The Handmade Burger Kitchen is as new to me as it is to Trinity. I haven't previously visited one of their restaurants although their website tells me there are 17 of them in the
Their philosophy
as detailed on their website is:
"To make & hand
press the tastiest burgers, we regularly visit our suppliers to make sure that
we get our produce from the best farms & source only the freshest, finest
tasting, traceable ingredients for our chefs to work with. We apply the
same attention to detail to everything we make. From our freshly peeled &
cut chips to the relishes we hand make in our kitchens, we’re proud to say that
the food we serve tastes great. And why do we do this? Because we want to
make sure that you enjoy the widest variety of the finest handmade burgers
every time you visit."
Sounds like a great venture. So when four of us were feeling a bit peckish one Sunday afternoon we decided to give it a go.
We were shown to a table for four when we walked in and handed some menus. A bit like Nandos you order and pay at the till and then your food is brought out to you when ready.
The drinks are refillable (something I am always grateful for) and you go up and help yourself, a bit like... Nandos.
I decided to order the Mexican Salsa burger which is made with 100% prime 7 ounce Scotch beef in a bun topped with crushed avocado, Mexican salsa, mayo and salad.
J ordered the Char-grilled chicken skewers... he wanted honey and mustard but they didn't have it.. so he instead ordered peri-peri.
J also wanted some corn on the cob to accompany.. but again they were out of stock.. so instead he ordered some char-grilled vegetables.
C ordered a lamb burger... pretty much plain. Okay there is a bit of rocket on there too.
We ordered two portions of chips between us.
Even though I had beef and C and L had lamb we all thought that our meat was over cooked. There wasn't a slight hint of pink or rose in any of our burgers. We agreed that another option for the burgers should be how well-done you like them as most people want a bit of juice or even flavour in their burgers.
The chips... well... they were just god damn awful. They were hard and plastic like. We assumed they had managed to get this texture by being cooked in a deep fat fryer and then left to warm for a considerable amount of time. Two bowls between four was not demolished at all.
You will notice that there was a orange-ish dip on some of the pictures... this was incredibly hot and we struggled to pinpoint the flavour. We tried adding mayo to it to try and make it less spicy but try as C might try we weren't convinced it tasted any better.
J ended up feeling like he had a poor Nandos... and to be honest by the end of the meal we all wished we had gone to Nandos instead.
A big hand to the service staff however as they were very attentive and genuinely friendly (none of this fake smile business).
I don't think any of us will be returning any time soon...
Handmade Burger Company
Trinity Leeds
Leeds
LS1 5ER
handmadeburger.co.uk
