The Best Burger in Britain? Restaurant Review of Haché, Burger Connoisseurs

A relaxed and friendly place in smart Chelsea that serves reasonably priced, gourmet burgers with all the trimmings. All in all, a very good experience and definitely among the best burgers I've ever tasted in the UK.

The sign outside Haché, round the corner from my Chelsea digs, claimed that a popular London listing magazine had dubbed their burgers the best in London. An American abroad, I'm always in search of the perfect burger so this was an irresistible come on. I rounded up three friends to give it a go.

A promising start

The moderate buzz of chat from satisfied diners that you hear on entry is an instant improvement over the decibel level of former occupants of these Fulham Road premises, a bistro that favored deafeningly loud music.

Wood floors, dark wooden tables and cream colored panelling are pleasingly lit by dozens of twinkling Venetian glass chandeliers as well as mirrors decorated with illuminated branches. Though the restaurant was busy, at a fashionable 8:30 p.m. on a weeknight, we had a choice of several tables.(In addition to this Chelsea location, Haché has another branch in Camden, near the famous Camden Markets).

Enough scene setting! Get to the burgers

Right. Haché serves nothing but burgers and a small selection of salads and sides. But what burgers! They include

• ten different Scotch beef steakburgers
• lamb burgers
• venison burgers
• chicken burgers (five different kinds)
• a moutwatering selection of veggie burgers
• fish burgers
• even duck burgers.

Burgers can be served on ciabatta rolls or, in the "low-cal" version, on a bed of salad.

I tried a beefburger with portabella mushroom and fresh basil pesto - meltingly good, flavorful, perfectly cooked. My companions chose Le Mexicain with Cajun spice and a lamb burger on salad. Both agreed they were the best burgers they could ever recall eating, though the delivery of the Mexican, with its bits and pieces, was a bit confused.

We added chunky fries and light, toothsome onion rings - both exemplars of their kind. With wine and coffee, the bill was definitely not a shocker.