After what has seemed like an eternity, Byron have finally arrived in Glasgow, bringing their brand of “proper” burgers with them. In a city that’s already filled to the brim with burgers, I had to wonder going in whether they’d be able to stand out above the already stellar offerings in our city.
Inside, the first thing I noticed that the restaurant is extremely spacious. Since we only had an hour to spare and the place had only recently opened, I was a tad worried that we’d have to wait but we were seated straight away. The menu is fairly impressive, with a good range of burgers, sides, drinks and desserts. After a few scans of the burger menu, I opted for a cheeseburger with ‘Freddar’ cheese with a side of courgette fries and a Pilsner Urquell. Now, I can already hear you asking “what the hell is Freddar?”. I too wondered this and had heard so much about this special Byron burger cheese that I was going to order it regardless of what it was, but I did ask anyway. The member of staff informed us that the cheese is a blend of various different cheeses (Parmesan, Red Leicester and cheddar) named after the Byron head chef (and creator of the blend), named Fred.
When the beers arrived, the glasses had been pre-chilled. They were so cold that I think they’d actually been in the freezer. Nice move, Byron. I loved this.
My initial thoughts were that, presentation-wise, the burgers looked a bit flat. Nothing really stood out when it arrived, but it’s all about how it tastes at the end of the day and I did like that it was easy to pick up and eat with no mess. How did it taste then? Everything was decent, it was a fairly solid burger, but also a tad unspectacular. I must stress that the burger wasn’t bad. It was fine. The patty was perhaps a little under-seasoned, but was cooked medium, exactly as described. But in a city like Glasgow where there are spectacular burger offerings on every corner, it simply didn’t stand out as being any better than what we already have. It just all felt a bit…middle of the road, other than the ‘Freda’ which was tasty! The burger was £8.60 (with ‘Freddar’) but in my opinion, there are better cheeseburgers to be found only footsteps from Byron’s front door that are cost less and are tastier. Again, I quite enjoyed the cheeseburger and loved that it was mess-free, but there’s better to be had in the city.
Speaking of the ‘Freddar’. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but imagine the American cheese that we’re used to but thicker and way more indulgent and you’ve got ‘Freddar’. It’s melt-ability (that’s totally a thing, right?) was great and it had a really nice texture to it. I liked it a lot.
The courgette fries were tasty and I loved having the option of something a bit different on the menu. They did get a wee bit soggy towards the end, but that’s fried courgette for you. The member of staff who seated us recommend the blue cheese dip with the courgette fries and she was right on the money. It was delicious! In fact, the staff seemed very knowledgeable about most things on the menu, were super-friendly and happy to answer any questions we had. Top marks for service.
For two burgers, two portions of fries (one courgette, one regular) and two beers, our total bill came to £35.
I may sound like I’m being a bit harsh on Byron. I did like my food and taking it on its own, I had no major complaints. When you take the other burger offerings in the city into account though and look at what’s nearby, it’s possible to get a better burger at a better price at a few different places without travelling very far. Perhaps my opinion will be changed slightly if and when I go back, but for now I’d still choose to go elsewhere if I was in the city centre and wanted a burger.
Oh, the little Trolli burger sweets that came with the bill were a nice touch. I love those things.
Price: £8.25 (Freddar 35p extra) / Courgette fries £3.50
SUMMARY
+ Well cooked. Medium, as stated.
+ Tasty courgette fries
+ ‘Freddar’ was really good.
– A tad pricey. There’s better value for money burgers in the area.
– Patty was a little under-seasoned.
– Burger presentation was a bit flat.
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Byron
100 West George Street
Glasgow
G2 1PP
Website: http://www.byronhamburgers.com/
LEGAL / COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: ALL Photography on James vs. Burger by PAMELA GRAHAM PHOTOGRAPHY. Copyright of Pamela Graham & Pamela Graham Photography. All Rights Reserved.
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