Proper HamburgersRecently, following a rather unsuccessful shopping trip at Union Square me & my wife Kerry decided to stop for some food at Byron; mainly because we were given a voucher from her sister at Christmas, but also because we were starving & we love burgers! Having visited Byron on two previous occasions (once sitting in & once takeout) - I knew that Byron made a good burger. However in a city with some great independent restaurants that serve up great burgers, I was still to be convinced that this was the place to come. Byron has been in the news lately with the company potentially closing some of their restaurants - Union Square being one of them, however I believe it has been given a 6 month period of reprieve, so I was interested to see if this had any effect on the crowds, food or service. The restaurant itself was relatively quiet - although it was only around 6.30 on a Wednesday. We were shown to our table by friendly waiting staff who asked us to sit at another table whilst they cleaned our table for us. There is quite a decent selection available on the menu; a good choice of starters, along with a huge selection of burgers - beef, chicken & veggie, along with plenty sides to pick from. Byron quite often run a special burger; a few weeks ago, they had the "Calvin Haggis" to celebrate Burns Night & just now they have the Bourbon King - which is what we opted for. I went for the beef version, whilst Kerry chose the fried chicken option. We opted to share sweet potato & regular fries along with sharing nine nuggets as a starter. When it comes to drinks, Byron again have quite an expansive menu. As I was driving I opted for a Soda Folk cherry soda, however the craft beer selection certainly caught my eye. I have previous when it comes to Byron & craft beer, with Kerry winning their birthday beer box last year - so it was no surprise to see names like Camden Town, Beavertown, BrewDog & Sierra Nevada on there. The waiting staff brought our drinks over promptly & the cherry soda was as good as I had hoped. Being a lover of all things cherry (including beer), this was a great tasting drink - and only 89 calories (if you worry about that sort of thing). The drinks were quickly followed by the starter; nine nuggets accompanied by a side of BBQ sauce. The nuggets weren't conventional chicken nuggets - they were more similar to KFC's "popcorn chicken" but they tasted great; the coating was crunchy & seasoned well & the chicken itself was juicy. Our main course arrived not too long after that & they looked like impressive burgers! Served on a toasted brioche bun, the juicy looking burger was topped with loads of crispy onions, sauce, cheese & lettuce. It tasted great too - the burger was cooked to perfection; charred on the outside & juicy in the middle, with still the slightest bit of pink. All of the other toppings complimented the burger very well. I think the only complaint we had was that Kerry's chicken burger was pretty messy & seemed to fall to pieces very easily. The accompanying fries were also tasty & plentiful - I think we could have even shared one portion between us. In the end, our bill came to just under £40, and whilst the food was good; I think that is a touch pricey for what we got, considering neither of us had an alcoholic drink & we shared a starter (although we didn't technically pay for it because we had a voucher to use). Overall, while it may not be the cheapest place to get a burger; I highly enjoyed our visit to Byron Burger & would definitely recommend it. However, I don't think it's enough to regularly pry me away from spots like Filthy Gorgeous, The Boozy Cow or Maggie's Grill. But in Union Square at least, it's certainly the best burger available & along with a fine selection of craft beers - Byron is well worth a visit.
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