Gourmet Burger Kitchen

This place has potential but does not deliver. As a foodie that really knows a good burger this was not good. It was okay but the meat could have used some spices. The cheese was rubbery and for the price, it just wasn't that great. I'm very picky about my burgers. I want them juicy with flavour and great fresh ingredients. I felt the menu looked great but when it came to taste, it didn't meet the standard.

zoineos (DI User), 02/04/12

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Whenever I take my first bite into a freshly prepared GBK chilli burger it is usually enough to send me temporarily into ecstasy. I imagine it's close to the feeling a smoker gets with that first drag of a cigarette after a period of forced abstinence. GBK can get the food so right! Crispy lettuce leaves, juicy tomato slices, a tangy relish and that oh so magical chilli sauce, char-grilled and flavoursome bread rolls and a perfectly cooked, generously sized burger - what a combination!

I mop up with piping hot chips the juices that inevitably drop down onto the plate, and I ask for another napkin to wipe my fingers. I feel wild and not a little guilty to make such a mess as I eat, but it's all part of the experience. No knives and forks for this baby - just grab it, sink your teeth in and enjoy.

At busy times the sound level at GBK is almost unbearable. The reverberant sound of noisy chairs being moved over the wooden floor, the thumping music and the raised voices of people trying to make themselves heard above the din means it's almost impossible to have civilised conversation. One can step out after a meal into relative calm on George Street. Relative calm on George Street ?? Yes, it can get that noisy inside GBK. My advice - go at off peak times if possible. The noise levels are far less, and chances are you'll leave feeling refreshed as well as replenished. I go at about 3pm if I can, after the lunchtime rush.

Also it's worth checking on line for voucher deals, 2 for 1 etc. The standard prices are rather high, especially considering the basic decor and loud environment. But the burgers, those chilli burgers .... I'm drooling again.

PG (DI User), 17/05/11

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My Dad and I are big fans of GBK. I love the burgers because they are big, juicy and full of flavour, and I usually give them 10 out of 10 or even more! However today we went and I can only give them 7 out of 10. The reason is that the burgers were almost cold, and our chips were a mixture of hot and cold ones, and they were quite oily too.

Even though GBK was quite busy when we went I still think that the food should be served hot. Perhaps we went there at a bad time for them. The food still had the great taste that we normally enjoy but it would have been even better hot!

Leo G (Unverified), 06/04/10

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I visited the GBK with a friend last night. The food: the burgers are so massive they are held together by wooden skewers, and are far too big to pick up. A knife and fork is the only way forward. The GBK offers a rather enormous range of burgers. You can choose from the standard beef or cheeseburger, all the way through various chicken combinations with other toppings, and they even offer a bison burger. Vegetarians are well-catered for. Every burger comes with fresh salad, and various sauces/relish depending on your choice. Worth noting, too, is that you can add any extra topping to any burger for a supplement.

I went for the 'cajun' beefburger, and my friend chose the avocado and bacon chicken burger. My burger was excellent - the patty itself was clearly of high quality, the smoky, sweet sauce was good (though I wouldn't have necessarily called it 'cajun'), and, perhaps best of all, the GBK is the only place in Britain I've been that will cook your hamburger medium rare should you prefer. My friend’s was excellent; certainly, it was loaded with bacon and avocado, and the chicken fillet was superb too. Finally, the chips, which are thick, crispy and golden, and really rather good. The bill, for this food and a couple of Cokes, came to £22.45, so not cheap, but worth it.

As for the place itself, seating is generic, yet more pleasant than your average burger bar. You're seated when you arrive and invited to order at the counter. Service is friendly, if slow when ordering - the GBK is nearly always busy, and one does wonder if having only one person taking orders is a good idea.

Overall, the GBK comes very highly recommended. But don't go there on a budget.

WTD (Unverified), 17/11/09

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The burgers here are superb, easily the best I've ever had in the UK - full of flavour and cooked perfectly. The Blue Cheese version is very good, but veggies won't be disappointed by the options on offer either. Fries and "homeslaw" are not too bad either. So for a great burger, give it a go and look out for 2-4-1 deals too.

But a word of warning - the canteen ambience won't be to everyones liking - its a strange mix of self-service and waitress service. There are often queues. Its also often packed and everyone sits close together. So not the place for a romantic date! But if you're looking for a great burger and don't mind the surroundings give it a try.

Mike (Unverified), 24/01/09

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We visited GBK this week and found that the food, as usual, was excellent (although to my disappointment, the Venison burger has been taken off the menu due to lack of sales). Really well-cooked burgers, great chips and proper mayonnaise.

Sadly, the service left a lot to be desired - we waited a good 20 minutes to be seated becuase empty tables were not cleared quickly enough and becuase groups of two were being seated at tables for four, we weren't given menus or a table number when we sat down and then got shouted at by the girl on the till for 'not listening' when we said we didn't know what our table number was!

I really think GBK needs to look at the way it operates - it would be better either as an 'order, pay, sit where you like' operation, or as a full table service restaurant, but the current mish-mash of waiting to be seated and then ordering at the counter is a bit weird.

