Where: The old Feng Sushi, that corner spot right opposite Chalk Farm Tube. It had been vacant for months – thank goodness then for the arrival of new very pared-back patty joint Bite Size Burger, fresh from a wildly popular pop-up in Soho.
What: Sliders. You can order two for £6, 3 for £9 or 2-and-fries-and-drink for £7.50. The menu lists ten pretty imaginative options – hence the ‘bite me’ angle. Oh, and chips are cooked in fashionable rapeseed oil.
Why: One of us chose three for £9, the other the set meal. We asked for our three red meat choices to all be served as pink as possible (a notice says they are served medium unless requested). However all came out slightly overdone, the usual problem with a diminutive patty. The ‘bloody mary’ aged beef was fairly juicy, the horseradish adding fire and the tomatoey ‘secret’ sauce dripping out as we took a bite. I preferred the duck, slightly pinker and with the noticeable benefits of trufflee mayo, smoked hoisin and Swiss cheese. But perhaps best was a very tallowy lamb, kick-starting the saliva glands with mint, cumin, smoked yoghurt japaleno, stilton and watercress.
Don’t: Order a whole portion of chips each unless you really like chips. Or you’re sharing. There really are loads. They arrive in a huge basket, nicely mis-shaped and will fill you up to your boots.
Notes: Vegans and vegetarians aren’t particularly well catered for, it seems, with a note on the menu saying any of the options listed can be replaced with a fried aubergine. A fried aubergine in each of three sliders? Okaaay. And service was ever so slightly erratic – drinks didn’t arrive until after the burgers, and only then when we reminded them.
Main image: PR
