The highs and lows of the plant based burger

I’ve always been a huuuuge burger lover. I was a big fan before I became vegan, and cutting out meat wasn’t about to change that. In my humble opinion there just isn’t much that can beat a good burger and fries combo, and yes, that’s a hill I’m willing to die on.

Things haven’t always been so peachy in the world of plant based burgers though. Whilst the market has advanced astronomically in the last couple of years, there was a brief time before that when to my horror I often avoided burgers altogether. There was just a severe lack of good quality options, but those days are over. The vegan offerings are now incredibly generous thanks to a dramatic rise in new brands and products (in the UK at least), and I am back to being a regular burger consumer. One who is often now even spoilt for choice.

With the multitude of options out there now then, it can help to know which are the hero burgers, and which ones you should probably just avoid altogether. Enter me! Whilst this is of course all just my personal opinion, you can rest assured that I’m someone who has truly sampled a lot of the options out there, and someone with very high expectations when it comes to the taste and enjoyability of his burgers.

I’ll start with the highs and lows of the plant based burger brands you can get in the supermarket, and then I’ll shine a spotlight on some of my favourite places to get a burger in London (and beyond). Just a side note too that I’ve obviously tried a ton more brands than I’ve mentioned below, but these are the ones that left a lasting impression (for good or bad). Let’s begin!

P.S. I’ll try my best not to make this post into a drooling love letter to ‘Beyond Burger’ and ‘Honest Burger’, but it might prove difficult. Spoiler… they are the best.

The Heroes

‘Beyond’ Burger

Ah, where do I start with Beyond? A game changer in every sense of the word. I had nearly given up hope that I would find perfection in the form of a truly delicious plant based burger until I had my first Beyond burger in the States in 2019. It was incredible, and ever since it has been my unrivalled number one.

It’s packed full of flavour and texture, and the patties are super nice and thick. It’s definitely the closest to a ‘real’ burger out of all the plant based brands out there.

A fair few restaurants now use Beyond products in their vegan offerings, and the patties are available in supermarkets too (I usually get it from Tesco as its often available on a Clubcard deal, but you can also pick it up in Sainsburys and Waitrose too). It’s definitely the pricier option, usually around £4.50 for two patties in comparison to around £2.50 for supermarket own brand ranges, but in my eyes its totally worth it. I would rather have one Beyond burger than five of the more plain tasting ones. No exaggeration.

All in all, I cannot recommend Beyond enough. I’ve even served it to my very non-vegan friends before and they were mightily impressed, even commenting that they would happily eat it in lieu of their usual meat burger.

Burgometer Score: 10/10

Also, just a side note that you can also pick up Beyond sausages and mince now too!

‘Moving Mountains’ burger

‘Moving Mountains’ is a solid first alternate for me. A number of restaurants having started using these patties in their plant based burgers, which is how I initially became exposed to it. It’s really flavoursome with a great texture, and again really replicates a ‘real’ burger well. It’s somewhat less thick and juicy than ‘Beyond’, but still awesome. It also helps that it’s a bit more affordable too, usually priced at around £3-4 for a pack of two patties. I’ve only bought it from Sainsburys before, but you can also pick it up in Waitrose too.

Burgometer Score: 8/10

The reliable (and arguably necessary) sidekicks

Every hero needs a good sidekick (or two). For our hero burgers, it's the plant based ‘cheese’ and ‘bacon’ to help elevate your burger to that next level in order to realise its full potential.

For cheese, I fully recommend Violife original flavour slices. They taste great in a burger, providing a delicious addition to the overall taste. Then there’s ‘THIS Isn't Bacon’, which is just truly chef’s kiss. It is so incredibly tasty and adds such a deliciously crunchy element to your burger. Its been quite some years since I had the original, but I feel this is a pretty accurate replica. Add some of these rashers to your homemade burger and you will not regret it, I promise!

Burgometer Score: 8/10 for the ‘Violife’ slices, 10/10 for ‘THIS Isn’t Bacon’

The Zeros

Tesco’s ‘Plant Chef’ burger

Ah, Plant Chef. Are you really even trying? I don’t like to sound harsh, but did Tesco really create this product and think it tasted good? Sure, it’s extremely cheap (at around £1.30 for two patties), but that’s where the positives end. It tastes so bland and uninspiring that I would rather have no burger at all than a Plant Chef burger. It is an unwelcome reminder of the types of supermarket patties I suffered through back when I first became a vegetarian and the plant based burger market simply didn’t exist. It’s now 2021 however, and there’s no excuse.

