So I frequently fly back to Bulgaria via Luton airport. It has the most convenient flights. The Smithfield is a pub with a great choice of beer and basic pub food. Think of an expensive Weatherspoon. Few things on the menu weren’t as bad as I expected for airport pub food, so I decided to go for the burger this time. Sadly I have to declare the burger a no-fly zone.

How tasty is the Motherf*#$&r? – 3/10

It wasn’t inedible but it did quite a few things wrong.

The burger had:

• Beef Patty
• Cheddar
• Balsamic Onions
• Kale
• Brioche

The patty had a beefy flavour, it was seasoned but it had a strange character to the beefiness. There was some interesting seasoning or weird flavour… Dunno. It was better than a McDonald’s patty or a classic Weatherspoons one but it didn’t feel right. It was dense from working the meat and a bit overcooked and dry. To top the experience I had a hard chunk in the patty which completely ruined the experience. I know it is nice to have good ground beef but be careful what you put in it.

The salad had an intriguing direction with the kale and the onions. It is an interesting direction to make it feel fresher, however, it failed completely. The onions overwhelmed everything but the beef flavour. There was no lightness or flavourful dressing to the salad. The onions were supposed to be balsamic but didn’t really get that sweet acidic richness.

The cheese… It couldn’t be felt. It was almost missing mainly because all other flavours hid it.

The bun was one of the few decent things about the burger. It was crispy soft and toasted. A bit of sauce could have gone a long way to improve the overall burger experience.

Burger joint venue and overall experience? –  4/10

I have had much better food than this burger and their beer selection is pretty good.

Quirkiness level of the experience? – 3/10

I liked the ploughman’s direction and the salad feel of the burger but it wasn’t executed