Burgers at Bar Boulud

Continuing my eating adventure, just a little over three hours after a late lunch at Spuntino, my friends and I went to dinner at Bar Boulud. I do have a quick metabolism.

London's Bar Boulud is located in the heart of the exclusive Knightsbridge at the famous Mandarin Oriental hotel. Created by Daniel Boulud, a French chef and a restaurateur, this is the sister restaurant to New York's Bar Boulud. Chef Daniel brought over some Big Apple style and mixed it with classic French cooking.

This was my second visit to Bar Boulud and will certainly not be my last. The restaurant is cosy with great vibes all around. But most importantly for me, the staff are so friendly that made you feel like home which added to the dining pleasure.

At our table, we were greeted by Paulo, the Maitre D' of the restaurant. He asked for me and about the blog which was a surprise. I always check, out of courtesy when making on-line reservations if I could take photographs at restaurants especially when planning to blog about it. Paulo gave his permission and he even offered a complimentary charcuterie board. How very nice... See, it never hurts to ask.

Paulo explained that everything on the charcuterie board is made on the premise. I must say the selection of pâtés and cured meat were done flawlessly. A couple of my favourites from the board are nougat de volaille which is terrine of chicken breast, curried apple, hazelnut, pistachio and balsamic as explained by our knowledgeable waiter; also tagine dagneau, terrine of slow-cooked leg of lamb, sweet potato, aubergine and Moroccan spices.

When looking at the menu, I was tempted with many of the French classics dishes, but I must focus. The real reason I visited Bar Boulud was to try their burgers, one of my favourite food, which have been winning a lot of fans. So, to prove it we simply had to order all three of them. I had the Frenchie Burger - grilled beef patty cooked to medium, the way I like it and topped with confit pork belly, rocket, tomato-onion compote, Dijon mustard, morbier cheese, brioche bun... in one short word: Yum. 

The quality of the beef is superb... and beneath the charred exterior, inside is pink and juicy. The peppery bite from the mustard and rocket is nicely balanced with the sweetness from the tomato-onion compote. 

Frenchie

But wait until you hear about the Piggie Burger... This is my personal favourite of the trio. If you had a chance to visit Bar Boulud either in Manhattan or London, and you can only order one burger, this is the one you must try. 

This handsome burger consists of another flavourful grilled beef patty and this one is topped with tender, melt-in-your-mouth BBQ pulled pork, bibb lettuce, green chili mayonnaise, red cabbage slaw and cheddar bun... Oh yeah, this is the stuff. I'd eat this burger any day, any time... Each mouthful is filled with beefy/porky succulence, and the fatty juices with the green chili mayo lubricate the cheddar bun oh-so beautifully. It was love at first bite.

Piggie

The last but not least is the Yankee Burger which consists of grilled beef patty with iceberg lettuce, tomato, sweet onion, pickle and sesame bun. This may sound like a simple burger, and it is, but don't be fooled, this is one fantastic burger. The only mistake was my friend who ordered it to "well-done". Guess who's no longer invited to dinner. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a decent picture of the Yankee burger. I was 'high' on burger love and my hands keep on shaking (probably the wine too), resulting in blurry pictures.

To accompany our burgers, we had the super green spinach and some perfectly cooked pommes frites served in a silver bucket. Now, let's talk quickly about the fries: they're amazing! 

Honestly there was absolutely no need for dessert as we were already so full, but I thought a couple of sorbets to share between the three of us couldn't hurt... The passion fruit-coconut sorbet is ultra refreshing. The sharpness of the passion fruit will definitely wake up your taste-buds and combined with the smooth coconut... delicious. The coffee ice-cream... well, I could happily eat a tub of it.

If you still have some room in your stomach, I'd thoroughly recommend for you to head to the bar and have the champagne mojito... just saying...