Byron Burgers, Covent Garden, London – Review

Touching upon the heart of Covent Garden, London, you will find Byron Burgers (33-35 Wellington Street, WC2E 7BN). Amongst an array of fine dining restaurants and trendy wine bars with theatre galore just a few steps away to include the Royal Opera House. If you find yourself in this area of London you will enjoy what for me is one of its finest communities.

A busy part of London with tourists from far and wide and plenty of people simply enjoying a well earned evening out, Byron Burgers is prominently located on a corner plot with a proud and engaging frontage luring hungry passer-by’s to enter. The atmosphere is quite electric inside, a hive of activity from those taking orders and serving to the guests – It seems to attract a wide selection of consumers from families with excited youngsters to the older generation dressed up and undoubtedly holding tickets to a show later that evening.

“As I sat in the restaurant, though super busy with customers, you can easily zone yourself out and enjoy a relaxing seated experience amongst the hustle and bustle of London life. The venue attracts a varied clientele mostly young city workers who’ve loosened their ties and removed their tied back hair to enjoy some gastronomical socialising and team building. From couples to whole work teams, Byron Burgers appeals to many looking for a satisfying meal before moving on to somewhere else, it did not seem to be the final destination to any that evening (Monday) I attended.”

Its somewhat American Diner theme set up matches the menu perfectly with burgers being the main experience on offer along with sides & shares. There is both vegan and vegetarian options as well as a menu for children. Desserts can be enjoyed along with the mega milkshake experience. The drinks menu is decent for such a venue, craft beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks with nothing overly complicated.

Fizz and Burgers

We reviewed the Signature Burger range with the Byron and the B-Rex along with seasoned skin on fries and a Byron slaw. The portions are very decent and you will not go hungry for sure, the meat is tasty and the serving and presentation was good to very good. It is a diner style outfit so do not expect too much attention to finer presentation details and instead embrace the portion size and flavours.

 

There is only one fizz option on the menu, this being a Prosecco DOC label, Stelle D’Italia Extra Dry – Tasting notes: “Soft floral notes, candy pear and apple, red apple flesh flavours. Not overly sweet, more an enjoyable fruity glass of Prosecco.”

I would give feedback to Byron in that the Prosecco was an extra dry label, sweeter style, which might be fine for the desserts menu, though maybe they should consider also stocking a brut or ideally extra brut Prosecco too which would balance better with the savoury, fattier dishes. I gave their Prosecco a 3.5 star rating via Vivino, it’s average is 3.7 from 200 previous ratings. I would like to see a Champagne on their menu as for me this would pair much better with the burgers over Prosecco, though I get the venue might not be one for serving Champagne due to the obvious price per glass increase and their diner theme though a decent grower Champagne or even one of the standard labels from the household name brands would pair better.

The menu also advises you on the calories content for each dish ie the Byron (burger) was 680 kcal and the B-Rex (burger) was 950 kcal.

 

Desserts are a choice of two which I went for, upon recommendation, the salted caramel brownie (vegetarian) which with a serving of vanilla ice cream on top with caramel sauce was a nice, filling way to end the meal. I do suggest experiencing the mega milkshakes all of which are vegan and / or vegetarian.

Price and value for money? It really does meet value for money with the main meals being £8 up to £15, sides no more than £5.50 and desserts £5.50 with mega milkshakes £6.29 – For the location, it is more than an economical meal option.

Lastly, we experienced the sweet pickled gherkin and craft beer which was a most refreshing way to start our dining experience at Byron.