From day one, we wanted to make the best British burgers on any menu, anywhere. So we spent time getting to know the best butchers in London.
And now we’re butchers too.
We’ve opened our own butchery so we can make the burgers we’d always dreamed of. Our way. From scratch.
From day one, we wanted to make the best British burgers on any menu, anywhere. So we spent time getting to know the best butchers in London.
And now we’re butchers too.
We’ve opened our own butchery so we can make the burgers we’d always dreamed of. Our way. From scratch.
We’ve always made our burgers from chuck and rib cap (the fatty bit that’s skimmed off a rib eye steak). It’s more expensive, but it makes our burgers juicier and chunkier, with a ‘good bite’.
It means you can actually taste the beef – really great beef – not just meat. And that’s exactly how it should be.
Our beef comes from British native breed cows in Gloucestershire.
They’re grass fed and well looked after with space to roam in the fields during spring, summer and autumn and only see a barn when it’s too cold outside during winter. This practice is great for biodiversity and keeping grasslands healthy.
Our beef comes from British native breed cows in Gloucestershire.
They’re grass fed and well looked after with space to roam in the fields during spring, summer and autumn and only see a barn when it’s too cold outside during winter. This practice is great for biodiversity and keeping grasslands healthy.
We’ve always made our burgers from chuck and rib cap (the fatty bit that’s skimmed off a rib eye steak). It’s more expensive, but it makes our burgers juicier and chunkier, with a ‘good bite’.
It means you can actually taste the beef – really great beef – not just meat. And that’s exactly how it should be.
We knew the cuts of beef we wanted to use from day one. But a lot of butchers we spoke to in the early days didn’t want to know.
We were young. We had a small restaurant in Brixton Village. And no-one made burgers like ours. So butcher after butcher sent us on our way.
Finally, we met Tim, a butcher in Marylebone who got it. So every day, Tom would cycle from Brixton to the butchers. Then he’d cycle back with a bag of beef on his back.
Tom’s no longer our bicycle courier, but we’re still determined to do things our way – even if it's the hard way – to make a better burger.
Most burgers are minced – at least twice, often more. Meat gets broken down, but a lot of good stuff gets lost (and a lot of bad stuff stays in too).
At our butchery we chop our beef. Chopping holds the flavour in and keeps the meat coarse (not mushy) and really tender. So our burgers cut like butter, but stay together.
We knew the cuts of beef we wanted to use from day one. But a lot of butchers we spoke to in the early days didn’t want to know.
We were young. We had a small restaurant in Brixton Village. And no-one made burgers like ours. So butcher after butcher sent us on our way.
Finally, we met Tim, a butcher in Marylebone who got it. So every day, Tom would cycle from Brixton to the butchers. Then he’d cycle back with a bag of beef on his back.
Tom’s no longer our bicycle courier, but we’re still determined to do things our way – even if it's the hard way – to make a better burger.
Most burgers are minced – at least twice, often more. Meat gets broken down, but a lot of good stuff gets lost (and a lot of bad stuff stays in too).
At our butchery we chop our beef. Chopping holds the flavour in and keeps the meat coarse (not mushy) and really tender. So our burgers cut like butter, but stay together.
Brixton shaped Honest’s early days (we bought ‘Chippie’s Choice’ potatoes and veg from the market stall opposite) and it’s still our home. We’ve always been a best-of-British place.
We never set out to open an American diner. Our way has always been about making burgers you could eat at a farmers’ market, in wellies, in the rain.
If you’ve got great meat, salt and pepper’s all you need.
Lots of restaurants ‘pre-season’ their burgers. It saves time but means the salt has longer to break down the beef, making it rubbery.
Not on our grill. Our chefs season every burger as it cooks.
If you’ve got great meat, salt and pepper’s all you need.
Lots of restaurants ‘pre-season’ their burgers. It saves time but means the salt has longer to break down the beef, making it rubbery.
Not on our grill. Our chefs season every burger as it cooks.
Brixton shaped Honest’s early days (we bought ‘Chippie’s Choice’ potatoes and veg from the market stall opposite) and it’s still our home. We’ve always been a best-of-British place.
