About Time: You Discovered London’s Best Christmas BurgersBy Alicia Grimshaw
‘Jingle buns, jingle buns, full of meat and cheese’
‘Don’t forget the vegan ones, with the parsnips please’
‘Jingle buns, jingle buns, with some festive sides’
‘Pigs in blankets, chicken crackling, don’t forget the fries.’
Looking for best Christmas burgers in London? We’ve got it covered (in cranberry sauce and half the cheese aisle). There’s everything from deep-fried turkey to sprout-based bites, and enough festive condiments to feed the whole of central London, twice over. Come hungry, wear trousers with some give, and discover the finest Christmas burger creations in the capital:
1. For a Stuffing Burger: Truffle London
Order: Christmas Turkey Burger (£10)
The Lowdown: You can see why Truffle London are a firm favourite with hungry Londoners: the way they create their burgers is nothing short of an edible art form. And the same goes for their festive, roast dinner-style Xmas burger. The burger features a turkey and bacon blend patty, sage and onion stuffing, their outstanding truffle mayo, cranberry jam and crispy shallots for a bit of crunch.
Where: Southbank Food Market, Belvedere Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8XX
Photo Credit: Truffle London, Instagram
2. For a Chicken Burger: Hank’s
Order: Hank’s Christmas Chicken Burger (£8.50)
The Lowdown: From street food stall to fully fledged burger restaurant, Hank’s are serving their Christmas burger from their first bricks and mortar site in Deptford Market Yard. The team have ditched the turkey in favour of buttermilk fried chicken, topped with smoked bacon, shredded lettuce, pink pickled onions, smoked applewood cheddar, and cranberry mayonnaise in a potato bun.
Where: Arch 12 Deptford, Market Yard, London SE8 4BX
3. For a Fried Chicken Burger: Shake Shack
Order: Xmas Shack (£8.50)
The Lowdown: A critically acclaimed, modern day ‘roadside’ burger stand, Shake Shack has earned a cult-like following around the world thanks to their 100% all-natural Angus beef burgers, crinkle cut fries, and spun-fresh frozen custard. The Xmas Shack is a poultry-based bite and features a crispy chicken breast topped with Gruyere cheese, pickled shallots, sliced kale, cranberry bacon chutney and gravy mayo.
Where: Locations here
Order: Holy Cheesemas Burger (£14.95)
The Lowdown: Christmas has had an extra dose of cheesiness at Byron, with the burger team unveiling their seventh, and most decadent, Cheesemas burger yet. Make no mistake, this is the by far the most dairy-based Christmas burger in London – and features a beef patty, topped with American cheese, smoked cheese, cheese crisp, pickled red onions, lettuce, spicy garlic mayonnaise, onion ring. Fancy more cheese? The burger is finished with a scoop of bacon macaroni cheese. Cheese-tastic.
Where: Locations here
5. For a Venison Burger: Mac & Wild
Order: Christmas Burger (£11.50)
The Lowdown: Mac & Wild have stuck to what they know with their Christmas burger – simple, honest ingredients. The burger is a heavenly combination of Scottish venison, melted Morangie Brie, red cabbage, shredded sprout tops and pork stuffing – served with festive fries. It’s the stuff of Christmas dreams.
Where: Locations here
6. For Deep-Fried Cheese: Honest Burgers
Order: Christmas (£12.50)
The Lowdown: Honest Burgers have gone with the mantra ‘don’t fix what’s not broken’, as their Christmas burger is back once again. Unchanged. And still delicious. The burger features Honest’s signature beef patty, smoked bacon, deep-fried Camembert, cranberry sauce and rocket. Served with a generous portion of rosemary salt chips, obviously.
Where: Locations here
7. For Classic Festive Flavours: Oslo
Order: Oslo Festive Burger (£13)
The Lowdown: Hackney hangout Oslo have stuck to the classic Christmas flavours with their festive burger. A turkey breast mince patty, topped with Camembert cheese, cranberry mayo, gem lettuce and pickled red cabbage, finished with pigs in blankets, and served with rosemary potato wedges.
