GBK’s – The Mighty Burger

In Bluewater, Kent situated open plan directly across the way from Five Guys is GBK. Being so frequent and familiar with Five Guys it made sense to give GBK a shot. The elevated prices of this high street chain combined with waiting 40 mins to eat was a tough pill to swallow. Having to sit and watch the structured and repetitive flips of those Five Guys patties was even harder once GBK served their version of something ‘Mighty’.

Before we start on the Mighty Burger I have to make it clear that this Burger was £14.50. It seemed worth it, however greedy I may have considered myself, to have Two 6oz patties, Mature Cheddar, Crispy Bacon, Garlic Mayo, Relish, Dill pickles. I mean, that sounds like a ton of goodness trapped between two buns right? Well…

The Bun: 10/20

Reminiscent of a Mcdonald’s bun on first sight this bun looked quite inviting. The sesame seed bun was ok and I stress ok. There was really not too much to say about the GBK Bun other than it fell apart halfway through eating the Mighty. The taste was not bad but there was no real quality and they have definitely given no thought to which burgers may require what type of bun.

The Toppings: 6/10

The crispy Bacon was pretty good. The Bacon had a nice smoke to it which was, although subtle, enough to interact with the cheese forming an expected marriage of two familiar flavour profiles. I had actually paid an extra £1.50 to have two onion rings inside of The Mighty Burger and this made the most of a difference to the burger. The onion rings were crisp, well seasoned in a nice batter, and fresh. I enjoyed these much more than the bacon.

The Condiments: 2/10

Garlic Mayo, Relish, and Dill Pickle. These three things were promised to be upon purchasing this burger! I have no idea if the pickle was even supposed to be in the toppings section but sometimes, where these pickles are formed into a type of jam I would tend to include it in the Condiments section.

All of the above, I tasted none of! I could see there were a few different colours interacting when I peeled the bun away but honestly if any of those three things were on this burger, I am not sure where nor how. I am probably being a little facetious. There was so little of any one of these components that it is extremely hard to get the score to 2. When you have a burger with a condiment you expect to see a messy collage of colour oozing from the side as you squish the bun, part of our enjoyment right? Apparently not at GBK, or at least not with this burger anyway. I like a messy burger, but this does not affect my scoring, but playing hides and seek with my tastebuds does!

The Cheese: 17/20

I love Mature Cheddar and this was a very nice, strong mature cheddar that fused the two patties together in a “burger porn” type of way. The way the cheese cascades down the side of a burger just epitomises everything I love about burgers and this had that look. French crop the top of this burger and add a bit of condiment you would have a visual that would excite the senses. Great cheese and great look. At least GBK managed to redeem themselves in the cheese section.

The Patty: 8/20

Two 6oz smashed patties! These were big, really thick chargrilled patties. When you actually order from GBK you are required to state how you would like your burger and I like mine cooked medium-rare. Nice sear on the outside and a juicy meat-centric focus inside. Ask and you shall receive. Not today! My disappointment went beyond just how my patties were cooked, anyone can make a mistake. The patties tasted quite processed for me, not great meat. The meat was not well seasoned at all, and it had none of the richness I have come to expect from am high-quality meat source. Unfortunately for GBK, or perhaps more for me, my low-grade, unseasoned patties tasted bland and as they had been BBQ rejects after your drunk uncle spends too long singing “No Woman No Cry” whilst watching the kids whilst at the grill.

The Taste: 10/20

All in all, I have given GBK an average rating. If we had been scoring these with a price guideline this number projectively would have to be lower. I think the taste was ok. It was not brilliant and certainly not what I expected paying a good chunk of cash for a burger but, scoring against my tastes, it was average.

Our Verdict: 53/100

The scores have come in fairly for The Mighty Burger. It was a very average burger that I expected more from. There may be some avenue for improvement with the texture of this particular burger and maybe some error down to the cheffing at that particular time. I would not eat The Mighty again, especially watching the smiles from Five Guys customers from an open-plan restaurant. The Mighty was overpriced and did not wow me in the slightest. They say you get what you pay for. With 4 kids, in my own opinion, I paid for Mohamed Salah, and I received Emile Heskey.

The only real positive I can take from this experience is that I did enjoy the vibe in GBK, it was a bit like being in Nandos. The beer was good, good enough to, in the future consider having a draught there and a takeaway from Five Guys!