Lucky Chip Burgers and Wine

If there's one thing every Londoner will tell you it's "there are a lot of burger restaurants around here." They'll then carry on telling you that London is an expensive, lonely, sometimes slightly smelly city but the main thing is that there are hundreds of places to buy a burger. You can get dirty burgers, honest burgers, scotch egg burgers and crappy burgers that make my guts hurt thirty minutes after consuming them (sold by a hip burger chain called "McDonalds.") I've been to most of these places but one that has slipped me by is Lucky Chip, who have taken up residency in several pubs across London. They have recently opened their own proper restaurant called Burgers and Wine and I paid a visit last weekend.

I was pleased to see that unlike every other trendy restaurant in the capital Burgers & Wine are happy to take reservations. It turns out the reservation I made for a Saturday afternoon wasn't really needed as we were the only customers when we walked in. Located in the deeply unglamorous Ridley Road market in hipster haven Dalston, this is more a place for people in the know - I'm not sure how many potential customers would just happen to walk by. The market is known for selling all variety of animal parts and walking past piles of pig trotters and sheep heads didn't really get me in the mood for a tasty burger.

The restaurant is fitted out in dark wood tones and plush booths and I put the thought of entrails and pigs with no legs behind me while sliding into a booth with The Lovely Jemma. A long bar and open kitchen is along the back of the room. Their website claims the place is meant to evoke a 80's American steakhouse vibe, and if you don't look out the large ceiling to floor windows at the distinctly British market outside you could almost believe you were in a steakhouse in Miami gorging on meat and snorting up coke.

The menu is small and to the point - a smattering of starters, a couple of "counter dishes" including a tempting Chicken Parmesan, and of course the main event - burgers. The Lovely Jemma and I both went for the "No. 4 El Chappo" burger which contains a meat patty, blue cheese, roasted jalapenoes and Ailoi. It sounded yummy and I'm pleased to say it tasted delicious as well - the garlic flavours of ailoi were not overpowering and complemented the meat perfectly, and the jalapenoes gave it a tasty zing. The meat and bun were top quality and overall it was an excellent burger.

Now I know what you're thinking. "This is a beer blog Dave, and you've gone to a restaurant that sells burgers and wine. What about the beer?!" The drinks list is definitely focussed on the wine, with around 100 bottles available and a few wines available by the glass. But there is a well curated beer selection as well. A couple of selections from the Butternuts brewery based in the U.S of A were available, and I tried their Moo Thunder Milk Stout.  It was very good - sweet and malty, it was like having a boozy milkshake with my burger dinner.

We finished with a baked cheesecake which was very tasty indeed. With the retro music playing and a small collection of punters enjoying their lunch the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable, although I imagine this place gets pretty busy and possibly cramped on a weekend evening. If you want to try out, or already enjoy Lucky Chips burgers it is well worth making a trip out here, and with the excellent Three Compasses and Railway Tavern nearby, you could enjoy some delicious ales afterwards as well.

Junction Tavern beer festival and The Assembly House

The Junction Tavern is a pleasant little gastropub in leafy Kentish Town, an area which is becoming a bit of a real ale hotbed with the Southampton Arms and Pineapple in the vicinity. The Junction Tavern is primarily a gastro and doesn't really directly compete with the aforementioned establishments but they're not afraid to put on some great ales, including local brews. They also hold frequent ale festivals and I paid a visit on a chilly Friday evening with The Lovely Jemma to their latest festival. A good selection was available. The pub has five handpubs and there were an additional ten ales in a temporary area, although not all were ready.

The Hen Harrier. That's a pint

glass. TLJ has grown a lot since

the last update. The nails have

also got even more fabulous.

Things got off to a good start with a Prospect “Panned Out.” This tasty seasonal brew was a very pleasant strong bitter with a little bit of spicyness thrown in which went down well. This was followed by the Bowland “Hen Harrier” which sadly wasn't as good. Although it had a promising fruity aroma, the taste was not spectacular. The fruity, refreshing hops tried to push through but it all tasted a little flat and lifeless. The Cotleigh “Commando Hoofing” was a fairly unremarkable golden ale. It wasn't an awful drink but there wasn't much that stood out. Things finished in good form with the Empire “Kismet” a well hopped aromatic beer with a delightful fruity taste. I also asked for a taste of the “Barmans Ghoulies” by the Tirrel brewery, eliciting giggles from those waiting in line. Sadly the ale lived up to its name with a odd sweaty taste that wasn't very pleasant at all.

The Junction Tavern is a decent place for ale, but its primary business is the gastro side of things which means drinkers are a little short changed. A charming conservatory and the large, airy main room are devoted to diners, meaning drinkers are left with a rather stuffy corridor in-between the main room and conservatory. Still the atmosphere was jovial with a nice mix of punters.

After quaffing a few ales I started to get a bit peckish. The menu in the Junction looked good but expensive, and I fancied something to nibble on before I started gnawing on my own hand. There wasn't a bar food menu available and snacks are limited to bread, olives and cashews. Olives are, of course, Satan's grapes and bread might have been fine for Jesus but I needed something a bit more substantial. I guess chips aren't good enough for the well heeled gentry of Kentish Town. We therefore decided to move on to the Assembly House near Kentish Town station in the hunt for some good old fashioned pub grub.

This Greene King pub has recently been renovated and walking in I got flashbacks of The Bull in Islington. This pub seemed to have attracted every wanker, sorry, hipster in Kentish Town and there were plenty of them. A DJ was in the corner surrounded by her acne riddled friends playing what would no doubt be described as “Phat Beats.” The décor was the usual stripy wallpaper and lamps scattered everywhere that all “trendy” pubs tend to have these days. Trendy is in quotations because no genuine trendy place would ever let me in.

Despite all these factors we decided to stay, mainly because we had the good luck to find an empty table and I'm a lazy man. Five handpumps were on with the usual Greene King suspects (IPA, Abbot Ale etc) available. I opted for a pint of Bonkers Conkers, Greene Kings seasonal ale, which was fine. It's supposed to have a nutty taste but I couldn't really detect it. It was a standard strong bitter that got the job done.

It tastes better than it looks. Honestly.

The food, however, was actually rather good. We had previously been warned by a flame haired Irish lady that the food here was deep fried greasy crap, and to be honest that was exactly what I was craving. We decided to go for the Burger Plate, which was described as six mini burgers with onion rings and chips, for that is what it was. It was presented rather nicely and against all odds tasted pretty good. Pub onion rings usually tend to be as limp and soggy as an audience of men watching the Sex and the City movie but these were crispy, fluffy and tasty. The burgers were also rather good. Just when I thought the night couldn't get any better the DJ started playing Hakuna Matata from the Lion King. I might have to return to this place.