Where: 1A Amhurst Rd, London E8 1LL
8. For Baconaise: All Star Lanes
Order: The Christmas Burger (£16)
The Lowdown: The All Star Lanes Christmas Burger is the star of their festive menu. Think of this burger as a hand held Christmas dinner – turkey with a crispy Southern-style coating, sage and onion patty, lettuce, baconnaise and red onion and cranberry relish, topped with a pig in blanket, and served with chicken crackling. For every burger sold, £1 will be donated to Centrepoint homeless charity.
Where: Locations here
9. For a Plant-Based Burger: The Vurger Co
Order: The Christmas Vurger (£8.95)
The Lowdown: Created by The Vurger Co and Executive Chef Gaz Oakley, the 100% plant-based burger packs both a festive punch and crunch, and has a sweet potato, leek, chestnut stuffing and chickpea patty in a crispy crumb coating, topped with housemade cranberry maple sauce, cabbage, rocket and fried parsnip tails.
Where: 9, Avant Garde Richmix Square, Cygnet St, London E1 6LD
Order: Holy Smoke (£8.95)
The Lowdown: Christmas only comes around once a year so for GBK there is no excuse to hold back on the festivities. Inspired by the smell of a Douglas Fir, the Holy Smoke burger features a 6oz Douglas Fir smoked beef patty, topped with crumbed and fried Camembert cheese, truffle mayo, onion jam, baby spinach, all wrapped up in a sesame seed bun.
Where: Locations here
11. For a Vegan Burger: Halo Burger
Order: Christmas Special (£10)
The Lowdown: If you’re not familiar with Halo Burger, they’re the world’s first restaurant to specialise in the 100% plant-based Beyond Burger which looks, cooks and tastes just like a fresh beef burger. They’ve just launched a Christmas Special at their Pop Brixton gaff. Better than a nut roast, the juicy Christmas burger piles high a quarter pounder Beyond Meat patty with festive chestnut mayo and parsnip crisps.
Where: 49 Brixton Rd, Brixton, London SW9 6BT
12. For a Meaty Bite: MEATliquor
Order: XXXmas Burger (£9.50)
The Lowdown: The new Christmas menu available across all MEATliquor locations is now up from grabs. Where else can you get your hands free-range Herons Farm roast turkey bathed in gravy with melted camembert, crispy stuffing crumbles and cranberry sauce? How Christmassy. The XXXmas Burger is another delicious bite – free-range Herons Farm roast turkey and old spot sausage patty, crispy bacon, stuffing crumbles, gravy and cranberry sauce.
Where: Locations here
13. For a Charitable Burger: Hache
Order: Christmas in a Bun (£11.50)
The Lowdown: This Christmas, Haché has teamed up with the Albert Kennedy Trust and their fashion designer patron, Henry Holland, to deliver a very special Christmas gift to burger fans in support of the LGBT community (£1 from the sale of every Christmas in a Bun will be donated to the Albert Kennedy Trust). The Christmas in a Bun includes not one but two patties – the first a twist on your traditional turkey, the second a juicy succulent sausage – topped with crispy bacon, fresh baby gem leaves and a tangy cranberry ketchup, all sandwiched between a lightly toasted brioche bun and served with fried Brussels sprouts.
Where: Locations here
14. For a Collaborative Burger: Deliveroo x Absurd Bird
Order: The Sproutmas Burger (£9.95)
The Lowdown: You’re either going to love or hate Deliveroo and Absurd Bird’s collaborative new Xmas bite: The Sproutmas Burger. The burger features pan-fried Cajun sprouts and bacon, chicken dusted with a secret sprout spice crust, a green cheese sauce, sweet potato and watercress. And if you’re not satisfied, you can also order a portion of mac n’ cheese sprout balls.
Where: Order online
15. For Deep-Fried Turkey: The Blues Kitchen
Order: Bun Humbug (£14.50)
The Lowdown: Not for the faint hearted, the Bun Humburg (living for the puns) at The Blues Kitchen features buttermilk fried turkey, roasted sprouts, mincemeat (rogue, but into it), Somerset brie, cranberry, turkey crackling and pigs in blankets. Worth every bloody penny.
Where: Locations here
