Guerilla Burgers

one of the most delicious burgers i ever ate. the chili burger is the bomb. not too spicy. try the sweet potato fries – are they worth it? definitely!
friendly service in cool, fresh ambiance. i would like come back to london just for these burgers!

I'm in two columns: one the one hand the sunny weather and the ravenous appetite falsify my critics...

The burgers (vegetarian, two choices: vegetables or goat cheese) were ok. I've eaten better ones with a diverse range of tastes - Guerilla veggie burgers seem to be quite boring in comparison.
The wishy-washy fries and the oil-soaked onion rings didn't help.
All in all for its only average taste way to expensive! Spending 25 quids for two person's lunch is ridiculous!

But, however, nice located with friendly and fast service. A star for that.
May the interior seems to be a little impersonal with its CI feeling like in a nursery school...

I don't ask for much with my burger - just a nicely cooked burger with some extra trimmings in a nicely decorated place. And on that score, Guerilla Burgers delivers.

Maybe it was the summer sunshine, but the place definitely had a relaxed and cool vibe about it that reminded me of Cuban summers - not that I've ever been to Cuba.

The waitress asked us how we liked our burgers - my medium burger turned out to have more pink in it than I would normally associate with a medium burger, but I was fine with that. Some people may not be.

Also, if you like 'British' bacon with your burger, don't come here. The bacon was cooked American-stylee - ie fried to a dry lifeless flaky piece of meat. Terrible.

My other main criticism with this (and other 'posh' burger joints) is the pricing - charging £7 for a burger, and then £3 for an additional portion of fries just seems ridiculous. But I seem to be alone in this.

then again, maybe it's a small price to pay for a truly relaxing place to hang out in.

When I get a craving, I would walk over hot coals for a decent burger. But finding a decent burger that doesn't cost the earth? Nigh on impossible. Here's a clue: It's not at GBK. but the burgers at Guerilla are a pretty good place to start.

Like most burger joints I've been to, everything else other than the burger is just window dressing. Starters a bit pointless, sides very run of the mill. Actually, neither were bad. The burger was good, although I should have asked for medium rare, as is often the case, the burger wasn't nearly as pink as I'd have liked. Even the crinkle cut chips weren't bad, and I hate crinkle cut chips (no, I don't know why).

Things I liked? The service was excellent. Really excellent. The cocktails were good too.

Things I didn't like? My pickle wasn't sliced and wouldn't go in my burger. And the rose wine is pretty awful. The sugary Ribena-esque stuff that I avoid like the plague.

But dinner for under a tenner in Marylebone is a rare thing. My hunt for the perfect burger isn't over, but I'd be more than happy to come back here.

As 'dedicated' burger restaurants go, Guerilla Burgers seems a bit more laid-back and scaled-down than most others. This is no bad thing -- who says you need to get all sniffy to enjoy a well-made burger?

The decor and atmosphere is deliberately 'revolutionary' -- I'm not sure why, but I don't see why not either. It gives the place a bit of a buzz, but an unpretentious one. Our excellent waitress matched this perfectly, always smiling and rarely standing still.

The food was not spectacular, but decent enough nonetheless. My burger was satisfyingly put together, with a medium-cooked beef patty and decent bacon, cheese, lettuce and tomato in an interesting but hardy toasted bun. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't expensive either -- you definitely get what you pay for.

An accompaniment of crinkly chips was excellently retro, if somewhat unauthentic. The appetisers were OK (if somewhat forgettable), but the shared puddings of chocolaty stuff (I wasn't really paying attention by this point) were pretty good. We left rather stuffed.

There was one small hiccup at the end of our visit, where we were charged for several side-orders that we had not received. However this was quickly resolved.

All in all, I would recommend Guerilla Burgers for those looking for a well-executed but unpretentious burger.

Having not yet been to Byron to compare I can only review this place based on the night I had with a bunch of other Qypers as part of the Meat Up event this week.

So, where to start - Location is OK if you want to torture yourself by shopping on Oxford Street I guess, it's certainly pretty central.

The "Revolution" theme - "Power to the Patty" and all that, makes for a fun environment, but it's hardly something to take seriously - I always find these appropriations forced to the limit - what is so revolutionary about a burger?

