Gourmet Burger Kitchen Grill Warming

Last night, my family and I were very lucky to attend the grill warming at Gourmet Burger Kitchen in The Mailbox, Birmingham. The restaurant had been closed for a period of time for a £350,000 exterior and interior refurbishment, and opens officially today (Friday 13th March). The Grill Warming was an opportunity to check out the new improvements in decor, whilst trying out the delicious menu. I have to say, we had a fantastic time.

The restaurant was buzzing with atmosphere, with the new decor featuring dark wood paneling and gorgeous antique effect lighting giving the whole place a retro feel that was warm and inviting. I loved the monkey nut stations with the funny signs saying ‘warning – this might contain nuts’, and the 70s style ketchup bottles that were a plastic tomato absolutely delighted my little boy Joe.

Drinks

There is a decent drinks menu with plenty of choices of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. My dad chose the Meantime Pale Ale which was delicious, whilst mom went for a crisp glass of Pinot Grigio Rose. I chose the Elderflower Fizz, which is totally delicious, very fresh tasting and a great choice if you are trying to kid yourself that you are actually drinking on a school-night. (It looks like a Mojito.) Joe made the perfect choice with the Oreo milkshake, which I had a sneaky taste of and can confirm that it is completely creamy and yummy. Joe was so happy with it he drank it down in double quick time and asked for another. A total seal of approval.

Main Meals

Of course, we all opted for burgers, but with a good mixture of chicken and beef varieties. I chose the Satay Burger, I’m a huge fan of Satay sticks and it is one of my favourites from the Chinese takeaway menu, so I was really excited to try this. It was amazing. Succulent chicken that I chose to have with breadcrumbs (you can also go for a grilled version), with house mayo, satay sauce, tomato, relish, red onion and alfalfa sprouts. I loved this burger and would definitely choose it again – the satay sauce was a proper peanut sauce rather than the darker, more soy version you get with Chinese food. The chicken was so tasty, and this was a burger that was a decent size, even without the side orders.

My mom also chose chicken, opting for the Cajun blue, which contains Cajun blackened chicken, blue cheese slaw, rocket and pickled onion. She really enjoyed this burger, particularly the unusual blue cheese slaw, and said the Cajun spice was suitably smoky.

Pete went for The Taxidriver. This is a beef patty with American cheese, onion ring, dill pickle, cajun relish, smoked chilli mayo and salad on a soft brioche bun. This is a large burger that you need to cut up before you attempt to eat. It is packed with flavour, with the dill pickle in particular proving to be a favourite taste coming through. The patty was cooked medium to well done, and this was perfectly cooked.

My dad is more modest in his tastes and went for a classic burger, without cheese or mayo. The patty was medium cooked, and was again declared very tasty, although one comment was that a little onion would be a good addition to this burger.

The children’s meal was also impressive. Joe had the crumbed chicken option without mayo. He teamed this with skin on chips. This was a decent child’s portion, and although Joe proved to be a pain by deciding he wanted cheese on his burger after it arrived, the staff were lovely and this proved to be not a problem, returning with a gorgeous melted cheese chicken burger.

Side Orders

The GBK homeslaw is amazing, think a zesty, vinegary chopped salad rather than an over creamy coleslaw we often end up with. Dad chose a simple green salad, but wanted this without the honey dressing – again this proved to be not a problem. The onion rings are just to die for – they are huge and the onion inside the frankly amazing, Panko crumbed batter are soft and full of flavour. If chips are your thing, there are lots of different varieties – I went for the skinny fries which are tiny and tasty, but there are also the chunky, skin on fries, sweet potato fries, and even Rosemary fries, which I intend to try on my next visit.

Service

Gourmet Burger is self service in that you go to the counter to place your order. The order was read back so we could check everything was correct, and we were told about 15 minutes waiting time on food, which was surprising,as the restaurant was packed and I expected to wait much longer. The food was there within 15 minutes as stated, and everything was pipping hot and looked appetising in the presentation. The staff were friendly, absolutely lovely with Joe, and nothing was too much trouble.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen is open now, and I would heartily recommend it for great food and a friendly, family atmosphere.

*With thanks to GBK for the invitation.

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