Byron Hamburgers Bluewater

The corner property in the Village food court has had several incarnation, and in fact the last one, as I remember it, was as a branch of Paperchase (which did not last).
When it opened as Byron Hamburgers, I made a mental note to try it, especially in the context of comparing their product to the excellent burgers I had in America in October.
There is a simple web site www.byronhamburgers.com  which is more corporate splash than comprehensive information, but what else could there be to know? (nutritional information is the thing now)
The restaurant is laid out in simple style with the kitchen and servery on view.

There is a short menu of burgers, which are middling price: too expensive to be a MacDonald/Burger king substitute, but not pretentiously so. I went there with a work colleague for a functional lunch, and in the period before Xmas, we were able to get a table without queuing. The service was friendly and efficient, and there was no problem about tap water, and no attempt to foist things on us that we did not want. It was not too noisy to chat. I had the skinny burger (£7.50 with side salad), which is a bit of a cop out, as there was no bun (my companion said her bun was fine), and no chips, but a green salad. Byron's say they cook their burgers so they are medium-pink in the middle. Interesting to note that the Americans were in the middle of a salmonella scare when I was there, and everything was sold as well cooked.

This was attractive and was exactly what I was expecting. A 6oz patty of meat seem to have been griddled or grilled. What was interesting, and not unexpected, was that the quality of beef, whilst good was different to that one gets in the US. It is definitely more springy with more of a bite. The American ones tend to be juicier and softer. That is in no way a criticism of this burger as it was well cooked, and tasty with a collection of relishes should I have needed them. Scored an 8 on the CHOF scale.I will definitely go there again and try something else from the menu.

What interests me today is that I read that the opening of the 5 Guys burger restaurant in London which I alluded to in October now seems to be imminent, and it will be interesting to see how the products compare. I think there is just something about American beef that you cannot get in Europe. Perhaps it is what the cows are fed on, or the breeds.

Lunch for two came to a little over £20, which is probably a bit on the high side for a burger restaurant.