Burger Bear

Upon entering the Magic Roundabout through the rabbit hole I was impressed; never have I seen such a good use of a roundabout, and I had no idea this was only 5 minutes from my flat.
Burger bear shares the seating area and garden with a couple of bars and another food joint. It’s peaceful in the morning but gets louder as the day progresses. There’s an Alice in Wonderland theme going on which is kind of fun. Great for summer though not sure I’d like to eat/​drink out here come Autumn.
I had the koala (veggie) burger, a bean burger topped with avocado, american cheese and salsa. It was fine, the chips and onion rings which I got with it were mediocre. Drinks from the neighbouring bar.
Friendly little place with very few tourists. I guess it’s one of those ‘secrets’ which is on the brink of being discovered.

Super delicious cheeseburger, fries, and Mac and cheese balls. Super trendy yet not minimalist so there is plenty of food but in a super cool context. The drinks are also very good; especially the lemonade.

Okay so I went in and there were empty tables and no one was greeting us, so I went to the table and got told to wait for awhile. The wait was worthwhile because God ! The Baffalo wings is heavenly !!! A must try ! Okay, maybe slightly it was marinated a bit too much in the vinegar ! But still !!! Buffalo wings man ! And the angry burger !!! Nom nom nom, I was sweating eating, it’s that kind of exciting spiciness that makes you wanna have another bite; even those when you literally sweating your whole back! the restaurant was right about putting a roll of paper on each table for customers to wipe away the juice on their fingers ! Absolutely burgerlicious !

The Magic Roundabout is a place I wanted to visit for awhile, especially because the burgers there were supposed to be very good. The burgers are actually made by Burger Bear stand which at the time of my visit was managed by one person, the chef.
The chef was very friendly and knowledgable about his food. I spoke to him for awhile throwing questions at him because I wanted to know if he knew where the beef came from, if they made their own sauces etc. I asked him why Burger Bear was different from the rest and he told me the cows were specially reared free-​range on a natural diet, no bulking agents etc, that’s why it tastes so good. The meat also comes from one farm which is a bonus. That was enough for me to want to try one.
I tried the Burger Bear Classic with no cheese. It’s a basic beef patty in a wheat bun with a few sauces and salad. When it was ready I found there was a lot of mustard on there which I thought might be too strong for me. In fact it wasn’t, the combination of sauce burger and everything was really tasty. My burger was a little bit underdone but it had such a nice flavour and no knobbly bits. I would definitely go back again and maybe try a different burger.

A late lunch on the weekend between finishing an exam and heading home for further studying. The burger was good stuff. Perhaps a little light on the bacon jam though, although the bacon and cheese were nicely done.
Quite a meaty burger and nice and juicy to boot. Their location in the middle of Old Street roundabout is an odd one but a nice place to chill, the walls are high enough to almost block out the sound of traffic and the DJs cover up the rest.
Head there for a good burger with some friends and take advantage of the bar and other bits and pieces. A little oasis literally in the heart of Old Street.

If burgers were people then Burger Bear would be the cool A-​Lister that you always want to check out.
Some damn fine burgers, cooked to perfection and never disappoint. There’s a secret menu but I especially recommend getting the extra bacon jam on whatever you choose.
The only downside is they aren’t closer to me (but at least my bank balance is saved).
Just go!

