Brioche Burger – New Menu (Part 1) – West Ham

THIS RESTAURANT HAS NOW CLOSED DOWN!

When Brioche Burger contacted to inform us that they’ve employed the skills of a Muslim Executive Head Chef who’s worked under Michelin chefs (Angela Hartnett no less), has over 10 years experience in various world class eateries, and was formally head chef of a 2* Michelin Restaurant, you’ll forgive us for immediately prioritising a visit there over all other arrangements.

Not only have they revamped their menu to include an array of new and exciting dishes, including both a Wagyu burger and a steak, but also recently managed to open a second branch in Walthamstow.

Hence, this review will be of two parts:

Part 1 – A return to Green Street to try a variety of new menu additions.
Part 2 – A separate review covering their Walthamstow branch where we sampled their Wagyu steaks.

Starting with their first branch in West Ham, then you’ll recall from our first visit there, that we were left thoroughly impressed by their original menu, with particular praise for their Lone Ranger burger.

And so, given their recent introduction of Wagyu, it only makes sense that we start with BB’s apparent pièces de résistance – The Super Saiyan…

The Super Saiyan – 6oz Wagyu beef, Monterey Jack cheese, pepper relish, crispy cabbage, egg yolk curls, olive dust and red pepper mayo £14.99

Yup; that’s precisely what we all thought too when brought face to face with their new Wagyu burger: wow! But, here’s the thing – it tasted even better. Not only did it have everything you’d want from a burger vis–à–vis harmony of flavours and textures, but also a succulently juicy patty, and a perfectly toasted bun.

With a semi-loose texture, a glistening brown and beautifully crispy exterior, and a succulently pink and juicy interior, the all-important Wagyu beef patty had a deliciously sweet undertone to it.

Combine that with the crispy cabbage, sweey relish base with just the slightest hint of heat to it, the smooth red pepper mayo, and a mountain of egg yolk curls sprinkled with crumbs of earthy cum sour dried olives, and what we had here was a burger positively singing the harmonious notes of perfection one would hear from Berlin’s Philharmonic Orchestra performing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2.

An absolutely, mind-blowingly beautiful burger that deserves its cross-section being blown up in all its glory. Fixate your eyes on this meticulously layered symphony of ingredients.

Just look at that succulently pink wagyu lovingly staring back at you!

Roger Rabbit – Spinach & mozzarella patty, Turkish tomato relish, portobello mushroom, falafel, mayo and sunny side egg £8.75

With such an outstanding burger as the Super Saiyan, you’d think that the main finale had just come and gone. But, you’d be wrong!

Behold the Roger Rabbit – arguably the best veggie burger we’ve EVER had (trumping even Band of Burger’s Halloumi of Fame).

It was inevitable, confronted by two outstanding burgers, that we fell to arguing over which was better, this or the wagyu. Or was this a futile case of comparing apples and oranges? Who knows? Who cares; for such questions, we decided, were immaterial in the grand scheme of things, because what we had here was a burger that delivered on so many levels.

The crispiness of both the patty and falafel complemented the softness of the sunnyside egg perfectly.

But what really set this alight was the interplay between the tart mayo, the soft mozzarella cheese and the earthiness of the spinach, all of which were beautifully offset by the sweetness of the tomato relish.

BB has pulled out of the hat a special rabbit with this one!

Oh My COD – Panko Cod, black olives tapenade, parsley salad, red pepper mayo and confit tomatoes £8.75

And if things couldn’t get any better… okay, so they didn’t quite with this one; but, that’s not say this wasn’t a very good one in its own right.

If a burger could be described as capturing the flavours of a really good fish and chips had fresh on a sunny seaside trip, then this would be it.

The marriage between the vinegary tartness of the black olive tapenade and the subtly sweet red pepper mayo coupled with the sharp tangy hit of the confit tomatoes was superb.

They delivered just the right concentration of sweet and sour to precisely complement and enhance the delicate flavour of a perfectly cooked cod – steaming soft and flaky on the inside, and coated in a delicately crumbly batter.

Finally, there was a bed of slightly crispy parsley salad (their interpretation of seaweed perhaps) with a saltiness to it that brought the whole thing together into a coherent whole.

Oh My COD was, indeed, the seaside in a burger!

Super Food Tabouleh (Vegan) – Curried quinoa tabouleh (parsley, pumpkins & sunflower seeds, pomegranate, red kidney beans, tofu, lentil sprouts), avocado & tofu cream, crispy sweet potatoes and beetroot dressing £7.95

And here’s one for Veganuary and the Vegans – a Super Food Tabouleh.

It takes real skill and knowledge to bring so many ingredients together and make them work so effortlessly. The luxury of having a skilful head chef speaks for itself really.

Not only could you taste almost each ingredient, but the harmony with which all this combined into a joyful whole was something to marvel and admire. Just a plethora of varied textures and flavours that caused us to pur and hum like a satisfied feline after a bowl of milk.

From the cubes of soft tofu and ultra crispy sweet potatoes, to the endless notes of sweet and sour, what we had here was the fresh and palate-cleansing taste of avacado and tofu cream, the sweetness of a red (beetroot?) sauce, the crunch from the quinoa, and the occassional burst of pomegranate juice to prolong this delightful experience.

You’d be crazy to pass this over.

Chicken Lika a Ceasar – Chicken breast, leeks, cauliflower, celeriac, chestnut, lamb lettuce, glazed carrots, black olives and caesar dressing £8.95

The sous-vide cooked chicken, as you might have guessed by now, came out perfectly moist and tender.

With the nutty taste of chestnut, the strong bitter hit of the black olives, the distinct taste of the cauliflower, and the sweetness of the glazed carrots, all the textures were accounted for here.

The celeriac sauce, smooth and vibrant, marrying best with the earthy sweetness of the beetroot, combined the ingredients into really satisfying mouthfuls. This is certainly a great rendition of the classic chicken ceasar salad.

Reece’s Pieces £5.50

Superb shake this. One of the best Reece’s we’ve had in fact.

The large pieces of chocolate were a nice touch. In fact, so thick was this that it could easily have passed for a dessert – not that we’re complaining you’ll understand.

Chilli Chips £3.50

Although part of the old menu, we were told that this too had been tweaked and improved since our last visit.

From what we could recall, aside from the addition of extra heat, this was just as good as the first time with the chips, if anything, holding up far better re crispiness. Whatever the case, they were very well sauced with a sharp kick of chilli to ’em.