The Flintgate’s – Big Smoke

Deliveroo has been a source of many a burger image and some we have taken note of previously, namely Spielburger and Black Bear when we saw these images. The Flintgate was a similar situation. Although, not technically, a burger restaurant the images just kept crying out for a taste with some pretty brilliant reviews and “The Big Smoke” looking like a likely candidate for a review. It was inevitable that it would be a random Monday evening sitting on the sofa, sifting through Cheeseburgerme’s Instagram.

The Bun: 8/20

There are a few things we look for in a decent bun which would be the size, taste, consistency and the ability to hold. Unfortunately for the Big Smoke the bun had hardly any of the attributes we champion. I almost felt sorry for the burger as I knew this category, being a high scoring category, would impact heavily on the overall scoring. In and of itself the bun was not terrible but against the mound of toppings, triple patty and a burger sauce it stood no chance of holding. By the second bite the heel of the bun had shrunk in size at least 60% and ended up looking like the trainer of a beefy scaffolder that wore the same shoes for 10 years whilst on the job – flat and tired

The Toppings: 7/10

Where to start! This burger had Smoked Brisket, Bacon, Pickles, Tomato and lettuce. The Flintgate threw everything but the kitchen sink at this one. Starting with the, compulsory but not necessarily desired ‘salad types”: The lettuce and tomato were nowhere to be seen in all honesty. I think by the time they had travelled, in decent packaging I may add, the lettuce must have just disintegrated to a mush under the brisket. The tomato, again, they may have even forgotten to put this in the stack! The bacon was pretty decent, good texture, although I do prefer a bit of a Five Guys style, crispy and really smoked.

It was the brisket that I could not really get my head around. Paying £16 or so for a burger I would expect the star of the show to be a refined version representing the chef in their endeavours. The brisket, unfortunately, was nothing better than mediocre. I could liken the brisket to something you would get in a box at Marks and Sparks. It tasted okay but certainly was not a smoked brisket that I have come to know and love. The texture was decent, lacking of any finely cut burnt ends but was moist and soft, just lacked flavour, especially a smokiness that you would assume from a burger called “The Big Smoke”.

The Condiments: 8/10

Cannot really complain here. The sauce was a traditional burger sauce. Nothing fancy, was not homemade, by my estimation. Irrespective the burger sauce was nice. Being the guy that could go to the kebab shop and smother a portion of chips in cash and carry sourced burger sauce I have no real high expectations for a burger sauce as long as that standard is adhered to.

The Cheese: 18/20

The smoked cheese was a delight. To be fair, the look was one thing, certainly had that food porn look that I just love. Although the texture was a little more gloopy that I would prefer the overall taste was brilliant – very smokey, rich and dredged the side of the patties like something from a slow motion commercial for burgers – brilliant.

The Patty: 12/20

High scoring category which, when you have 3 burger patties, feels like a little bit of a farce as the chef has to perfect 3 patties rather than one. The one thing I can give this category is that the patties were all cooked alike so my assumption is the timing is pretty rigid at The Flintgate. Aged beef is always on my radar so having 3 aged patties I could pretty much guarantee that this burger would not have been one for fellow reviewer but, truth be told, I was surprised that the aged beef did not have that signature gaminess that I would associate with it. The patties, however, were good. They tasted pretty good despite being overcooked for my liking. I like a juicy burger with a chargrilled outside and soft melt in your mouth meat on the inside. These patties did not tick those two boxes for me. Instead I had hard patties which were ok, had a lot of cheese which is probably why the cheese scoring has stolen the show in this review but the meat itself was nothing to call home about.

The Taste: 13/20

The overall taste was pleasing. I think the Burger Sauce and the Cheese definitely helped push the score a little higher in this review. Although the patties were ok the taste could potentially be better by maybe giving them a couple less minutes on the grill and throwing a little more of the burger sauce in the mix. Have a look where The Big Smoke features on our Hit List here

Our Verdict: 66/100

The Flintgate have offered a decent burger on Deliveroo. 

I do feel that, comparable to some of the amazing burgers we have tried at Cheeseburgerme like the Burger and Beyond burgers or Honest Tribute Burger, The Big Smoke is not in the same league. That being said, if you are sitting at home and fancy a decent burger delivered to your door then you couldn’t go wrong ordering one of these. The Big Smoke is large, satisfying and definitely something a night indoors playing FIFA would not go amiss!