Burger and Beyond Brighton review: a burger that was beyond expectations

Cheeseburger at Burger and Beyond in Brighton

I question quite how the humble hamburger has managed to take over the British food scene, writes Nick Mosley.

Although I’m not the biggest fan of a burger, I don’t mind one every now and then, particularly if it’s venison rather than boring minced beef. But no matter how you tart it up with sauces and ingredients, for me it’s never going to push the boundaries of the culinary world.

Minced meat is nothing new, but the history of the burger is anecdotally traced back to German emigrants from Hamburg who arrived in the US in the late 19th century. I very much doubt nobody in Germany had previously thought of putting a Frikadelle between two slices of bread, but the Americans appropriated it to the extent that it’s now as American as apple pie. Another dish they clearly didn’t invent, whatever Sara Lee might have you believe.

As cheap street food, the burger is undeniably practical. It can use fatty offcuts or the finest fillet, be packed with anything from a limp lettuce leaf to 24-carat gold leaf, and eaten without having mastered the complexities of coordinated knife-and-fork usage.

You can’t move for burgers in the UK, and Brighton is no exception. Every pub seems to have one on the menu, even some of the swankiest hotels offer their own interpretation, and every other casual restaurant is serving a supposedly gourmet twist. Think smash burgers or towers of meat and bread so high you can’t get your gob around them without squirting sauce everywhere.

Within the Lanes, along a short stretch between Duke Street and Ship Street, you’ll find 7Bone, Honest Burgers, Flat Iron and, most recently, Burger and Beyond. As the cow said to the slaughterman, isn’t this all a bit of overkill?

Burger and Beyond in the Lanes, Brighton

These new-wave burger restaurants can feel a little copy-and-paste, swapping racing green for midnight blue and changing the logo on the usually unnecessary greaseproof paper. They also all seem convinced they serve the best burgers. With awards and gongs handed out with gay abandon nowadays, apparently everyone can have a claim to fame.

It was to the new kid in town, Burger and Beyond, that I ventured in September for lunch with the ever-dependable Little Miss Greedy Guts. I did detect some disappointment that, rather than heading somewhere in my more natural culinary territory, we’d be eating hamburgers. Beggars can’t be choosers.

At the junction of Ship Street and Union Street, the restaurant opened in July amid considerable influencer fanfare. The location is good, with a decent outdoor terrace, although inside I found the interiors rather soulless, almost unfinished.

Dishes at Burger and Beyond in Brighton

Surprisingly for a fast-casual concept, the owners have opened just four restaurants: three in London and this latest Brighton outpost. That’s reassuring, suggesting a focus on quality rather than an all-out rush to expand and flog the business to some evil venture capitalist.

The lunch deal is well priced at £16 for a burger, fries and soft drink. With fewer options than the full menu, I opted for the classic cheeseburger in a gluten-free bun, upgrading to bone marrow gravy fries for £3.50. Little Miss Greedy Guts went for a chicken Caesar salad, accompanied, naturally, by more fries.

While we waited, I ordered a spicy Tommy’s margarita, while my lunching munchkin chose a zero-alcohol spritz. Service wasn’t especially speedy for a midweek afternoon in an almost empty restaurant, so there was time to assess the drinks.

At around £12-13 for an alcoholic cocktail, I’d expect something decent in this part of town, particularly with Clementine & Co, Twisted Lemon, Bohemia and Blossoms nearby. Despite being freshly made and proudly presented, my margarita was a shocker. It tasted of absolutely nothing – quite possibly the worst cocktail I’ve had this year, and I’ve easily consumed more than my own body weight in them since January.

Thankfully, the food turned things around.

Aesthetically, the burger wasn’t much to write home about, but my goodness, it tasted good. Really good. I genuinely can’t recall having a better one: a single patty, American cheese, onion and smoked mayonnaise. Nothing complicated, but an exemplary combination of flavour and texture that has clearly taken considerable work to perfect.

My requested gluten-free bun was another pleasant surprise, tasting remarkably like brioche rather than the usual crumbly then mushy compromise.

It takes a lot to impress me when it comes to street food, but this genuinely did. I’ve since been singing Burger and Beyond’s praises to industry friends and colleagues, which is not something I ever expected to do about a burger joint.

Would I return? Absolutely, for a quick cheeseburger on the go. Would I make more of an occasion of it? Probably not. Brighton has plenty of excellent midweek daytime deals that offer considerably more for your money – and far better cocktails.

Burger and Beyond, 56 Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AF.01273 907 943 • burgerandbeyond.co.uk