Gourmet Burger Kitchen The Taxidriver

06/05/201422/09/2018 Burger Lad 8639 ViewsGourmet Burger Kitchen

Review of Gourmet Burger Kitchen The Taxidriver

What they say:

100% West Country Beef with American cheese, onion ring, Cajun relish, smoked chilli mayo, dill pickle, salad, brioche bun.

Price: £9.75.

Calories: Unknown.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen or GBK for short was launched in the UK in 2001 and has since grown to approximately 60 restaurants.

I first visited a GBK way back in 2008 but that was PBL (Pre-Burger Lad®) and the décor in that location was a far cry from the polished interior in the establishment I was sitting in today.

Low hanging, industrial style chrome lighting, copper ventilation type designs with recessed spot lights and wooden seating with padded leather booths on the outside was very different to what I’d visited all those years ago.

Being a big WordFeud fan I also chuckled at the “Stop! Burger Time” Scrabble pieces adorning the wall in front of me.

It was Bank Holiday Sunday and I was surprised just how quiet it was in there.

Fair enough the sun was shining so while others basked in the sun we’d be basking in burger brilliance. And that’s just what we found at GBK today.

Now I know there have been other reviews of The Taxidriver but it was the very first burger that jumped off the menu at me (maybe The Mighty as well) so it didn’t take me long to decide and I placed our order at the counter.

The staff seemed friendly enough and directed me to the free condiments which included Kiwi Fruit and Habanero and Fire Roasted Red Pepper sauces. I returned to our table to take in the gorgeous smells coming from the open kitchen grill. Mmm inviting I thought.

After a relatively short wait The Taxidriver parked in my favourite space – right in front of me! And it looked very, very good!

The standard issue wooden skewer ran through the burger to keep everything in place. I did the usual Photoplay and took my first, expectant bite.

GBK The Taxidriver…

Cracking! The 100% West Country Beef patty was really moist, fresh flavoured and juicy with a proper chargrilled taste to it.

I even left the fresh tomato in for the first bite as I wanted to pay The Taxidriver the respect it so richly deserved.

I really loved the Cajun relish which gave the burger a subtle hint of spice. That and the smoked chilli mayo really elevated this to one of my favourite burgers of all time.

There was a nice amount of fresh red onion on this burger and as ever it cut through the rest of the ingredients with a fresh sharpness.

What I really enjoyed about The Taxidriver was the textures as you had the butter brilliance of the beef contrasting with the crispy crunch of the onion ring and dill pickle. Impressive was an understatement.

The American Cheese was melted to perfection…

At £9.75 without a side, some people would think this is quite expensive for just a burger but it is well worth it.

We ordered a regular portion of Skinny Fries to share (£2.95) and these were great dipped in the additional BBQ and Chilli Salsa homemade dipping sauces (2 for £2).

I’ve had the Waitrose GBK patties before so I am hoping these sauces might find their way to Supermarkets in the future. Seriously if you could buy those in shops I would be all over them!

Inside The Taxidriver from Gourmet Burger Kitchen…

I was quite sad towards the end of this burger. Not because it wasn’t enjoyable but because I’d loved every single bite of it and I will definitely be making another visit in the near future.

The brioche bun had coped admirably with this definition of burger brilliance and I very nearly ordered another one off the menu there and then it was that great.

If you’ve never been to Gourmet Burger Kitchen before I would definitely recommend it as they have something for everyone.

Check out the free Fire Roasted Pepper sauce too – it’s quite fiery and reminded me of Encona but much better. The other sauce was fruity and not as fierce but still a welcome addition to the condiment collection.

Plenty of choice to tempt the taste buds…

So is GBK an independent or is it now classified as a High Street Burger chain?

One thing is for certain their burgers are flipping tasty and you can flip one my way any day of the week. The only burning question I have for the gang is when are you coming to Cheltenham…!?