Honest Burgers – The Tribute Burger

Being one of the UK’s larger Burger chains I was sceptical about how good Honest Burgers would be. Having been to Byron and Patty and Bun, competitors in their own right, I figured Honest would just be another run of the mill version of a Burger. How wrong I was. The balance of this Burger has only been rivalled by Burger and Beyond and the Tribute Burger deserves some serious recognition as one of the best Burgers in the UK.

The Bun: 18/20

The only reason that this Bun has been scored down just slightly is because it did start to fall apart right at the end of my meal. Honestly, the angles of this bun were amazing. The way that Honest Burgers had presented this Brioche harnessing proudly the wondrous components of this Burger was just exceptional. I have always had a thing about presentation and a poor looking bun can really destroy the first impression of a burger despite what it tastes like. The construction of this Burger was perfection and the bun, the angles, the manner in which the top had been placed on this Burger instantly showed that they cared. It was soft, and didn’t interrupt the flavours inside but gave a texture presence to every single bite.

The Toppings: 10/10

Bacon, Pickles, Onion and Lettuce. Can you go wrong with these ingredients? Yes, you can. But not with the Honest Tribute Burger. The bacon was really nice, a nice solid smokey taste and ever-present too. Sometimes I have found that restaurant skimp on the bacon side of things which creates an imbalanced burger as you shift angles trying to maintain the bacon! The Onions and Pickles complimented really well. The one thing I would say about this Burger is that the topping ingredients, although nice, are not focal points. They just seem to create an impeccable balance of flavour that is just a delight to have in your mouth!

The Condiments: 10/10

French’s American Mustard and Burger Sauce. Why have I not thought about this for my own Home-made Burgers, this question rattled me for a solid few hours after finishing the Honest Tribute Burger. The blend of these two flavours seem to have perfect synergy. Although French’s mustard is hardly comparable to English Mustard it does have a pretty distinct flavour. The Burger Sauce and the Mustard created something new, in my opinion, it had some sort of wizardry that my tastebuds absolutely loved. I am certain it was the flavour of this combination with the toppings that had me considering a second order at the table. I am not sure if this combination is a “done thing” but it just works. Amazing.

The Cheese: 19/20

The American Cheese definitely had its place in this burger. A really stringy cheese that when you pulled away the top bun you could see the cheese stringing to the patty as it lifted with the sides of the bun. I think the key here for the Tribute was also the quantity. There was enough American Cheese to make a statement but not enough to overpower the rest of the Burger. It was a subtle American Cheese that mixed well with the other components of the Burger. I want to believe that Honest have strategically placed the cheese in terms of quantity and type through trial and error to make an amazing burger; but I will never know. When something has presence as the cheese did, being a major player in the texture but not a front runner in flavour, I wonder if this is fluke or a company knowing their product inside out.

The Patty: 18/20

You had a couple of options on the patty when the server asked us. Well done or Medium? He did actually say that medium was essentially their version of ‘pink’. It was far from pink, however! It was perfectly juicy and had a great flavour. The timings on the grill must be spot on because it was cooked to perfection for medium. Flavour was a deep beef flavour, with a chargrilled finish. The beef was excellent and although I have had a higher quality meat the seasoning helped give a great taste. When you have a well “cooked over fire” piece of meat it is always pleasurable. The patty had a great flavour and was big, two things I like! Combining the basic cooking over fire premise to perfection with, a terrific well balanced plethora of condiment and topping flavour, the beef was elevated perhaps beyond its quality expectancy! Honest Burgers have another level of cook on this patty.

The Taste: 20/20

There was nothing about the flavours in my mouth that I could possibly dislike. It was one of the best tasting burgers I have had. A Tribute to American Burgers, I was told by the server at Honest, and they seem to have created something that I will be having again, ASAP.

Our Verdict: 95/100

I have overlooked Honest Burgers for the last few years and The Tribute Burger has genuinely made me feel disappointed in myself for not having had this before. I have an affinity with independent Burger joints and maybe I have allowed myself to be too focussed on finding that “special one”. Honest have taught me a lesson and The Tribute was my teacher. The only negative I would have is potentially the bun not lasting through the meal but that can be forgiven. This Burger did everything right and very little wrong. Even the Cheese that reminds me of James Milner, not a stand out but works hard and brings cohesion through sacrifice. I cannot wait to go to Honest again, I should probably order something different to try another Burger there but I can say, hand on heart, that won’t happen! We will meet again soon Tribute, oh yes we will! In the meantime, you should check out some of the best burgers in London on our Hit List