Lucky Chip

For my first burger review, I offer you Lucky Chip. Operating out of two venues in north-east London - The Old Queen's Head in Islington and Birthdays in Dalston, these guys have been about for a bit and I have attempted to get one of their burgers at the Old Queen's Head a few times, only to be thwarted by lack of tables. No such poor luck this time though and I sat down eager to get stuck in.

Their menu is pretty standard for the modern burger joint - hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, fancy burger, chicken burger, veg option and special - but I actually quite like that, sometimes an abundance of choice can affect quality and certainly makes it hard to choose. I opted for the Royale with Cheese (the fancy burger) which was basically a bacon cheeseburger with "special sauce". My companion is a bit burger shy and just ordered the spicy mayo cheese fries but I was secretly happy about this as it meant I could get an idea of what the sides are like! The service was relatively swift and the food was in front of us within fifteen minutes.

The burger came attractively presented and thankfully I didn't have to construct it myself, I really hate it when people don't put the damn salad in a burger - if I don't want part of the burger to be included I will just ask the kitchen to leave it off! 
The burger patty was cooked perfectly - a lovely medium - and well seasoned, with flavoursome beef. Despite having three sauces the meat wasn't overwhelmed and shone through well, the cheese was lovely and gooey and the bacon wasn't overcooked. Sadly one thing spoiled the taste - the saltiness. It was almost the last thing I tasted on each bite but it was there, lingering on and meaning I drank an entire pint of diet coke in the five minutes it took me to eat the burger. It didn't render it inedible, and I still enjoyed it, but it did mean that the high mark in my mind when I first bit in to it was substantially reduced. It was just too much. Some people like their salt and this wouldn't be an issue for them but for me it meant a mark of 7.25 (out of ten). The fries suffered from the same affliction, the saltiness charging through at the end despite having strong competition from the chilli sauce used to spice up the mayonnaise. Maybe they just serve salty food.

A solid start to the burger reviews then, which could have been more spectacular but for a bit of restraint with the salt cellar!

Lucky Chip: 7.25

The Details:
Lucky Chip Burgers @ The Old Queen's Head
44 Essex Road
Islington
London
N1 8LN
www.lucky-chip.co.uk / www.theoldqueenshead.com/food-drink/

Burger reviewed: Royale with Cheese, £8.95