We never set out to open an American diner. Our way has always been about making burgers you could eat at a farmers’ market, in wellies, in the rain.
From the start, we wanted everything to taste homemade. Which means it has to be homemade. So we make as much as we can ourselves, in our kitchens.
Our chips, rosemary salt, veggie fritters, lemonade, pickles, relish, and Honest sauces are all made by hand, by us. Now we’ve got our own butchers, we’ve got burgers covered too.
When Brixton opened, we were still learning. We worked hard. We got things wrong. We put them right. We kept getting better.
Then Jay Rayner described our chips as “edible crystal meth”. There were queues round the block after that. The buzz took us completely by surprise – and made us work even harder.
From the start, we wanted everything to taste homemade. Which means it has to be homemade. So we make as much as we can ourselves, in our kitchens.
Our chips, rosemary salt, veggie fritters, lemonade, pickles, relish, and Honest sauces are all made by hand, by us. Now we’ve got our own butchers, we’ve got burgers covered too.
When Brixton opened, we were still learning. We worked hard. We got things wrong. We put them right. We kept getting better.
Then Jay Rayner described our chips as “edible crystal meth”. There were queues round the block after that. The buzz took us completely by surprise – and made us work even harder.
We say they’re complicated. One type of potato is not like the next, for a start. And they need a lot of TLC.
But there’s one big thing that matters to us: our chips are fresh, not frozen.
We get potatoes from a farmer who's grown them for generations. He knows a lot about spuds, and now we do too.
If you order a burger – any burger – it comes with rosemary salted chips, seasoned as soon as we’ve fried them.
It’s been that way since Brixton opened, simply because we wanted everyone to try them. It might be the worst business decision we’ve made, but if it means you taste our chips, that’s OK.
If you order a burger – any burger – it comes with rosemary salted chips, seasoned as soon as we’ve fried them.
It’s been that way since Brixton opened, simply because we wanted everyone to try them. It might be the worst business decision we’ve made, but if it means you taste our chips, that’s OK.
We say they’re complicated. One type of potato is not like the next, for a start. And they need a lot of TLC.
But there’s one big thing that matters to us: our chips are fresh, not frozen.
We get potatoes from a farmer who's grown them for generations. He knows a lot about spuds, and now we do too.
We met working at a restaurant in Brighton, while at university. We loved restaurants. We talked about them, worked in them, ate in them, and thought ‘we could do better than them’.
We decided to open Honest over a pint in our favourite pub. And that’s what we wanted it to be: a pull-up-a-chair local with good people and good food.
Before Brixton, the first Honest was us, cooking burgers at a friend’s birthday party in a field in Somerset. We weren’t chefs, we just loved cooking.
We kept cooking and kept learning. We bought great meat, and made even better burgers. Then we had a chance to open Brixton. A few years on, we’re still here, still cooking, still learning.
We met working at a restaurant in Brighton, while at university. We loved restaurants. We talked about them, worked in them, ate in them, and thought ‘we could do better than them’.
We decided to open Honest over a pint in our favourite pub. And that’s what we wanted it to be: a pull-up-a-chair local with good people and good food.
Before Brixton, the first Honest was us, cooking burgers at a friend’s birthday party in a field in Somerset. We weren’t chefs, we just loved cooking.
We kept cooking and kept learning. We bought great meat, and made even better burgers. Then we had a chance to open Brixton. A few years on, we’re still here, still cooking, still learning.
We’re not done yet...
Let us know what you think – the good and the could-do-better – and we’ll get on it.
It’s been a bit of a blur and a lot has changed, but the big things are the same. We want to keep making the best burgers and chips with great British produce. If that means doing things the hard way, we will. If that means doing things no-one is doing we’ll find a way.
If that means opening our own butchers, we’ll do it. We already have.
It’s been a bit of a blur and a lot has changed, but the big things are the same. We want to keep making the best burgers and chips with great British produce. If that means doing things the hard way, we will. If that means doing things no-one is doing we’ll find a way.
If that means opening our own butchers, we’ll do it. We already have.
We’re not done yet...
Let us know what you think – the good and the could-do-better – and we’ll get on it.
