Goodmans Burger review - Apr 2010

Where: Goodmans, Mayfair
With whom: The Trustafarian
How much?: £22 for a burger and a couple of beers

A couple of postwork beers turned into talk of food, and the joys of an office in Soho is that there are plenty of choices close at hand. 


The Trustafarian and I had a few things to celebrate though it could have turned nasty when we got into a rather lazy argument on the best burger in the vicinity of the office and my ill-considered companion held up the Gourmet Burger Kitchen as his choice. 


I could have just shaken my head and left, but I can't walk away from a winnable argument, and I had only had a salad for lunch.

Within 5 minutes we were sat at the bar in Goodmans and already I wished I'd had money on this one. The Trustafarian fitted right in among the braying hedge fundies clustering the bar, handy, as even on a Monday night there few spaces elsewhere. 


It has a typically upper class NYC steakhouse vibe - dark panelled woods, blood red leather seating and a personable Irishman behind the bar. We went for a very acceptable IPA from local London brewery Meantime and racked up a pair of burgers, medium rare.


A satisfied smug silence from me as the glazed brioche bun covered patties arrived. The toasted crisp top broke under knife and juices flooded the lower layer. 

Now this is a real American style burger. Dense and sweet pink meat kept its moisture under the crisp charred exterior and a minimum of extraneous greenery. 


The Trustafarian mumbled of his defeat between crammed mouthfuls and I graciously accepted my plaudits. There were a couple of grumbles, the pickles were well warmed within the bun rather than the spears of refreshment I wanted alongside (though to be fair, I could have asked, and received, so my own fault) and I wasn't a fan of the chips. They were dry and crispy, but thick, a little oily, and not unlike eating many roast potatoes. 


With a satisfied belch my converted companion and I stepped out into the night. Game, steak and match.