Unfortunately this scathing critique applies to Tesco’s entire own-brand Plant Chef range. Time and time again I’ve tried their new products (of which there are now many), and every time I am left bitterly disappointed and wondering why I even bothered. By this point, I already know what to expect and avoid it altogether.

I know a dip in quality is expected at a third of the price of the likes of ‘Beyond, but c’mon. It still has to taste good.

Burgometer Score: 3/10

Linda McCartney’s 1/4 Pounder Burger

Whilst nowhere near the sacrilegious level of blandness achieved by Plant Chef, Linda McCartney’s vegan burger is hardly anything to write home about. It’s just very… meh. I’d eat it, but only if I somehow ended up in a cruel hellscape where it was the only possible option. A bit harsh? Totally, but you get my point.

It’s quite disappointing really, because I actually highly rate the majority of Linda McCartney’s other vegan products. I regularly have their hoisin ‘duck’ in my stir fries, and their meatballs and sausages are wonderful. To be honest, this patty used to seem somewhat okay a couple of years before the game was significantly upped by the newer plant-based brands, so perhaps the Linda McCartney folk just need to revisit this particular product again and give it a bit more… oomph?

Burgometer Score: 5/10

The best places to get a vegan burger in London (and beyond)

Now that I’ve gone through the best and worst of the plant-based burger brands that you can enjoy at home yourself, I wanted to shine a quick spotlight on some of my favourite burger joints in London (although many of these establishments are actually also present across the country too).

Honest Burger

You just have to mention Honest Burger to me and I’m already drooling. Even as I write this right now, I’m left incredibly disappointed that I’m not heading here for dinner tonight. Seriously, the plant-based offering at Honest is everything.

They actually have two options, one with ‘bacon’ and one without. It consists of my two loves, a ‘Beyond’ patty and ‘THIS Isn’t Bacon’, so it’s no surprise really that it’s my favourite. However, what elevates it to a new heavenly level is the vegan chipotle mayo sauce. Truly to die for. The soft vegan cheese, sublime brioche bun, and the delicious rosemary salted fries are then the cherry on the cake. Seriously, why are you not on your way to get one right now?

I’ll admit its a tad on the pricey side, but not horribly so. It’s also no surprise given all that comes in it. The regular Plant burger is £13.50, and the Bacon Plant is £14.50 (always opt for the Bacon Plant, its totally worth the extra pound!). Both include fries. It’s so good that I actually have a list on my phone of all the Honest Burger locations and I excitedly tick each one off as I visit. I fully intend to go to them all. They are predominantly located in and around London at the moment, but they have started branching out now at pace to other UK cities too.

Burgometer Score: 10/10

The Florist (a.k.a The Botanist?)

Now, I get a bit confused as to what the difference is between The Florist and the Botanist. They have different names but their menu and branding is exactly the same, so I just treat them as one. The Florist has a chain in Watford, alongside a couple of other UK ones, and then there are quite a few of The Botanist dotted around the country. They are pretty quirky inside with lots of plants and rustic decor, but its their vegan burger which I love.

It contains a “Moving Mountains’ patty and the whole thing simply tastes brilliant. It has a pretty unique taste too, which is either due to the miso mayo or chilli jam inside (I can’t work out which!). Well worth a try. They also have a great vegan starter board (or at least they did in The Botanist), which was a perfect preamble to the burger.

Burgometer Score: 8.5/10

Leon

The vegan ‘LOVe’ burger at Leon is aptly named, ‘cos I love it! It’s a great fast food style option, and I would thoroughly recommend it if you need to grab a quick and easy dinner. Leon’s own LOVe burger sauce which comes inside is definitely the best bit. It’s delicious. They even sell it by the jar in supermarkets (I have it in the cupboard and I love using it at home). To be honest, Leon have a pretty great vegan range across the board. Well worth a visit.

Burgometer Score: 8/10

Other special mentions

A couple of final shout-outs from me. Firstly to Byron, a UK-wide chain with seriously tasty vegan burgers (using Beyond patties!). They even give you unlimited fries, not that you need it though as it doesn’t take long to fill up. My second shout-out is to Neat Burger, which is a fairly new chain starting to pop up right across London. It’s menu is 100% plant based, so lots to choose from. I had their standard ‘Neat’ burger and it was delicious. It looked pretty small at first but it actually had two patties inside and ended up being really filling. I definitely want to go back and try some of their other choices now too.

Well, that’s all from me today. Now, go and pick up your next vegan burger already (unless you’re already on the way)!

Happy eating,

- Tom