Bourbon burger had jalapeños and the meat was soaked in mustard. Decent burger, but no where near as spicy as the Habanero. read more

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Oh retract your judging face, yes I was at a GBK. In my defense it was hammering rain and my friendly suddenly decided she was hungry. Otherwise I'd be up the street hammering on the door of Five Guys or Byron. But you know what, it's pretty nice inside. They have a fun colourful vibe and it's huge, so you're guaranteed a seat. GBK, perhaps with all the burger competition, have stepped up their game. I had a Cajun blue: cajun seasoned chicken with blue cheese, 'slaw, aioli and pickled onion. It was good, much better than expected. I hate their chips though, if you order the skinny ones, it's like eating a packet of Chipstix. Make sure you order the truffle mayo, it's goooooood. read more

I remember when GBK was the be all and end all in decent burgers in London. Now that's all changed, and GBK is really just only okay. This branch at Angel Central is a nice one - a good size, and the staff are friendly. There's a good deal on at lunch time, where you can get a small burger and small fries for around £6, and it's plenty for me. I do always pay the extra for the side of baconnaise, which I would highly recommend to anyone who likes bacon and mayonnaise. It's much nicer than the jarred baconnaise that I've bought from Selfridges - this one actually has pieces of bacon in it, and it just brings a delicious savoury note to my meal. Actually, the dip probably deserves its own star, but I can't quite bring myself to call it a 4 star meal for the sake of a condiment. It's not going to rock your world, but GBK is easy and consistent, and sometimes, that's all I'm after. read more

If I could give less than one star I would. The place is an absolute mess multiple tables have not even been cleaned. I waited over 25 minutes to get seated with no luck. It's absolutely appalling don't waste your time read more

Sometimes the predictability and efficiency of a chain is the order of the day. Tucked in a new construction/mall area and not much to look at from the outside the inside reverses that and is very pleasant. The classic is good, but the wild boar burger and anything with cranberries on it is what really shines and stays with you. Thankfully and not to be taken for granted, a cold bottle of beer is business as usual as opposed to an outlier; I only had the Bitter and Twisted but I think it's going to be my new thing. The only knock was that the unlimited supply of shelled peanuts wasn't salted, which was really heartbreaking. Is this a lost in translation thing? read more

Just came back from my visit to GBK with 2 of my coworkers. It's a pretty good place for a nice juicy burger. We all ordered off of the lunch menu: I had the regular burger (5.95) and upgraded from the lunch 4 oz size to the regular/dinner/large 6 oz size (extra 1.50 I think) with a side of homeslaw (coleslaw). My friends had the cheeseburger and the chicken burger (both are 6.95 for the lunch size) and sides of the skinny fries. The burgers themselves were tasty and well portioned. The homeslaw was not overly creamy and even had some pomegranate seeds (which I like!). I tried some of the skinny fries and they were fairly typical string fries. For lunch, they have a 15 min guarantee (or I guess it's free?) which makes for a quick in and out. You order at the cashier and the service was friendly. I haven't tried the other burger places in the area so can't really compare but the place was good enough for me to warrant another visit in the future! read more

I hit this joint whenever I am in Angel or in vicinity. They have some really good juicy burgers and milkshakes served in those tall stainless steel glasses. It is also not that expensive either, you can get a lunch (burger with sides) for £6-7 or so. They also seem to have a loyalty program which uses an app rather than some antiquated card with stamps. Staff are also quite attentive, and make sure to visit the table once every often to make sure if one needs anything more. The ambiance is quite tongue-in-cheek, they have a 'may contain nuts' board next to a groundnut sack, and some quotes on the wall and what not. read more

Finally decided a burger was what I wanted so stopped in here. I was seated quickly and given an ice-cold karafe of water. I ordered a bacon and cheese burger with the chunky fries and garlic mayo. The food came fairly quickly. The burger was perfectly cooked, the bacon could have been crispier, but overall it was a very flavorful burger. The fries were disappointing as they were more mealy inside than I'd like, not many crispy edges on the outside like thick fries can have. The mayo was strangely sweet, so I wondered if I hadn't been given the wrong one. But all in all, the food was quality. Service was friendly. The interior is like hipster shabby chic. Prices were a bit high for the burger. read more

I was introduced to the restaurant today as they were having a special promotion - lunch combo for free! It was a really good experience as the staff were very friendly and I was treated like a paying customer (unlike many places where I have been to and upon presenting a voucher, I was treated like a second class citizen!). Since it was a busy event, I stood in a queue however the Maitre D was extremely nice and attentive and kept coming over and telling me that he hasn't forgotten about me. I had a really delicious burger with medium-rare beef patty and it's great how they have habanero sauce available. The chunky fries were really tasty and they even gave me extra fries. Thumbs up for a very happy dining experience :)! read more

I really do love this restaurant. It's a chain yes, but it's good food at a good price. I just wish Id known I lived so close to one before I moved! The location was great a stones throw away from Angel Station and it was always (to my recollection) basically always open and never too crowded. The restaurant was clean, food came fast and tap water was available. read more