By 6.30pm, Honest Burgers was completely packed and people were being turned away. Although you can reserve tables for larger parties, there’s a no-bookings policy and it’s one that certainly works for this small burger restaurant just off the city centre where there is so much passing trade.
And despite it being so busy and chaotic, staff are unfailingly polite and helpful. We were quickly shown to a table that had just been vacated and wiped clean – there’s a quick turnaround here, but then who really needs to linger over a burger?
With its reclaimed wood, ribbed glass partitions, oversize lightbulbs and whitewashed exposed brickwork, the Bristol Clare Street branch of Honest Burgers has an industrial look and there are high stools in the back window overlooking the nearby church.
This is a chain known for its high quality ingredients including beef from Gloucestershire farms and freshly prepared rosemary salted chips rather than the usual frozen jobs. At its busy Clare Street restaurant, there’s a ‘Bristol’ burger featuring Somerset cheese, Bristol beers and Cornish ciders.
I’ve a been fan of Honest Burgers from the early days. It’s one of those chains that is consistently good when it comes to both food and service.
And the reason for heading back this week was to try the newly launched Christmas menu. For £20, you get a burger and chips with a drink and a side.
There are a few terms and conditions of course. The drink in the deal is any soft drink but the draught beer and cider or 175ml glass of wine comes with a £2.50 supplement. There’s also a festive air royale cocktail for an additional £5.
When it comes to sides, the bacon gravy, seasonal coleslaw and house salad are all included in the deal but the onion rings have a £3 supplement. And if you are going for the vegan burger – Beyond Meat with plant-based Shamembert cheese – it’s an extra £1.
For the meat eaters, the festive burger comes in two choices – beef or fried chicken – and they are topped with bacon, cranberry sauce, rocket and a slice of deep-fried camembert. If ordering outside the £20 deal, these limited edition festive burgers are £15.50 including the chips.
Despite it being so busy when we visited, our burgers appeared within 15 minutes of ordering. We started with the onion rings with their crisp, greaseless batter coats and hot, sweet onion within.
We both had the festive beef burger, each served with plenty of crisp, salt and rosemary-speckled fries. There was just the right amount of chips, too, so nothing was wasted.
Inside the light and airy brioche buns, the thick and juicy beef patties were glued with jammy cranberry sauce, peppery rocket and a rasher of bacon. The slice of hot and gooey camembert was oozing over the beef and down the sides of the burger with each bite.
It was a seriously good burger and one that brought some early festive cheer on a wet and windy November evening. And, yes, it was definitely a burger that would go on Santa’s ‘naughty and nice’ list.
Honest Burgers, 21 Clare Street, Bristol, BS1 1XA.