Bleeker’s – Bacon Double Cheeseburger DIY

I first started to track London cheeseburgers in 2012.  It wasn’t long after that when I started hearing about these amazing cheeseburgers being served from a portable kitchen, which is a nice way of saying “an old van”. I could never seem to connect with the Bleecker mobile due to time or location conflicts. Bleeker’s burgers started to appear regularly in “London’s Best Burger” lists and so have been top of my “want to try list” when the pandemic hit. Their DIY kit has given me a chance so read on to find out how it went.

The Bun: 15/20

A little more traditional burger bun than the brioche you get so many places nowadays.  Simple white bread sort of flavour with a modicum of un-roasted sesame seeds on top.   They have a slightly funny shape so the top half isn’t quite as wide as the bottom, but its not a big deal.  They do come pre-cut which is nice.  The recommendation is to toast them in the toaster which is easy, but does dump a little load of seeds into your toaster.  Gives them a nice texture on the outside, although perhaps just a little dry, although that was mitigated by a generous dose of house sauce on each. 

The Toppings: 6/10

I always like two full slices per burger so well done on that count Bleeker.  These were perhaps a little thin and didn’t have a ton of flavour, but did cook very easily and evenly. These were better in the burger than on their own really.  No onions, no lettuce, no tomato though.  If you are anti-veggie, this is your cheeseburger!

The Condiments: 8/10

The kit comes with a very generous portion of their very good house burger sauce.  Nothing too fancy, but just the right mix of mayo and ketchup with a few spices and everyone liked it.  There was lots left over and it became a dip for the chips we had on the side. Normally I like the zing of French’s mustard on my burger but must admit that when I added it to the second half of my burger, it didn’t make as much a difference as normal.  

The Cheese: 18/20

Excellent American cheese and lots of it.  Two slices, one for each patty, proved to be the perfect amount.   Might have been lost a little in a single patty burger but here the flavour and creaminess were ideal. Cooked very nicely as you might be able to see from the photos.   There was a bit of a race to pick at the little bits that had fried on to the griddle which is always a good sign.

The Patty: 18/20

Two 113g (4 oz) patties mean that there is a lot of beef here, but it is really good.  The double patty means a lot more surface area for flavour than you would get with a single 8 oz patty.  They came very well packed and pre-formed.  A little bit of fat splatter but generally were very easy to cook otherwise.  Joins my top echelon of beef patties in the UK.  Really excellent. 

The Taste: 18/20

Sometimes with a really good burger the final product is better than the sum of the individual ingredients and this is one of those cases.  The bun was pretty ok on its own, the bacon was a little boring outside the burger, and there was no spicy sauce, mustard, veggies or crazy ingredients, but this was an excellent cheeseburger.  The double patty/double cheese combo created a meat-to-bun ratio that I found fantastic.  And it was filling too, always nice when that happens.  If you liked the look of the Bleeker Burger you should check out more of our Big Hitters on our Hit List here

Our Verdict: 83/100

I can now see why Bleecker was in all those top 10 lists, and now it’s in mine.   Not only was it delicious and filling, it was also pretty easy to cook.  Pre-cut buns, preformed patties, and simple instructions.  This is a cheeseburger created by someone who has spent time figuring out the basics and getting the mix perfected.  For me, I will order again and try buttering/frying the bun just to soften it up and get a little more flavour out of it. I will also add a little mustard and relish or onion, but aside from those tweaks this is pretty close to the ideal cheeseburger.  Well done Bleecker Burgers, I hope there is one in every town soon.  If you would like to check out to see if there is a Bleeker Burger near you, here is their website