Review of 'Neat Burger'

“Neat Burger” came to our attention being fans of Formula 1 car racing as world champion Lewis Hamilton is a partner of the restaurant in promoting it is a vegan, plant-based menu. Knowing that everyone should to their bit to help the environment and willing to give anything a try once, despite being meat eaters, we decided to visit the other day when in the city for a film. We visited the Princes Street restaurant which is one street south of Oxford Street right at Oxford Circus so it is an great location (look for their sandwich boards on the pavement directing you to the location).

Interior

The restaurant is quite bright and airy but really much like any other takeaway. Festooned with green palms and other leafy plant motifs it is simple and welcoming with no pretence. There is seating on the pavement, on the ground floor but also in the basement (where the toilets are also located).

The self-serve order desk is at the back with several computer pads onto which you order yourself, paying with the card machines provided (they do not accept cash). The menu is straightforward, divided into “Burgers”, “Burger Bowls” (no buns), “Sides”, “Neat Nuggets”, “Kids Meals”, “Ice Cream”, “Drinks” (both alcoholic and not) and “Desserts”. Quite impressive considering everything on the menu is vegan, but also a bit worrying: How good will it taste? The “Burgers” feature substitutes for standard hamburgers, chicken burgers, hot dogs and fish burgers (“Filet-No-Fish”) alongside a vegan version of chicken nuggets. The prices are about the same as you would pay for their meaty equivalents. There are no standard soft drinks on the menu, all are eco or vegetarian offerings including “Karma Cola” and “Lemonaid” while the alcohol looks to be heavy on the spirits side of things.

Ordering

I ordered their signature “Neat Burger” (£9.49; “Double Neat Meat Patty, Lettuce, Tomato, Grilled Red Onions, Pickles, Neat Sauce”) along with guilty favourite “Tater Tots” (£2.99) topped with “cheese” (+£1.50). They offer these in a meal deal which includes a drink for £15.99. The burger had an odd red colour but tasted very good indeed with exactly the right feel of a beef patty and a lot of flavour alongside the topping. Delicious, if a bit small. The tots were good with surprisingly good cheese substitute sauce on top (though not much) - Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and not heavily salted.

Neat Burger

My companion had the “Chick Avo” (£10.49; “Crispy Chick’n Patty, Garlic Mayo, Lettuce, Smash'd Avo, Bacon”) with “Sweet Potato Fries” (£2.99). In the meal deal here this came to £15.49. The “chicken” did not really have a lot of flavour, so much like the real thing (!), and had a nice crunchy exterior. The whole thing was a bit underwhelming in terms of flavour but, again, much like the real thing. The fries were good but a bit overcooked.

Chick Avo Burger

At £31.48 for the two of us for quite small portion sizes is a bit steep for fast food but, obviously, there is a great deal of development and work to make it all vegan. In this respect the food tasted absolutely delicious and we will be very interested in coming back (perhaps to one of their other locations throughout London). I also have to say, the staff were also very chilled, friendly and helpful.

I am bit sceptical when restaurants attempt to duplicate meat products with vegetable products as they mostly fail horribly making something that is so bad and tastes so awful it threatens turning people away from vegetable-based food entirely. At “Neat Burger” they really do make a product that tastes and looks exactly like meat. Hopefully this will have meat eaters satisfied and trying more vegetable-based foods…

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2021-07-03


Cuisine: American/British

Address: 4 Princes St, London W1B 2LE ENGLAND

Public Transport: TUBE Oxford Circus

Location: London (England) - Marylebone

Map:

 

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Telephone: +44 (0) 20 4580 1193

URL: https://neat-burger.com/