Hamburger Union (Garrick St)

Having come here dozens of times up to last year, I was very disappointed with our meal last night.

The system has changed from the previous "order & sit with a number" system, which always worked very well. You now take a seat and have table service.

Having ordered, we waited 25 minutes for our meal - unacceptable for a burger joint. When our waiter finally brought the food, he muttered something about having a large take-out order to do, hence the wait. There were no customers waiting for take-out when we arrived, however.

My burger was still good, I'll give them that. The chips were not: fresh from the fryer they were still covered in oil, the coleslaw was almost entirely onion and the tuna/ feta salad was so swimming in cold water that we had to send it back.

All in all I am very disappointed with this restaurant. They've tried to change things and it's not worked. I won't be going back.
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Jo Forster
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Dry,Lacklustre and Dull.

And that was just the staff!!

Not to be outdone the Burger was just as awful. Dry, tasteless and awful it could not have been worse.

The tinny dance music did nothing to lighten the mood.

Not a patch on Gourmet Burger and even McDonalds do it better.
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Geebee
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Monday, December 17, 2007

I think that the price list was very easy to understand and that the fod was quite delicious.

Somehow there was an exotic tang to the Hamburger I ate.

It was quite satisfying.

I hope that when you go there, if you go there then you will enjoy it as much as i did.

Anonymous
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Cody
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Monday, December 17, 2007

As other reviewers have said elsewhere this really is a case of the emperor's new clothes.

The definition of a rip off - repackage a humble burger, do an expensive fit out of the place - ne which you have to get pay for at the counter just like McDonalds - and then charge the best part of a tenner each for a what's basically a pub grub burger (fine in itself), then pay separately for fries etc, & then restaurant prices for beers. Can't believe people go on about this place, it is incredibly expensive & just look at what you're getting.

For less money you can get a proper, decent meal with wine and service. It basically is catering to the US and Japanese tourists who venture into W1 with no idea what to pay for things.

Go to a Wetherspoons pub, or perhaps to Ed's diner - these are far better for value and atmosphere.

It amazes me how easily people are taken by a little bit of spin and talk of "gourmet" in the marketing lit.
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Binkis - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, February 13, 2007

I agree with the review below. Whilst the service is fine, the burgers here are bland, the menu unappealing. I can't see any reason why one should not go for Burger King (cheaper and the quality isn't that inferior to the bland burger here) or GBK (much better ingredients and tastier burgers). I would not come back until they improve their menu and burgers.
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Dan
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Thursday, November 30, 2006

I decided to try the Hamburger Union again after a couple of months since my last vist (see below). Things unfortunately are much the same - the service is fine, the chips are nice, but the quality of the burgers is now miles behind gbk and Hache. Even with accurate cooking the beef burgers are never going to compete, and in the absence of a wider menu (interesting toppings or meats) they have now slipped behind ultimate burger in the London burger stakes.
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RJ
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, August 29, 2006

As a long time customer at the original branch I'm afraid to report that the food has been destinctly average on my last two visits. Chips were fine but the burgers were unimpressive, didn't stand up to medium rare cooking, and certainly were value for money.

Although they don't over burden the burgers with salad (and therefore you have a chance of eating it with your hands) I have to admit that the GBK is way ahead.
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RJ
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Thursday, July 06, 2006

What a fantastic burger i had the other day.Great concept. 5*****
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James
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Talk about the emperor's new clothes. Just because this isn't McDonalds doesn't mean the food is good.

The hamburger meat is tiny - like it's been cooked for over 30 minutes, the bread is so-so and the extras are way too expensive.

I guess you pay for the location but I would definitely rate the Gourmet Burger Kitchen much higher.
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Dutch_Food - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Friday, March 03, 2006

As a regular patron of the Hamburger Union in Soho, I thought I would treat my daughter for her 4th birthday and her friends to the new Hamburger Union in Upper Street Islington.The burger and chips were delicious as usual, and the kids could't get enough of the thick shakes.The staff were really friendly.Its consistently good and will not cost you a fortune.
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Nick
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, February 14, 2006