Green (DI User), 28/11/08

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The food is magnificent! Huge, juicy burgers literally bursting with flavour, with mouthwatering sauces and fantastic bread rolls, and chips so hot you have to be careful not to burn yourself. The priority there most definitely is food quality - the decor and ambience run a very distant second (in fact the noise factor at GBK is positively annoying). I can deal with the noise though and the occasionally error-strewn and impersonal service at GBK 'cos the burgers there are worth it. I know where I'm going for my next burger, and I suggest you go there too.

PG (Unverified), 24/11/08

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I went for a late lunch this afternoon and left with mixed feelings. The (chilli) burger was excellent as usual, cooked to perfection and tasted great. My problem was the cacophony of noise that accompanied it. The place was nearly empty and rather than having to put up with what is normally a very loud environment when GBK is busy I endured a nerve jangling combination of restaurant background music, music from the kitchen blasting out of what sounded like a cheap boom box. The kitchen music was louder than the restaurant music and this meant that the staff had to shout at each other to hear themselves above the din. None of the staff appeared to have anything better to do than to "hang around" the till area, noisily slurping on drinks, laughing and joking amidst all the racket.

It's one thing to have a happy set of staff. However I find this level of noise is distinctly unpleasant at a burger restaurant that charges higher prices and aspires to be more than your average fast food joint.

Conclusions :

Food - delicious, a sprinkling of chips on the side would be a nice touch. A burger (however large !) served on an empty plate looks a bit lonely. (A separate portion of chips is too big for the average person)
Service - friendly, but can be robotic at times
Atmosphere - noisy and tacky. GBK may have originally been a great idea and it will surely continue to survive. However unless there is improved care and attention by the management on issues other than just the food at this Oxford branch I fear that it may ultimately degenerate into a very mediocre dining experience.

PG (Unverified), 19/08/08

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We tried out the GBK on a Tuesday night, when the restaurant was surprisingly full (a good sign surely?) The burgers were large and tasty (although I agree that flatter buns would be better) and the falafel was better than that served in some of Oxford's Lebanese restaurants. Very good chips. A shame that they brought us completely the wrong wine (not just the wrong bottle - white instead of red!) and already open, so it couldn't be returned; and also that the waitress was so cold and unfriendly. The food was reasonable for the price paid, just a shame that the service was lacking. All the same, I'd go again.

BL (Unverified), 19/06/08

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The Munch Bunch tried this place a few weeks ago - and we had two Mini Munchers with us, and they love burgers. I found it strange that we had to wait to be seated yet then had to order our own food at the counter and then it was brought to us. We had a selection of burgers and they were very tasty, but I thought the price was far too much for this type of restaurant - I have paid the same price for a burger in Gees & The Lemon Tree and it was just as good, but there you get much more impressive surroundings & service.  This felt like a café with over-the-top prices.

21/05/08

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I'm an American girl who loves a burger, and when I saw this place was opening and boasting 100% Aberdeen beef and fresh ingredients I was pretty psyched. I ordered a cheeseburger, chips, and a coke (although in retrospect maybe I should have gone all out and had a milkshake). With a grumbling tummy and high expectations, I opened wide and bit into my burger, to find the meat very strangely textured and gristly: the downfall may have been that I asked for them cooked rare. The garlic aioli is strong enough to keep the vampires away for at least a week (which was definitely a plus, in my book). They forgot to bring us half our chip order, but it came with a smile after a gentle reminder. The sauces are wildly expensive if you order extras. Last thing: though not the fault of the restaurant, every single person was eating with forks and knives, which I found slightly disorientating... who DOES that?

Kate (Unverified), 08/02/08

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We went in for a take-away order on a Wednesday lunchtime. The restaurant was clean and well set out and had two or three tables occupied. We ordered six burgers, (Cheese, Blue cheese, Chilli, Avocado and bacon, Venison and Jamaican-without-a-bun) five portions of chips, and a cappuccino. The total cost was £56.15.

The order took about 15-20 minutes to prepare, service was efficient and agreeable.

Back at the office the spoils were divided. The chilli was “tasty, especially in the middle, but could have been even spicier.” The cheese was “a classic burger, as it says.” The avocado and bacon was “huge, almost too big for my mouth, generous on the extras and very nice indeed.” The Jamaican-without-a-bun was “very nice, with a slightly satay-ish mango sauce, agreeably carbonised, nice and beefy.” The Blue cheese was “good and reassuringly solid, with the cheese not too overpowering, but suffered from worryingly sweet relish.” The Venison was “very flavourful as to its meat, but needed more intense sauces and more onion to balance the large amount of bun and salad. A flatter and more toasted bun, also.”

The chips were “chunky”, “nicely salted”, “good average”, “I liked them and I’m not a chip man” and so on.

Overall, a very good experience, not too greasy, definitely big enough and plenty of choice (if you like meat). Minor niggles were mainly of the sort that could be avoided if one was ordering in person, rather than as a group by text. The without-a-bun-ness was deftly handled.

Recommended.

GBH (Unverified), 17/10/07

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