The Mother of Burgers

Best burger update!

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

With God On Our Side, Bob Dylan Copyright ©1963

Well I’ve been loving the Russians* ever since November 2008 for they own Goodman. Like Harwood Arms and Lantana, Goodman stands out and it deserves a second posting. This reminder is in gushworthy praise of Goodman’s outstanding burger and brilliant set lunch menu.

Boys come here (and dare I say the girls will eventually) for the steaks. The stakes are high! ‘Scuse the pun, but perish the thought, Goodman is so damn perfect you shouldn’t have any worries about gambling your hard-earned dosh on a meal here. I’ve been here loads (not saying how many as it’ll only incite the usual sour grapes misconceptions!) and the place has never let me down. I don’t care much for the business-like ambience but the service (under the Strauss übermeister) like the food is exemplary.

It’s because that Goodman is a steak destination (deservedly so) we all tend to forget about what else is on offer from the rest of the menu. And one of them is the Goodman Burger, it escapes most peeps' notice and ends up as a second fiddle to the usual and redoubtable cuts of beef. Came here recently with my Most Favourite Daughter (the others being less human but a smattering of vintage and still revolving turntables).

MFD started with six rocks. She loves oysters and her favourites are the Colchester Natives. I love to wind her up about how could she possibly devour those live, helpless, screamless, and bloodless creatures without the melancholic tunes of an unaccompanied cello playing in the background. MFD chose to ignore the taunt and rebutted by declaring ‘Dad, you know Theo, well, we’re now an item’. MFD is good at killing conversations. I helped myself to one of her shellfish, for a bog standard oyster it tasted fresh and encourages ‘let’s have another dozen’. The accompanying mignonette sauce was the best I’ve had and that includes Paris.

My starter from the set lunch menu of beef carpaccio and rocket. Melting slices of delicious beef that doesn’t cryogenically abuse or aggravate my dodgy but sensitive teeth (a common cock-up with beefcarps when served immediately from the freezer) and the salad was correctly dressed with the right amount of balsamic vinegar, coarse salt and olive oil. Perfect starter for lunch.

This is it. The Goodman Burger.
It comes with lettuce, pickle, tomato, onion and chips as standard plus the following extras (take it all or pick some of it) at no additional cost: sautéed mushrooms, cheddar, bacon, fried egg, and fried onions. Given that I don’t usually carry a kitchen scale the patty looked at least 8oz of pure beefy heaven. As recommended by the waiter (they love to dictate how your beef should be cooked here), the burger was cooked medium. Just to point out I did order the Full Monty (all ten items); excellent bun (Helen!) and trimmings aside the burger was in a word, hedonistic.

MFD pointed out that a burger is a sandwich and it must be eaten using your hands. If it needs cutlery then it ain’t a burger.

I don’t care if I’ve been preconditioned by the fact the burger mince was probably made from off-cuts of USDA Prime, Scottish grass fed or more recently Irish Black Angus Grass Fed Barley Finished from O’Shea’s; this is the best burger I’ve tasted (I haven’t been to the States yet, the Spanish Inquisition procedure at the US Consulate dissuades me there and then). And it was cooked in a blessed Josper! Spurt, rave, spout, gush, drool, Charlize Theron or whatever…Londoners, jump for joy, the bestest burger resideth here at Goodman. 12 quid for this dish, unreal…dreamland so obviously exists for the burgerati. I rest me case.

Set Lunch mains of 225g / 8oz USDA New York Strip with chips and peppercorn sauce. My British chums (Antoine de Caunes, hi if you’re reading), flying the flag is one thing but if you’re coming here for the first time, do plump for the USDA variety and please put your bleeding prejudices aside. You can always have your Scots, Welsh, Hackney or neighbourly Irish beef anywhere else and anytime in Blighty. The hard-to-find USDA Prime tastes like the Blue Fin tuna of beef except that it’s not going to end up like the dodo (Wagyu in comparison is too boutique-like for norms like me). Anyway, nice waiter said I should have the striploin cooked medium rare.

Chips are good but I'd rather have fries with my steak or burger anyday.

Does that retouched or Paint Shopped photo lie, no it doesn’t. This little piece of steak was awe-inspiring. I’m a big fan of the Yankee steaks at Goodman (and The Palm as well, despite the stupid prices and battering reviews). Think for a moment, a New York Strip steak (350 g/12oz & a bit) from the a la carte costs £27 and that’s without chips! Therefore if two courses from the set lunch menu set me back £18 (£22 for three) then Goodman will be grimacing when they read this stir of mine. A marvellous steak frites fix.

These days I just don’t have the room for puddings or perhaps it could be down to the desperate need for a puff and leave the premises pronto. We walked on to Covent Garden and ended our meal with my favourite cuppa.

Goodman is exceedingly good value for money. I shall be despondent if you find it somewhat lacking. Currently the best burger and steakhouse in London (well until I’m swayed by some freak wind…).

First meaty review at Goodman here.

*To a degree of course as I dislike Chelski (sorry Gastro1!).


26 Maddox Street
London W1S 1HQ


www.goodmanrestaurants.com