Repeat after us: Byron is Best for Burgers, Byron is Best for Burgers, Byron is Best…

As recently as the 1990s, getting your grubby, hung-over mitts on a really good hamburger in the UK was a genuine challenge. In the US, any local diner seemed to be able to serve you up a juicy, tender one with all the right trimmings. But here in the UK, no one seemed to be able to replicate it. How hard could it be to grind up a cow, chuck it on a hot grill for the right amount of time and then serve the resulting patty on a fresh soft bun with some crunchy lettuce, juicy tomato, flavoursome cheese and some crispy bacon?

For some reason, no one in the UK seemed capable of doing so. In one way or another they always got it wrong. The height of our national shame is surely the embarrassment that was Little Chef. They weren’t exactly setting their sights high – they really had no loftier ambition than to ape McDonald’s – but even that was outside their grasp. No, here in Britain, we just couldn’t get our burger groove on.

But we digress.

Nowadays – thankfully – when you’re feeling a little the worse for wear and you know that only a good burger will really hit the spot, you’ve generally got a number of good options. As regular readers know, we’re rather partial to Automat in Mayfair on such occasions. But when Mayfair is just that little bit too far to travel, Ed’s Diner on the King’s Road used to do the trick. Regrettably, it closed down last year. The Big Easy B-B-Q and Crabshack provides a worthy alternative but now we’ve gone one better and uncovered what may be the best burger in the capital.

Byron is a one trick pony. They don’t really do anything but hamburgers. But what a trick it is! Their burgers are simply monumental. Well cooked, well accompanied and served by a team of competent, friendly staff who – all too rare this – look as if they’re happy to be working there and with one another.

Unlike the ill-advised jokers who run the Gourmet Burger Kitchen and its ilk, the bosses at Byron have quite sensibly stuck to traditional burgers. You won’t find any shitake mushrooms, pineapple slices or hints of cumin lurking between any buns here. (Note to the proprietors of aforementioned chains: it’s a burger joint guys, not the Fat Duck, know your place, understand what people come in for.)

Anyway, the restaurant is noisy – ‘child friendly’ we believe it’s called – but that’s fine in a place like this. Its décor is fun – we like the cool lampshades and the over-the-top, gothic candleholders on some of the tables – and, crucially the food is prepared with care and served with a smile. In addition to a simply excellent cheese burger and a mercifully traditional Byron Burger, we tried a delicious iceberg wedge salad (surely a dish far too enjoyable to deserve the healthy tag of ‘salad’!?) and an indulgent chocolate brownie to accompany our shot of very smooth espresso.

And there’s not a great deal more than that you need to know. Burger making, like cooking in general really isn’t rocket science. Stick to the basics, use good, fresh ingredients and put them together with care. Do that and even a humble hamburger can be hugely enjoyable. The team at Byron understand this and, trust us, the next time you’re craving a burger fix, they should be your first port of call.

Byron, 300 King’s Road, London SW3, Tel: +44 20 7352 6040