By Ed Southgate, Cameron Scheijde, Frankie McNab, Tara Lidstone, co-Editors in Chief, Managing Director, and Head of Communications
Epigram was invited to review The Burger Joint, a student favourite on Whiteladies Road.
Atmosphere - Ed Southgate, co-Editor in Chief
In one of Bristol's Georgian buildings on Whiteladies Road, The Burger Joint* immediately has a sophisticated feel. Walking in, we were met with friendly faces all round and, being taken to our seat immediately, we were made to feel incredibly welcome and were accommodated in a very professional manner.
Inside, the restaurant is quite small, but that is not to the detriment of the overall experience; rather, it gave the place a relaxed, cosy feel. The restaurant certainly did not feel squished, with the layout of the tables allowing us to enjoy our burgers without being in anyone else's space and without anyone else being in ours.
Service - Cameron Scheijde, co-Editor in Chief
The order forms, novel and unique, add a nice ‘American’ change to the normal restaurant technique of ordering. However, the food itself took a while to arrive. Once it did, I could not fault it. The slight delay was coupled with tap water not being automatically provided as being a small niggle to the overall experience. Especially on a meal as carb and salt heavy as a burger with fries, the fact that we had to keep asking for water top ups did somewhat taint the atmosphere; the fact that I got home and immediately glugged 4 glasses may have told you something. This might have been exacerbated by the ordering of a milkshake rather than their bottomless soft drinks. Overall, however, the service was good and the general experience mostly enjoyable.
Starter - Ed Southgate
To start, we all got cheesy garlic bread, and nachos. The nachos came with all the classics - cheese, chilli, guacamole, sour cream and jalapenos, and were really delicious. The portion size of the nachos was generous, and certainly enough to share between the four of us. Being offered the choice as to whether we wanted them with our main or before, we went with the latter; perhaps our eyes were too big for our stomach as we all got stuffed quite quickly - but, as students, we really were not complaining about that. The cheesy garlic bread was also cooked to perfection, and made a for a great student-loved addition to the meal.
Main - Frankie McNab, Managing Director
Burger Joint arguably offers Bristol’s most customisable burgers. Their unique ordering system lets you choose every part of your burger, from the bun to the sauces. The options range from the standard beef burger, to ostrich and wild boar. Vegans and vegetarians are also catered for with their brand-new menu offering the same great quality and taste as usual! Despite the unusual options available, I went for a more classic combination: beef burger, brie, bacon and onions. Despite my less-than-adventurous choice my meal was still amazing! Burger Joint definitely don’t scrimp on the quality even if your choice, like mine, is pretty basic! They certainly don’t scrimp on the portion sizes either, we ordered some of the starters to share, and although they were a great addition, most of it ended up coming home with us in a doggy bag. Burger Joint have loads of great deals that cater to the student budget. Burger Joint is definitely somewhere to take your friends or visiting parents, especially if they are picky eaters!
Main - Tara Lidstone, Head of Communications
For my main, I decided to go for a venison burger in a brioche bun, topped with guacamole, monetary-jack cheese, bacon and jalepenos. As if that wasn't enough, I also opted for a side of classic french-fries, a side salad and an Oreo milkshake. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal; the portions were beyond generous, everything was extremely tasty and all worked very well together. I will be honest however and say, in my opinion, the venison burger wasn’t as great as its classic beefy sister, but it was an adventurous decision and I appreciated the fact there were so many burger options. Saying that, there are more options for everything you could ever think of!Their unique, tick-box menu has an extensive list of buns, burgers, toppings, sauces, sides (the list goes on), which you select from when making your order. You essentially ‘build-your-own’, meaning everything is to your exact taste. This special way of ordering your food was my favourite bit (aside from the food). Overall a fab, tasty, casual meal.
We would like to end by thanking The Burger Joint for hosting us so well - we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and would certainly recommend it as a nice place to go for Bristol students.