Anyhow, I liked the vibe of the place, our waitress was a ball of energy (in a good way) and kept our margaritas topped up and was always smiling. She was bopping along to the music as I came back from the bathroom and confessed that I had been dancing under the hand dryer to the previous song. 2 minutes later she came over and had put the same song on again - that is service right there..! Personally I didn't think the music was too loud, it was certainly noticeable but this isn't a fine dining experience.

The food was also enjoyable, I liked the tarragon dip with the chicken nuggets and the nachos were ok. I had the Cobb burger, with blue cheese, bacon and avocado and it was very tasty - cooked well enough to be juicy and in a nice brown bun. The sweet potato fries were a winner for me, but I'm a sweet potato freak so it would be hard to destroy them.

I'm not sure about the metal bowl things the burgers were served in but it didn't really detract from the experience.

I didn't think I could manage dessert either but the creamy Oreo cookie thing and the brownie were both devoured quite quickly in the end, proving the theory that regardless how much meat you eat, you can still manage some chocolate.

I enjoyed it, it is a fun place for a very reasonably priced meal.

Thanks to Alex for organising it!

Here's the problem with burger joints outside of the US who try to do US style; just as dumping red sauce on thin noodles does not make Italian cuisine, so bright decor and burgers do not make American yums.

The location is nice, a good corner spot with plenty of natural light and breeze. However, I couldn't blame not hearing my fellow guests on the traffiic outside, but on the exceedingly loud music inside - annoyningly loud tunes drowned out conversation.

We tried 2 starters and burger apiece. The chicken nuggets were serviceable, with a nice Russian tarragon sauce, but as an ex-pat who grew up on nachos, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT MAKE NACHOS IF YOU ARE NOT SURE HOW TO MAKE THEM. Our bowl of strange chips with baked on cheese and 'sour cream' (I'm sorry, I will never get used to your sour cream) and guac was painful at best.

My cobb burger was well put together, but as I got turkey it was exceedingly dry. I should have gotten beef, my partner seemed to like his.

I will giive it an extra star for two things - the cookies and cream milkshake was fabulous, and our server was brilliant in keeping up with us. She definately added a star for me.

Guerilla Burgers is a really good burger joint and would be the perfect pitstop to refuel during gruelling shopping trips (if you're insane enough to shop on Oxford street...) It has a nice laid back atmosphere, the staff are friendly and the service is quick. The burgers are huge and good (though I have to say the burger patties themselves are not remarkable, the green chilli chutney that came on mine was delicious) Then there's the sweet potato fries, which are a good enough reason to go there in the first place! why don't more places do them? After having had my arm twisted into having desert (I was so full I didn't think I could manage even a mouthful - turns out I could...) I can also recommend the chocolate brownie.

I normally avoid these burger joints - but today I really fancied one so called in here.

I was impressed - good quality burger, good choice of add-ons, not too expensive, and very good service - fast, accurate, very pleasant and professional.

Will definitely be the place of choice next time I am in the Oxford St area and have a need for a burger fix - particularly with blue cheese, bacon and avocade. YUMMMEEEEEEE!!

Not a fan I'm afraid. Good sweet potato chips, but otherwise quite blah. We went on the opening night so may be better with full menu variety and having been open for a couple of months, but I wasn't impressed. Really good service, however.

I happened to walk past Guerilla Burgers over the weekend shortly before lunch-time, so when the time came to decide where to eat, this was a no-brainer.

What drew me to this place - besides the general hype all over the (paper and online) media - was the decor. I liked the drawings and colourful interior. (Why yes, I do judge a book by its cover. Why do you ask?)

I opted for a Topless Burger Salad in a futile attempt to be healthy. For those who haven't been there, it's a salad with coucous and a burger patty on top. I don't think the burger was wonderful as they were a little on the dry side in spite of being medium rare.

My friend opted for the Rodeo Burger. The bacon which topped the burger was amazing. Thick, and crispy. The best bacon I've ever eaten. Seriously. If they had a bacon sandwich/butty option, I'd probably go for that over the burger next time.

We shared a serving of Smothered Fries. Based on the description (fries 'smothered' with cheddar cheese and veggie chilli), it sounded like a good bet, but I'd say it was average at best. I've had better chilli-smothered nachos served at bowling alleys, to be honest.