Two of the sweetest words in the English language. As separate entities, tasty in their own right. Push them together and you form a new kind of deliciousness.
Sorry, a jam, for bacon? What is this foolishness you speak of sir!
Much like Shakira’s hips, this is no lie. Burger Bear have developed a jam coating for their bacon. ’12 crazy ingredients’ go into the making of the bacon jam. No you’re wrong Colonel Saunders.
The bacon jam gives the bacon a beef jerky like texture unlike the usual thin and crispy bacon in other burgers. I feel slightly carnivorous, like a bear you could say (touché Burger Bear, I see what you did there) as I tear, pull and gnaw at the bacon with my front teeth. Hear me rawr!
The flavour is both sweet and sticky. It’s bacon like you’ve never known it before.
But I digress. I’m shining the spotlight way too much on just one characteristic that makes the Greedy Burger one of the best burgers in London.
The £13 price tag may make you suck air through your teeth like a garage mechanic, but if you love burgers, you won’t be able to escape the the bear claw like grip the Greedy Burger has on its victims. Let it. Welcome it with open arms. Squeeze back a little even.
Like a volcano overflowing with lava after erupting, the Greedy Burger oozes with pure unadulterated burger juices. I thought
wouldn’t be challenged for the juiciest burger in London title, but it’s a pretty close race.
I search, survey and ponder my options for a clean and easy way to pick up this small mountain which consists of two beef burgers, two melted cheese slices, lettuce, onion, mustard and ketchup. And those all important bacon jam strips. But I give up and dive in.
It’s not until you actually pick up the Greedy Burger that you realise the enormity of it. A two handed job makes it impossible to take a photo.
So big in fact, it was three times the size of my mouth. I nibbled at the sides of the huge beef burgers, merely making a dent. I felt like that scene in Honey I Shrunk The Kids where they eat the Oreo in the garden. Even the thick, dense bun managed to seem meaty (as meaty as bread can be of course).
Mix all of these together in a petri dish, add sugar, spice and everything nice. And what do you get?
The Powerpuff Girls!
Uh. I mean the Greedy Burger of course…
It’s the equivalent of a bunch of talented musicians banding together to create a supergroup. Or when several superheroes tackle evil together like The Avengers. Or (and if you haven’t got any of my weird analogies yet you still with this one) when the Power Rangers join forces and become that big robot machine thingy and kick ass. It’s morphin’ time!
There is a ‘lite’ version of the Greedy Burger, the Greedy Burger, which still offers bacon jam but without the daunting man mountain at a more modest £10. Here is the rest of the Burger Bear menu.
I visited Burger Bear HQ at the Magic Roundabout, above Old Street Underground station. The Magic Roundabout is the result of a Kickstarter campaign. There’s also a couple bars and it’s a pretty unique place place to spend an evening. Burger Bear Tom is known to provide tunes as resident DJ.
You can’t access the Magic Roundabout from street level (I foolishly tried). Instead head towards the shops in Old Street underground station and you will see signs and an opening that lead to a stairway.
Food reviewers be warned, you may (almost certainly) end up with burger juices all over your phone if you try to take notes for your review mid eat like I did. Do not keep picking up the Greedy Burger and putting it down like I did! Enjoy first, write after!

This is street food at its very best.
I first got to taste some of Burger Bears delights at the Haringey Sunday market and have been hooked ever since.
The burgers are juicy and full of flavour (its great to taste a burger in which you can actual taste the meat).
Also 1 tip that you must do is try the bacon jam!!!

really impressed with the pop-​up at the Old Nun’s Head in Nunhead… great burgers, quick service and some pretty special animal fries with all sorts of spicy goodness. the grizzly truly came into its own. lovely.
only slight gripe is the price for burger and fries…£13.50? steep.
tasted great tho.

Two words.
Bacon jam.
What else do you need to hear?
Good burgers.
Spongy buns
Excellent bacon
Nice people
Reasonable prices
You can get a double. If you want to die happy, and quickly.
Also, Tom is brilliant. Big. Huggable. Brilliant.
Also, bacon jam.

I’d been trying to get to burger bear since I heard about their bacon jam.
I finally found my day. Now that I’m working in London proper, it’s easier to sneak away for lunch breaks. My first one was to Burger Bear.
The burger is really tasty. The bacon jam really adds a nice flavor, and I may have to order some to have at home. There’s also plenty of toppings and other condiments to make the burger delicious and a bit sloppy.
I want to try their Angry Bear which is a burger that has a spicy sauce. I do love spicy burgers, so I can’t wait to come back!

