If you ask Londoners where to find the best burger in the city, the usual suspects will likely get a shout out — from Black Bear Burger to Bleecker, Mother Flipper, Burger & Beyond, Patty & Bun and Hawksmoor.
But a new contender just had its name thrown into the ring, and it’s got the seal of approval from Nigella Lawson.
Yep, the foodie queen herself dubbed this burger ‘sensational’, claiming it achieved ‘just the right balance between creaminess and tang’ thanks to soft, sweet onions on the bottom of the bun and melted, mild gorgonzola on top.
The burger in question? The Gorgonzola Burger from Dove in Notting Hill, which costs £18.
Now, those who have visited Jackson Boxer’s neighbourhood restaurant might have noticed there isn’t actually a burger anywhere to be found on the main menu.
This dish is an off-menu item that you’ll only find on the restaurant’s blackboard. It’s essentially a daily special, served in limited quantities — to be more specific, there are just 10 of the burgers available each day.
The burgers sell out ‘pretty quickly’ and the current record for all 10 getting snapped is just 12 minutes.
Wondering if you can pre-order one? Think again.
Jackson tells Metro: ‘We have guests who ask us to hold burgers for them, and sometimes they offer us quite large sums to do so, but we always refuse, it is strictly first come, first served.
‘We just advise guests who are especially keen to try one to book the first available table.’
So what exactly is so special about Dove’s burger?
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According to Jackson, the burger started out as a way to use up any leftover beef rib, to avoid any food waste.
‘We have a big beef rib chop on the menu for two or three people to share, we cut this off in sections which have been dry aged for 50 days,’ the chef explains.
‘The burger is predominantly made from the trimmed rib cap, which has an incredible deep, rich, beefy flavour, we mix it to an exact ratio with some other cuts, mainly brisket, chuck, and aged beef fat.
‘The beef is all from mature cows, three to five years, entirely outdoor reared in Yorkshire, Heritage breeds, mostly Belted Galloway and Highland, which are sourced for us by our butcher HG Walter.’
Only a few kilos of the trim are produced each week, which limits the number of burgers the team can make. Currently it’s only enough to grind into 10 thick 220g patties for each service.
When it’s time to cook, the patties are grilled in beef fat then rested, before being topped with a young Gorgonzola Dolce from northern Italy, and finished with a condiment made from onions cooked for six hours in caramelized butter. The whole thing is then served on a toasted potato roll.
Some might take issue with the £18 price tag, but Jackson believes it’s a ‘relatively low’ cost given the burger’s size, the expense of the ingredients and the labour involved in making it.
Nigella isn’t the only one who loves the burger – it’s got a fan club
Hundreds of people have shared their thoughts about the burger on social media, with some branding it ‘a banger’, ‘superb’ and the best burger ‘overall’.
On Instagram, @dejdoeslondon said: ‘This is one of the few London dishes I would more than happily travel across London for. Looks utterly sensational.’
As @sheenjesusheen wrote: ‘The burger is superb. Well worth a visit. Great staff, great food. Love Dove.’
Similarly, @burgertrugs thought: ‘Not just [the best] in London. Tops overall!’ And @death.row.dinners claimed: ‘We have a new main dish for our personal death row dinner…’
@jsphmcr described the burger as a ‘masterpiece’, while @babscrawshaw dubbed it the ‘world’s best’.
Food blogger @lickyplate also gave it a glowing review, posting: ‘Unbelievable funk between the aged beef and Gorgonzola, yet just enough sweetness and roundness from the onions to carry it off – a proper gem, unlike any other in town imo.’
While the burger has clearly garnered somewhat of a cult following, Jackson admits he’s surprised by its popularity.
‘It’s not even on the main menu,’ he points out. And he doesn’t consider it to be one of Dove’s signature dishes.
To him, the restaurant’s signature dishes include the Fried Potato Pizette, the Ricotta and Lemon Dumplings in Lobster Cream, the 50-day Highland Beef Sirloin Chop from which the burger first emerged and the 30-day Tamoworth Pork Double Loin Chop.
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The pork chop is another dish beloved by Nigella and is dry aged for 30 days, then marinated in house-made shio koji to season and tenderise overnight. On the day, the meat is grilled over coals slowly for 45 minutes to achieve a perfect smoky crust, before being served with a reduced sauce made from pork bones, and a hot mustard condiment featuring dried orange zest, lager, and oxidised white wine.
While the burger might not be up their in Dove’s top dishes for Jackson, he’s still proud of it as a dish.
‘Ultimately though, we’re happy we’ve been able to make use of this amazing beef, to make something which gives people so much pleasure,’ he adds.
‘It’s a good burger – as good as any ever had – and took a great deal of fine tuning to get exactly where we want it in terms of taste, texture, savour, and richness.’
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