When hunger strikes after after work classes, Palmers seemed to be a good place to sort it out as a family-oriented restaurant with lots of British classics. Imagine to my surprise and delight when a sandwich board boasted a house burger special, so of course I had to give it a try.
Thoughts
For a chilly Thursday evening, Palmers had no trouble organising a table for three in their reassuringly warm and welcoming restaurant, located off the Roman Road near Victoria park in London's East End. The menu offers a refined selection of starters, mains and desserts (read: small but they know what they're doing!), though whether the burger will be a standard option in the future, who knows.
What I can say is that they should certainly consider making it a regular entry on their menus, as the size of the burger patty itself is a refreshingly massive plate, accompanied by a dollop of mustard sauce and token attempt at salad (just how I like it) between two slices of toasted brioche bread. It might not be a bun, but as it's brioche it's perfectly adequate in this case and at least it means that the meat takes center stage on the plate. Speaker of which, there's plenty of meat on offer that makes for a thick, juicy, if slightly too salty patty. It's clear that there's some decent quality meat thrown into the mix, but definitely overseasoned. This even before you get to taste the tangy mustard sauce against the sweetness of the caramalised onions; a surprise ingredient lurking under the top slice of brioche. What I will say is that the Colemans in the mustard sauce may leave it slightly too tangy for some compared to, say, the Dead Hippie sauce, but it works well enough and it's good to see places trying something different.
A decent burger needs decent company and in this case I am happy to report that the accompanying thick, home made chips are excellent. While they haven't been triple cooked, they certainly have been cooked well enough to leave them crispy and satisfying, though the only issue here that they are mostly gone with just a few bites.
However, this did mean that I had an excuse to try their chocolate dessert, a moist and warm ganache covered in delicious chocolate sponge, complete with raspberry couli and quennelle. Given that we've got snow and temperatures falling in London town these days, this was the perfect to warm me up at the end of the meal before heading back outside.
Conclusion
A excellent burger from Palmers here, with a unique take on burger sauce and excellent value for just over a tenner. If this is what they can do for burgers, then it's worth a repeat visit to see what the rest of their menu is like: same time next week?
Score
8.5/10
Where can I find them?
http://www.palmersrestaurant.net/
Sort of halfway between Mile End and Bethnal Green tube stations
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