Burger King Bacon Double Cheeseburger

After my surprising last visit to Burger King to try the Double Whopper, I thought I would waltz in and try something else. Until this year I cannot remember the last time I had been to Burger King or McDonalds, and the quality has been surprisingly good. The Bacon Double Cheeseburger looked particularly appetizing on the screen, so I thought I would give it a go.

The Bun: 16/20

Ok, for starters I thought this burger was going to be bigger! Without my glasses on the Bacon Double Cheeseburger looked like a mammoth of a burger. It wasn’t until after ordering I realised I had ordered the standard not the Bacon Double Cheeseburger XL, rookie mistake! Irrespective, the compact little burger had a really good bun. The bread was fluffy and light, and had a slight bounce back to the press which I like. I have to admit that the sesame seed bun gives the American Burger look that I like but sesame seeds do nothing for flavour. Texturally the seeds offer a little something different. I have recently seen a documentary on Burger King, and if I remember rightly, the bun is supposed to have a little grilling. This bun had nothing of the sort, but was pretty good either way.

The Toppings: 2/10

The Burger King Bacon Cheeseburger advertising shows beautifully grilled, smokey, mahogany bacon. In my bun was a pale, salt-covered piece of a pig that looked like it had been killed twice. Honestly, the attention to detail is probably what separates the likes of Hawksmoor from other burger joints. I didn’t expect a culinary masterpiece from Burger King but simple cooking of bacon long enough to give it some colour should be standard. Either this bacon was not cooked for long enough or so many pieces were cooked at the same time the water from the meat didn’t allow for any crisp to form on the meat. Either way, this was a disappointing, disgustingly presented topping that almost had this review cancelled for safety reasons.

The Condiments: 5/10

The Bacon Double Cheeseburger actually doesn’t come with any condiments but Burger King has a healthy selection behind the counter. I asked for some Tomato Ketchup to throw on there, something that most would go for, although not my favourite. The ketchup added a little flavour but my drizzle was not enough to disrupt the product’s flavour profile.

The Cheese: 7/20

I had to go to the website and double-check the menu to ensure that this American Cheese was supposed to be melted. Indeed I was correct, the Burger King Bacon Double Cheeseburger is supposed to have melted cheese! As you can see from the images, I had two freezing cold pieces of cheese that showed no signs of melting.  Even despite standing outside in the sun in one of the hottest days on record in the UK! Maybe I should have lifted the lid on the burger and let it sit on the car bonnet for a short while? As it happens, the cheese is surprisingly nice. The overall taste was nice but the consistency just felt, well, wrong in every department.

The Patty (s): 6/20

The Double Whopper patties trump this burger 10/1. Who knows what happens in the back of a restaurant, and what company secrets are. These were stone cold, pretty flavourless, and dried. To note, I ordered this burger at 11:18am on a Monday morning in Guildford at a restaurant that had a total of 4 people inside. I could usually symphasise in busier times, even at large chains, because the turnover has to be so quick, and it must be hard to maintain quality. But, at this time of day, to hand me over a product like this is just disrespectful.

The Taste: 10/20

Despite obvious flaws, the Bacon Double Cheeseburger had that familiar Burger King taste in retrospect. Each component did contribute to an overall experience of a little smoke, a little chargrill, and a little Burger Kingesque feeling. I am extremely disappointed as, after the performance of the Double Whopper, I had hoped for something similar.

Our Verdict: 45/100

Burger King Guildford should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. The scoring of the burger doesn’t reflect anything poor in the components of the burger, but the attention to detail in the back of the kitchen. The cheese, slapped in the stack, the poor cook of the patties, and the bacon which can only be described as dangerous have let the nucleus of a good burger down. I would try this burger again and hopefully give it a more honest and fair review, only in a Burger King better than Guildford’s! I think most people tend to agree, having seen the Tripadvisor rating of 1.5 too!