Guerilla Burgers just behind Selfridges off Oxford Street

Guerilla Burger
www.guerillaburgers.com
35 James St
London
W1U 1EA

Is this yet another chain of fancy burger joints? This was the number one question on my lips when we stumbled upon the bright blue exterior of Guerilla Burger, tucked away behind Selfridges. Although there is currently only one Guerilla Burger, it had the definite feel and slightly corporate aroma of a chain, even though the restaurant was clearly trying to come across as hip and edgy.

Gourmet Burger described itself as ‘A laid back burger place with soul. Menu includes salads, hotdog & tacos, shakes, beers, great graphic design & a fantastic team working to the sounds of funky 60s & 70s music.’ Laid back it certainly was – when we arrived on one side, we were asked to walk round to the other side of the restaurant to see if we could get a table, which made it highly confusing as there was clearly no defined entrance or waitress ready to help us.

The food was decent, hearty burgers and good sweet potato fries - but pathetically small desserts for the price! When I asked a waitress to recommend a dish, she told me she couldn’t as she was vegetarian! Don’t get me wrong, nothing bad about being veggy, but isn’t the point of a burger the meat?! Overall, the atmosphere was pleasant, if slightly rushed – I hadn’t even finished my meal when my plate was whisked away (bad table etiquette?).

Furthermore, there are a set of rather odd rules, which sound like they’ve been made up by a bad tempered soul who’s seen too many burgers in his lifetime and don’t really go hand in hand with their ‘laid back’ policy:

1. About the rules – don’t talk about them with your mouth full.
2. Celebrate if you want but we don’t sing happy birthday.
3. Music is at the volume we like – ear plugs available on request.
4. The customer is only usually right.
5. All you need is love – if the Beatles said it we believe it!
6. If you don’t see it we don’t have it!

Unfortunately, there was nothing remotely new or exciting about this place. If you’re after a quick burger to make up the calories after a Selfridges shopping spree, then location wise, this is the place to go. Otherwise, I’d follow my instinct next time and opt for one of the smaller restaurants on the other side of the road. As part of the ‘Giraffe’ family, I would stick to what they’re good at.