The Reverend Eats … Byron Burger Clapham Common

The Reverend Eats … Byron Burger Clapham Common

As winter is drawing in, I didn’t feel like cooking Saturday afternoon and so I headed off to Byron Burger Clapham Common. Its a great venue that still has some of the features from the butchers that was there many years ago.

Summary

Byron Burger is a burger chain that has certainly gone from strength to strength in the last 10-15 years. It offers beef burgers, chicken fillets or veggie burgers. You can also get a selection of side dishes ranging from french fries to cheesy chips and sweet potato fries to onion rings. They have widened their starters so there is more choice, however, rarely will you need a starter if you have both a burger and fries.

The other thing that Byron Burger do very well is Milkshakes. They offer Soft & Hard milkshakes and recently have been offering FREAKSHAKES. Imagine an ice-cream sundae that is offered to have WITH your meal! My stomach hasn’t been tempted by these yet but I imagine they are super sweet and very filling.

Byron Burger Clapham Common

The visit co-incided with a trip to the shops for some phone app tasks and it seemed like a good idea to grab a bite to eat. The Byron Burger Clapham Common is very close to Clapham Common tube station.

One of the great things about this Byron Burger is that it has maintained some of the old history of the building. If you make a trip to the loos upstairs you will notice some of the ironwear of the butchers that used to be in the building many years ago. It is touches like this that means I enjoy my visits and I don’t feel that Byron  is a chain trying to vanilla-ise all of their restaurants.

The Menu

The menu at Byron Burger Clapham Common is, as you have guessed it, burgers. You can essentially have your burgers 3 ways. Beef, Chicken or Veggie. They also do a great line in salads and if you have your burger without the bun then it comes with a side salad that is lovely. I’m not a massive bun fan so this side salad is a great replacement.

The sides are also worth a mention. I tend to get a portion of sweet potato fries however sometimes I’m not in the mood for them so I grab their french fries. If you are going to Byron with a chum then it is worth getting different sides and sharing. There will be plenty of food! The classic combo I go for is Onion Rings and Fries (Sweet potato or French) and you can’t go wrong with them!

There is ketchup and French’s Mustard on each table along with salt & pepper. I’ve always had to ask for mayonnaise and there as never been an issue getting it.

Drinks wise, for me it is all about the milkshake. Vanilla or Oreo. They come in lovely big tins and could be shared if you are feeling generous. Be warned! You will be super-full after drinking a whole milkshake to yourself AND having burger/fries! Byron has also become known as a bit of a player in the craft ale world. As well as your standard Peroni and London Pride you’ll find cans of Beavertown, Brewdog, and Sierra Nevada for you to enjoy – with many more on offer. If you want something on tap then they usually have their own Pale Ale available and currently have Camden Hells if you fancy a lager.

What We Ordered

As it was over the festive period Byron had a special on. The Fromagemas! This is a 6oz hamburger, Barber’s cheddar, Barber’s Red Leicester, Byron cheese, crispy Grana Padano, red onion, smoked tomato ketchup, Grana Padano aioli and a jug of Byron cheese sauce! A whole (little) jug of cheese sauce to either pour over your burger or dip your chips into! This can be ordered as a single or a double patty burger or….. you can get a meal deal for £17.50! This would be the Fromagemas burger (or any chicken/veggie option), any side dish and any drink.

Fromagemas Burger = £11.00
French Fries = £4.00
Milkshake = £5.00
Total = £20!

So saving £2.50! Byron don’t do collecting stamps/points/etc so to get a saving from them is a rarity. For a party of two you’d save £5 and that could be another side dish, a starter or even an extra milkshake if you are feeling adventurous!

The Fromagemas burger. If you like cheese then this is for you. I must admit that the cheese did beat me and I waved the white (cheese) flag and didn’t tip the cheese sauce over the burger. The danger of a food coma when I had stuff to do later was a clear and present danger! The fried cheese seemed a little salty but thats the worst I could say about it. The burger was well done, as ordered, and the extra side salad in replacement for the bun helped to convince me that this WAS a healthy meal – I don’t think anyone else was convinced though!

 

 

 

 

Two sides – french fries and onion rings. The french fries were hot and plentiful. Some places keep there chips under a hot lamp for ages but I’ve never found this to be the case at Byron Burgers. The onion rings weren’t greasy – another issue that many other restaurants have – and went really well with the burger. There could have been more of them, in my opinion, as although you see nice large ones at the top of the pot, under those 3 or 4 you get the smaller rings and they aren’t as crispy. Still tasty though and no fries or rings remained at the end of the meal.

Milkshake! Milkshake! Milkshake! I have been straying from my usual vanilla milkshakes recently but for this trip went back to old faithful. It reminded me why I love vanilla – cool, a bit sweet, nothing too overpowering in the flavour stakes but satisfying and filling. I do wonder whether Byron Burgers could offer a ‘half’ for £3 as I think with all the other food, such a huge milkshake can really fill you up. As usual, the tins arrived cold to the touch so I knew I had plenty of time to enjoy the thick milkshake and didn’t need to worry about it melting into a watery shake.

 

The Cost

As outlined above. It was £35 for 2 burgers, 2 sides, 2 milkshakes. This was due to it being a special meal deal. We didn’t have a starter or ‘something while we viewed the menu’. Not the cheapest burger and chips, thats for sure. 5 minute walk away is a Maccy D’s where we could have got whatever their ‘posh burger of the month’ is, with chips and a milkshake for less than £20. However, for £17.50 more we had burgers cooked to OUR liking, more cheese than Chesney Hawkes wearing a suit made out of brie being dipped into a fondue before being served as a raclette, two MASSIVE milkshakes that tasted of something, hot chips and side salads instead of buns. We also had proper seats, knives and forks, a waiter taking our order and no screaming kids running around the place. If that isn’t worth £17.50 of your hard earned money then I think the golden arches are probably just what you need.