Honest Burgers & WAGfree Gluten Free Bakery Bun

Having heard about the delights of Brixton Village, Mr D and I decided to walk there from home (about an hour each way) building up our appetites on a gloriously sunny Sunday October afternoon in doing so.

We entered Brixton Village which is a 1930s covered market housing a collection of many small, independent eating establishments many seating not more than about 30 diners at a time. Despite it being not long after 12 noon, the place was packed and many of the tables in the various enticing looking restaurants were already taken. The lively atmosphere was fantastic and unlike anywhere else I’ve been in London for a long time.

We arrived at Honest Burgers to find that as a result of a delayed delivery that they hadn’t quite opened up. In retrospect, this was lucky for us since the tables would certainly have gone and we’d have joined the queue which, although moving, I never saw less than 10 people in it at any point. And I am not exacly the world’s best queuer. Ahem.

The menu is very straightforward. On offer was a choice of 5 burgers, including one vegetarian, plus a special. The burgers range in price from £6.50 to £9 (for that day’s special) and this price includes a side of triple cooked rosemary salt chips.

The main reason why we chose to eat at Honest Burgers is that they serve their burgers in a gluten free bun from the WAGfree Bakery. Yep, this was one burger I didn’t have to have with salad instead of the bun. The bad news was that the buns weren’t ready when we arrived. The waitress said they’d be about 20 minutes and did we want to wait? If we did she’d put the ticket for the order on the side and would check back on how they were progressing. I looked at the queue, remembered the hour’s walk I’d had to get there, thought about having a burger in a bun and decided to be a bit less British. Um, actually, yes please, I would like to wait for a gluten free bun. “No problem” said the waitress.

I went for the cheese burger with Stilton.

So how did it taste? The burger patties are made from 35 day Ginger Pig chuck steak and are served medium rare. The burger was delicious, juicy and perfectly seasoned. The red onion relish was sweet and this complimented the Stilton which had melted on top of the burger perfectly.

The triple cooked chips were equally amazing. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Cooked with rosemary and salt they were simply delicious.

What about the WAGfree sesame bun? It was SO worth the wait! Light and sprinkled with sesame seeds, I was impressed with the texture as well as the taste of this gluten free bun. It did not crumble at all. This is definitely eating with your hands territory so what you don’t need is a crumbly bun. The WAGfree sesame bun, however didn’t suffer from any crumbling which is a common problem with gluten free bread. It was the perfect partner for my juicy burger.

What I really liked about the Honest burger was that it was the perfect size. Not too big, not too small. I came away feeling satisfied but not stuffed. I should also say the service here was fantastic. Despite us wanting to wait for a gluten free bun and therefore taking up one of their precious tables in the process, they volunteered to take off the cost of our drinks from the bill. This was definitely not required by us, I was really grateful to have a burger in a gluten free bun.

The only drawback – and this is really a result of their popularity – was the large queue of people waiting for a table. I felt a little uneasy as we waited for the delivery of the gluten free buns from WAGfree with the eyes of 15 people in the queue checking out why our food was not being served!

If (like me) you don’t like queuing, come early. But make sure you do come. Honest Burgers is honestly brilliant.

Honest Burgers is located at: Unit 12, Brixton Village, London SW9 8PR

Check the website for opening times and map