The Ship Wandsworth Chargrilled Beef Burger

Review of The Ship Wandsworth Chargrilled Beef Burger

Website: http://www.theship.co.uk/

What they say:

Led by Head Chef Shaun Harrington, the kitchen brigade continues this tradition with passion and vitality. At the Ship we only source fresh produce and almost everything is prepared from the simplest raw ingredients, which ensures our menus are always seasonal. Chargrilled beef burger with cheese, pickled cucumber and fries.

Price: £12.00.

Calories: Unknown.

The Ship Wandsworth is a pub with a well-regarded restaurant. Great things are said about its burger, and it is the only burger on the menu.

Great things, I must add, generally by Londoners. London (or “LDN” as some odd people insist on calling it) tends to be very insular.

I used to live there when I was younger and could handle the pace. That was before the internet ruled our lives and the billionaire founders of this-that-and-the-next-thing-dot-com were still giving each other wedgies in playschool.

But I grew up and ended up being able to enjoy the whole country that exists beyond High Barnet and Mill Hill.

Anyway, back to the Ship. It’s a top notch pub restaurant. Wooden floors, lots of space between tables, outstanding service (they didn’t mind at all that I turned up far earlier than my booked time).

The Ship Wandsworth Burger
Ahoy crew – lovely dining room…

The meat is chargrilled, served with cheese and pickled cucumber. About as basic as it gets. And fries. I added a side dish of vegetables for £3.50. I haven’t been eating enough vegetables lately.

It also comes medium rare, which is a touch rarer than I’d normally prefer. But usually it’s best to go with the house recommendation so I thought I’d give it a go.

This was not fast food and it did not come out fast. You notice these things more when you eat alone but really it wasn’t a problem. I was given some bread and butter and my drink to keep me going until the main event.

The burger arrived looking rather special. It was served on a large white plate (yes, a plate – not a slate, a tablet, a plank or any other silly object). The fries were in a separate dish. My vegetables came slightly later.

The Ship Wandsworth Burger
The Ship’s Burger…

Looking at it, I didn’t know whether to tackle it with my hands or my cutlery. Nobody else was eating with their hands obviously, and it was quite big.

Just to demonstrate how subjective meat cooking can be, the pink centre of this medium-rare patty looked much like the pink centre of a medium patty somewhere else.

I’ll come back to the burger in a minute but let me just dance around the sides first. The fries were nice enough, generous and well suited to the type of food.

They weren’t the world’s best fries or anything like that. The vegetables though, were really lovely. Broccoli, potatoes, peas, carrots, pak choi all cooked perfectly and lightly buttered. Delicious.

The Ship Wandsworth Burger
Leaning tower of taste…

A substantial plain shiny bun which cracked when pressed, held in the contents. The party sat on a bed of lettuce, red onion and pickled cucumber. On top of it was cheese with what looked like a touch of ketchup and mustard.

A classic cheeseburger with a doorstep patty. It was really very large.

Biting down through it, I got the slightly stringy texture of medium beef as well as, flavour-wise, a touch of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Was it the mustard? Was it the pickle? Was it something else? I really don’t know.

The Ship Wandsworth Burger
Very well made and shiny…

The bread used for the bun was very tasty but unfortunately the bottom half-fractured and it did end up being a fork and knife job after all.

Was I as blown away by this burger as much as the London writers for London readers?

Truth is, I don’t know. It’s a pub and in that category it’s a far, far better burger than you’ll get in most pubs in the country. But it wasn’t better than “some” specialist burger places.

The menu looked utterly fantastic and the place was lovely so I’d definitely go back and try what else they’ve got. I just don’t think the burger would tempt me away from the amazing choice of other things next time. I recommend you pay The Ship Wandsworth a visit soon.

The Ship Wandsworth Burger
Inside the burger…

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