The weather yesterday was atrocious so not the best day for Baby G to come up to the office for an afternoon with me. He's on a second week of half-term due to his school being closed for building work which isn't actually happening (well done K&C council). Anyway it's an opportunity to spend more time together and take him out for lunch with his old man. I have many fond memories of my father taking me out for an office lunch usually to the Spaghetti House (where Meatliquor now resides) . He would make a big show of introducing me to everyone, quaffing a half bottle of chianti whilst I struggled through an enormous spaghetti Bolognese or a crispy escalope of veal. Anyway that was then and this is now so tramping through the rain with a chatty baby G in tow I dived into the Patty & Bun on James St .
It's a tiny space really but they had a table for two free though no kids menu. We were wet so we grabbed the opportunity to shelter and I reasoned I could finish what baby G didn't want. As you can imagine the menu is all about the burger though there was some chicken on it. We went old school, a couple of cheeseburgers, mine with everything and his without a fair bit ( I have the only child in the UK who doesn't like ketchup) and chips to share. Drinks were an apple juice for him and a coke for me which came in the can. The burgers arrived without much fanfare wrapped up in paper (very Harold & Kumar) but no plate. They were big and messy which meant it wasn't easy to cut it up for Baby G but still he approached his with gusto. Mine was very nice, good relish and patty though the sweetness of the brioche bun overpowered the cheese, it needed an extra slice to combat that. The chips were excellent, best I have had for a while really crispy, not greasy with a nice taste from the rosemary salt.
In the end the 4 year old ate 3/4 of his burger, the 40 year old finished the rest which suggests they both enjoyed their meal. Food was good but decor less so. It's not a place to linger and the focus is on turning tables having said that we had the perennial wait to pay the bill. It came £23 with service which is fine but I think if you are doing no frills dining like this you should really be getting fed and watered for a tenner a head. Nice touch when we left was the waitress giving Baby G a couple of stickers which he appreciated. Overall I would go back to Patty & Bun but I think they need to improve the customer experience. Somewhere like Honest Burgers does the no frills with a bit more style. The burgers are good here but once the hip and hype are gone you need a reason to draw the punters in. I'll leave the last word to Baby G who when asked which he preferred the cheeseburger at the Sausage Restaurant (The Electric Diner) or here at Patty & Bun. He went for Patty & Bun, from him high praise indeed!
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Tried their pop up at Pergola on The Roof the other day with baby G. Again decent but messy burger, however the chips this time were limp.