Gourmet Burger Kitchen - London Soho - How does it compare?

I haven’t been very true to the Alan in Belfast moniker over the last fortnight, having spent time in San Francisco, Ipswich, London, Ipswich and back to London again.

On Thursday night, the only cinema in London’s Leicester Square showing Casino Royale was sold out. So along with a colleague, I popped up the road to Gourmet Burger Kitchen on Firth Street, off Shaftsbury Avenue on the recommendation of Aaron who left a comment a couple of weeks ago.

It was about a quarter past eight, but they still had a few tables free.

How would it compare with Belfast’s own Gourmet Burger Bank on Belmont Road or London’s Ultimate Burger chain? The differences can be summarise as:

• the menu seemed shorter than the other clones, no onion rings;
• after you’re shown to your table and given a menu, customers have to go up to the counter to place their order and pay (in advance);
• there’s not much atmosphere, the décor is bland, and the tables are packed in. (Though it was brighter than Ultimate Burger.

The Blue Cheese burger and fries, along with a magnificent strawberry milkshake arrived quickly. My colleague’s approach of picking up the burger and eating it with his hands was a big mistake! Definitely needs a knife and fork to attack the layers of salad, sauces that fly out onto your shirt, and cheese that drips onto the plate.

Overall, it was good quality, fast, but not terribly exciting. I think this just leaves the Burger Shack chain to check out!