#9: Joe Allen Review

Joe Allen, out of focus.If you go to Joe Allen, the popular Covent Garden American restaurant, you will not see the burger on the menu. But they have one, you just have to ask for it. I will not waste any more time on that point, as it without doubt the worst kept secret in London.

That said Joe Allen, offers probably the most authentic burger I have eaten in London so far. It comes with minimal frills: the burger smothered in cheese with sliced pickles on the side in a perfectly appropriate bun. And to top it the fries are as you would expect in New York (complete with skins). In fact the day of my last visit, just before Christmas it was so damned cold it could have been New York.
     
Several glasses of Oregon Pinot Noir could not cut through this fatty, juicy, utterly decadent burger. It absolutely and totally ended me. Joe Allen ain't cheap. But the burger is worth it. Order with confidence and pop a couple of statins (or whatever it is you take) to get you through the afternoon.

Joe Allen: 13 Exeter Street, London, WC2E 7DT. Tel: 020 7836 0651