So, if the fries weren't too great and the burger wasn't spectacular, why exactly am I giving this place four stars? Because of the service! The service was impeccable. The lady who showed us to our seats, and our waiter, Eric, were cheerful and perky beyond belief. It was such a refreshing change to receive such good - dare I say - American-style service. It made me happy on a day I had started off feeling a little like crap. And I'll take that over incredible food any day!

Flawless. And that's from someone who adores highlighting flaws. In fact, if unsolicited fault-finding was an event at 2012 then you'd expect to see me on the podium, pointing out more than a handful of Olympic shortcomings.

Anyhow, the consensus of our table for two last week was that everything from the base of the NYC style vanilla cheesecake to the beautifully brewed - with Union coffee beans - macchiato and the exceptional standard of service was spot on.

Moreover, I came along with a slightly sceptical what's-all-the-fuss? attitude, firmly plotted up in the it's only a burger school of thought. So it was a delight to quaff two majestic shakes within ten minutes of sitting down (don't let my Bradd Pitt-like body fool you into thinking I don't have the most voracious of appetites) and then soon after a most excellent burger, accompanied by some crinkle cut fries and super sweet potato chips. As well as aforementioned cheesecake, the fine chocolate brownie sundae was just about enough to finish me off for the night.

I couldn't really give a monkey's if this is 'the best burger'; maybe it is, maybe not. What definitely made the experience as enjoyable as it was, though, was the combination of sincerely helpful and charming service, a consistently high standard for everything that graced our table and prices, which considering the location and the hoo-hah, are fairer than a philanthropic albino.

Hey. I liked it ... a lot. Certainly not the best-est of the best in terms of London burgers but still very good. I'd be glad to go back. On my visit, I had the Cheddar BLT burger. It was juicy and well garnished. I'd probably have a go at it again. The sweet potato fries were pretty decent too.

The foodie contingent of social media folk seem to be particularly underwhelmed with Guerilla Burgers. Maybe there was just too my hype about this place? Whatever the case, I don't see what all the negative hubbub is about. No, this will not be the greatest culinary experience of your life. But GB offers up some great burgers - something not that common here in London.

I've become a bit of a burger snob in recent months. It can't have been more than a year ago that i was perfectly satisfied with the 3 Amigos (GBK, Fine Burger Co. and The Ultimate Burger). But times have changed and the new breed of London burger joints are starting to put the old school chains to shame. Byron Hamburgers is a great example of this exciting new breed of places and Guerilla Burgers is definitely on the same track.

What to eat?

Try the Bacon cheeseburger with crinkle cut chips. It may seem a bit boring, but they do it well and the portion size is just right.

What to drink?

Brooklyn lager or Arizona ice tea.

Service?

Pretty decent, but nothing to write home about. They were very busy when we went in and we were served quickly and didn't have to wait ages for the bill.

What could Guerilla Burgers do to get the Hunter 5 star stamp of approval?

OK, here goes:

- Wider choice of beer (Ales, more interesting international lagers etc.)

- Less confusing menus (it took me a good minute to actually find the burgers on the menu! Ok, i'm exagerating, but they're not the most intuitive menus on the world)

- Tastier burgers. Don't get me wrong, these are good burgers, but there are other places in London with better burgers (the People's Republic in Clapham and The Big Easy in Fulham to name 2)

- More competitive prices. If i'm going to pay £12 for a burger, chips and a coke it better be darn good (not just good).

I'll definitely back and i'm looking forward to trying out the other burgers on the menu (and maybe even the fish tacos!)

I think my Guerilla Burger experience is an example of why patience can be a virtue. GB seem to have got over the opening week teething problems Simon talked about.

My burger was cooked well, just nicely medium, and the well seeded (and wholemeal?) bun it came in made a nice change from the usual white stodge.

Service was very friendly and on the ball (jug of tap water arrived without being asked and was refilled unprompted too), and the even though it was pretty busy when we tuned up all 5 of us were seted within 2-3 minutes.

Negatives: I'm not a fan of the silver bowls they serve the burger in. They're a bit clinical and sterile and clash with the garish, cheeky decor of the rest of the place. And the menu design is all over the place. it shouldn't take me a minute or so to locate the burgers on a burger restaurants menu.

