Guerrila Burgers, Marylebone

Guerilla Burgers
35 James Street
W1U 1EA

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, February 18th, 2010

The Victim: Niamh

The Damage: Free to those who RSVPd.

The Background: Here is something you should know about me. I can never remember how to spell "occasionally." Or "sandwich." And, apparently, "guerilla." I didn't know about "guerilla" until recently, when I tried and retried starting a post about London's latest burger offering, Guerilla Burgers. Guerilla. Guerilla. Guerilla. One R. Two Ls. I will try to remember. Unless Guerilla Burgers makes me forget.

I do like a good burger. I'm American, after all. So when the very social-media savvy Guerilla Burgers popped up on Twitter and promised burgers AND fish tacos, well, I couldn't not respond to their oh-so-tempting offer. (There was no champagne involved. But there was plenty of wine.) So I did RSVP. And found myself at a soft-launch-type event, surrounded by many others who had been lured in by the promise of good (and, well, free) burgers.

 
Buns, not guns! Power to the patty! Gosh darnit, but I really wanted to like the place based on the decor alone. Badly. And after meeting our charming Canadian server as well as the woman behind Guerilla Burgers' Twitter account, I wanted to like them even more. The staff here are friendly, knowledgeable, and nice. (And kudos to our server for recommending that we mix the chipotle tabasco with the mayo. That was pretty fantastic.)

On this evening, we were treated to free chips–both crinkle cut and sweet potato–and free mini-burgers. And free wine. And free margaritas. There was a lot of free stuff. I think we could have even had free dessert if we wanted to.

 
The burgers were pretty cute. I wanted to like them. I really wanted to like them a lot. They get points for presentation and concept. (Although maybe the mini burger was the hors d'oeuvres–something else I can't spell–of 2007.) 

So you can probably guess what happened. I didn't like the burgers. They were dry. They were hard. They lacked flavor.

But they were free. There was that. (Should free food taste better because it's free? Or is this just an accident waiting to happen?)

On the other hand, I liked the sweet potato fries. Being partly Floridian, I eat a lot of sweet potatoes. I don't think they get enough table time in this country. So I was glad to see the sweet potato fries on the menu at Guerilla Burgers and happily polished off the bowl. (Sorry, Niamh.)

The crinkle cut fries were another story, however. These were limp specimens. But maybe I ate too many Nathan's fries as a kid. So I had to remind myself as I downed another glass of free wine…they were free.

The Verdict: There's a lot to like about Guerilla Burgers. The location is great. The concept is cool. The staff are lovely. (Long may they stay that way!) So I will give this another shot, even when it's not free. (That was me trying to be funny, for all you out there who take me too seriously.) But my initial impression, on a night it was all free was that the mini burgers were not as enjoyable as I was hoping. But at least I can remember how to spell "guerilla" now.