Twisted Burger Company at The Harley

“Gooey, unctuous and quite naughty”, is how the Twisted Burger Company describes its burgers. And, despite a bizarre disdain for the use of the word ‘unctuous’ when it comes to describing food, I have found myself trying TBC’s burgers on a number of occasions. This time I had sadly missed out on the press launch of their new menu, but the team kindly asked me to return to try it along with the husband one evening.

With a reputation as a bit of a party bar, you might be glad to know that The Harley is quite easy going and calm when you visit during the day or, as we did, on a mid-week evening. And seated on the stage area to the far front of the building, we had a view across the busy junction and down back into town… which is great for a bit of people watching.

Perusing the menu, we noted that we were a few hours late for breakfast, but we agreed that an early morning trip (they open from 7.30 am in the week) to try out their McBuffting burger could be on the cards. With a bacon patty, a mushroom patty, cheese and a fried egg TBC claim that the McBuffting burger set off good ol’Ronald into an eggsistential crisis….

And that’s just the start of this menu of puns! We also have Return of the Mac and, my personal favourite, Baby Got Guac. However, having heard that TBC make their chicken patties out of thigh meat and chicken liver, I couldn’t resist the Holy Cluck (£7.50) which is two chicken patties, chorizo, American cheese, Guacamole and jalapeno salsa.

Served in a basket, one of the first things I noticed was the ample, yet manageable, size of my burger. I don’t know about you, but I just like a good handful. Anything more than that and I find that my precious patty and its toppings slip away from me before I’ve even managed to take a bite. What’s more, TBC always serve their burgers on brioche buns which are good for flavour and for keeping its precious burger package together.

I’m pleased to report that the Holy Cluck also passed the taste test. The patties really do benefit from the dark thigh meat and the richness of the chicken livers; these chicken burgers actually taste of real chicken. Chorizo and cheese always make for a good partnership and the salsa gave the burger a nice tingle to the tongue.

Feeling a little more hardcore than me, the husband went for the very aptly named This is Hardore (£7.95). With two beef patties, ‘nduja sausage, American cheese, deep fried jalapenos and Harley’s own hot, hot, hot sauce this burger is… errrr… hot. But it had flavour too and the inclusion of the classic Italian ‘nduja sausage told me that TBC have considered more than the heat factor when choosing their ingredients. Again, this was a well-made burger which kept its shape throughout.

Sides wise, a single order of Regular Joe Fries (£1.25) was an ample and good portion of seasoned skin on fries whilst Crack and Cheese (£3.75) was delicious. Essentially macaroni cheese with a twist of bacon and jalapenos, this was always going to go down well with me.

With the Drop Dead Double Stuffed Falaf-Hell Burger and Pig Pimpin’ Fries, there are a few good reasons for me to return. In fact, with easy going, friendly service, a few decent beers on the bar and food service until 11pm every night, I can’t think of many reasons not to…