But the meal was good: sweet potato chips were very good (if you're reading this Guerilla Burger please tell me how you get than that crispy - mine always go soggy when I make them at home), and the burger was tasty. Plus it was pretty cheap: about £12 for burger, fries, and a drink, and that's smack bang in the middle of tourist town.

Might have to go back and sample the hot dog.

I went along on day one of Guerilla Burgers' opening. The decor and humour on the walls and on the menu made me smile. From the graphic on the awning to the 'apps' section of the menu (appetizers did exist before the iPhone you know).

Everything was spot on, the service was incredibly good and I felt happy in there, which considering moaning is my natural default is pretty darn good.

The chilli bowl and chips was a winter warming alternative to minestrone soup with the quality to out-do tex-mex establishments.

The cookies n' cream milkshake was a risk as I don't actually like real cream. The gamble paid off, because it was excellent. This excellence also applies to the fish tacos which waves the flag for the London fresh-mex style scene doing the rounds.

The only slight disappointment came ironically from the burgers. My veggie mate said his veggie burger looks great but wasn't quite there with the spiciness or taste. However, it's not enough for me to knock off a star from my experience as his plate was spotless.

As I got the bill a business card sticker arrived: a suggestion to stick it somewhere in a guerilla marketing tactic.

http://markstone.posterous.com/medium-is-the-brand-messag...

However, in the guerilla warfare that is the posh burger battle of London, I'm sure Che Guevara would pop by here for refuelling if he finds himself in the area...

had an opportunity to try out their tasty fries and skater burgers on their private party night..i was very impressed with the food altho the burgers were abit too dry. but to make up for it the vanilla milkshake was outstanding, so was the oreo chocolate shake!why is that the oreo biscuits doesn't taste as half decent as the milkshake?i did however thought the decor and layout could had done with abit more work. prices on menu wasn't even too dear!i can't wait to go back here for another round.not exactly a junk foodie but this has converted me back!

Oh dear. We're not off to a good start.

Guerilla Burgers opened this week, and we popped in for an evening burger on their second night.
You can still smell the paint on the walls and it's nestled on James St where Tootsie's used to be: a culinary black hole of touristic medicocrity. So keeping its youth, inexperience and location in mind, let's see how they did.

Despite a friend being able to order a medium/rare burger earlier in the day (and enjoying it too), I was denied the same patty treatment and proffered the 'health and safety' excuse. Irritating.

Of course when they did show up (roughly 25 minutes later), they were hideously, unforgivably overcooked. Literally crunchy on the outside of the patty. Arid in texture despite pouring all the sauce I had to hand.

This is a heinous crime when your raison d'etre is making burgers, and a hefty proportion of your overlong menu is given over to a poorly written quasi-diatribe on what makes 'the perfect burger'.

PS: it's not burning it.

The burger itself is served in a metal dish (the kind you would typically get a curry served in) with the condiments on the side. The buns were neatly toasted, but my companion simply stated through dried-out lips "I could have cleaned my bath with that burger".

It doesn't stop there, they serve up crinkle cut chips. Like the ones out of the freezer you used to get round your best mate's house when you were nine years old. And they haven't changed.

The fish tacos are also a country mile away from what fish tacos should be. They're marinaded salmon, with no coating and shop-bought tzatziki in there too. And were cold.

There are some enormous menu issues going on here. It's too long and unfocused and the copywriter needs to start again.

Check out the PDF on the site and witness the layout issues and bizarre menu choices (the LA burger has cottage cheese in it, burger sauce is called 'Russian Tarragon Dressing', sliders are called skaters for some incomprehensible reason, I could go on).

Saving graces?

Well the staff were very much full of first-week perk, which would have made us feel guilty about complaining about the food. They were trying really hard, and I can't blame them for what came out of the kitchen, although arguably a quality control process should be implemented to stop overcooked meat going out.

If they sort out the menu and do some proper testing I might give it another go, but when you've got Byron within schlepping distance, then I can't think of a good reason to go here.

The thing is, it won't really matter if the food doesn't get any better. James Street serves the post-Selfridges tourist crowd, and it will make no difference to them if whingy blogger types like me continue to opine Byron's simple genius over Guerilla Burgers.