I was sitting at work in the 3pm slump, trying to decide what to eat for dinner. I mulled around some healthy choices (nothing exciting) and then Erica U came to the rescue with a heads up about a Burger Bear pop-​up going down in Peckham called Only Beats and Burgers. Done deal!
I’ve realised I usually only go down to Peckham for pop-​ups, the last being Frank’s Campari bar in the summer (here’s hoping it makes a reappearance… assuming summer ever does). And after taking almost 40 minutes to get there from Charing Cross, I remembered exactly why I don’t bother too often.
Anyways, on to the event! Burger Bear, run by yet another burger slinging Tom (seems to be a common burgermaster name!), has been getting a lot of press in the Twitter universe and I’ve been looking for a chance to add it to my BurgerQuest. I made the trek down, managed to get lost, and finally found myself standing outside a slightly abandoned Peckham Palais. I think this is normally an indie gig venue, but for the night they had converted the top floor into something that must have been decorated by the set designer of Austin Powers while on an acid trip. Definitely quirky but also entertaining and strangely welcoming.
As the name might suggest, there is a bit of a bear theme to the place with all the burgers being «Bears» of a sort. Your standard Burger Bear is a classic cheese burger and you can upgrade it to an Angry Bear which takes your classic and then douses it with sauce from the Ribman. Let’s be honest, the Ribman’s sauce gives burning napalm a run for its money when it comes to heat and staying power so this would be a truly Angry Bear.
Next up (and my choice) was the Grizzly bear which is your classic Bear topped with double oak smoked bacon and a healthy dose of bacon jam. Yes, that’s right, bacon jam. It’s a special concoction developed by Tom and gives a great sweet, spicy, and just a little salty backing to the burger. It’s delicious, so damn good that I tried to buy a jar then and there but was sadly told I’d have to order online. Which is exactly what I’m going to do after I finish this review. I can see it going brilliantly with brie, added to a caramelised onion and cheese toastie, or in pretty much anything. The bacon is smoked once at the butcher where Tom sources it, and then put through a second smoking process by Tom to really bring out the smoky flavour. Combined with a tender beef patty and some lightly pickled veggies, it’s a great combination with the smoky bacon, sweet bacon jam, and acidic veggies all balanced incredibly well.
The patty was a slight disappointment. There was nothing particularly wrong but I found it a bit overcooked for my taste (medium-​well rather than medium-​rare) and lacking any definite beefy flavour. It was still juicy and I’m undoubtedly biased based on my excellent patty experience recently at Bar Boulud. That being said, at £7 it’s a helluva better deal than Bar Boulud when it comes to value for money.
The last bit on the menu is the Greedy Bear which is roughly a double Grizzly. It’s not for the faint of heart but the taste is so good you can probably knock it out without pausing. I had a bit of food envy that I didn’t order that but probably for the best. The chips offered with well cooked with crispy shells and fluffy interiors. Burger Bear serves it up with a spare bread bun in case you feel like making a chip butty too. The buns doesn’t appear to be anything special and manage to last about 2/​3rds the way through the burger so it’s a bit of a messy event by the end.
Drinks were provided by Redchurch Brewery (Hoxton Blonde, Gold, and Stout) with my pick being the stout for its dark chocolate and coffee flavours that were a great match with the burger. I also tried a Shikari Snakepit lager but I’d have to say the name was better than the taste.
Overall, an excellent evening and I’m very happy I got to try out Burger Bear. In the London rankings, I’d say it’s a better offering that the average London burger. Judging it by its street food peers, I’d put it my top 5 (the others being Kimchi Cult, Patty & Bun, Mother Flipper, and Bleecker St). Great job Tom (I’ll forgive the epic wait for the food given the unexpected number of people) and I’m looking forward to trying the Angry Bear next!

Throughout the history of mankind many great artists have come and gone, and left their works behind for us to admire. Their legacies have spanned centuries and their contributions to humanity have been priceless, and their ranks are nigh on impossible to join for the everyman.
Tom, however, is sure to join these ranks.
His burgers are like no other. Hand-​crafted by this Master Burgerteer, they are juicy, succulent, tender and full of flavour. He sources ingredients from his family’s farm, keeps them in a cooler and brings them to Redmarket to cook before your very eyes. You can stop him when you’re satisfied it has been cooked, but I would recommend leaving this one to the professional.
Tom’s twitter page is one to watch, too. He’s an active member of the streetfood community in London and attracts folks from all over the area to eat his delicious burgers. He’ll keep you up to date with the latest Burger Bear happenings and will probably follow you back!
Tom is at the forefront of the burger renaissance. Fact. His signature dish, the Grizzly Bear, is a burger with cheese, bacon, and home-​made Bacon Jam. Absolutely divine, it could have been crafted by the gods themselves. In actual fact, it contains Jack Daniel’s whisky, and it’s fantastic.
My only warning to you would be that it does take a while — you could be waiting 10 – 20 minutes for your burger depending on the length of the queue. But then, you can’t rush perfection.