John Wästerlund

🍔 Review № 1370

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @bunandsum ★★★★☆

Bun & Sum opened their first restaurant in an industrial area in East London in 2021, and we tried them for the first time in 2023. Since then, they have expanded and now have a handful of locations around London. This time we tried them at the Burger Fest UK festival, ordering their Big Rib with double patties, pulled BBQ rib, pickles and chopped onion, as well as the Jalapeño Popper festival burger with double jalapeño smashed patties, onion jam, cheddar sauce and Easy sauce. The burgers cost 12 GBP (16 USD).

Both burgers were quite small and soft, but the double 57-gram patties were well-smashed and tasted really good. The beef had been aged for 28 days, and the crust was quite substantial, adding a bit of crispiness. The Jalapeño Popper was very well-balanced, with an excellent crunch and a well-judged heat that was lifted by the creamy cheese. This was a real winner, and we hope they add it to their regular menu. The Big Rib was the weaker of the two. It was a hefty burger with all the smoked meat, but the large amount of barbecue sauce overpowered the flavour profile. They use an American potato bun, which is toasted on the inside to handle everything. And even though it got a bit soft towards the end of the meal, it still did its job.

Bun and Sum’s small but simple LA Style smash burgers offered a lot of flavour, and we definitely preferred it when the beef took centre stage. The burgers were just as good as last time, and now that they’re popping up all over London, we definitely recommend a visit. Be sure to order their tallow-fried fries as well, because we remember them as irresistibly delicious.

#burgerdudes

Eight photos that summarize the burger scene in Gävle.

Our full YouTube video is coming soon, so stay tuned! 🍔✌️

Pictures 1 & 2: @thellas_foodtruck
Pictures 3 & 4: @pulsstreetfoodbar
Pictures 5 & 6: @mamas_kitchen_gavle
Pictures 7 & 8: @lebabgavle

#burgerdudes

Det är nu tre månader sedan vi släppte vår bok Burgare: Så gör du världens bästa burgare hemma, och vi är så otroligt glada och stolta över den fantastiska respons och det fina mottagande boken har fått.

Sedan lanseringen har boken legat på topplistorna och var under en period den mest sålda fackboken i hela Sverige. Den är nu inne på sin andra upplaga och fortsätter att sälja långt över våra förväntningar. Vi är otroligt tacksamma över att så många vill läsa det vi skriver om allas vår favoritmat – burgare.

Ett stort tack till alla er som har köpt boken eller lånat den på ert lokala bibliotek. Det betyder mer än ni anar! ❤️

It’s Burger Time! 🍔✌️

Foto 2-6: @simonbajada.

#burgerdudes

🍔 Review № 1369

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @smiths_of_bourton ★★★★★

The Smiths of Bourton burger restaurant is located in the small town of Bourton-on-the-Water, about 30 minutes from Gloucester in southwest England. Since opening a few years ago, they have received a lot of attention and even took a coveted third place in the National Burger Awards 2025. We tried their double Classic burger during the Burger Fest UK 2026, which included two patties, cheese, bacon, pickles, pickled onions, and a brown butter and miso mayonnaise for 14 GBP (18.5 USD).

The burger was robust and impressively tall with surprisingly thick patties and a substantial sesame-seed bun that brought to mind a classic old-school burger. The bun was magnificent and held everything together brilliantly, while still being fluffy enough for us to hold it comfortably. And the star of the show was undoubtedly the juicy beef, which had an incredibly deep meaty flavor with dry-aged notes that we really appreciated. We’re not surprised that their slogan is actually “Passionate About Patties”. The bacon added a good amount of saltiness to the burger, but we would have liked it to be even crispier to really get that satisfying textural contrast. Both the pickles and pickled onions added a light freshness that cut through the otherwise quite heavy flavor profile. However, this would have been even more effective if the pickles had been sliced a bit thicker. Everything was rounded off with the brown butter and miso mayonnaise, which contributed with deep umami notes. The result was a super tasty and well-balanced burger that we really enjoyed.

Smiths of Bourton make delicious and modern burgers in an appealing old-school package that feels just right for the times. This was one of the absolute best burgers we ate at the festival, and we look forward to visiting their restaurant in Bourton-on-the-Water. We have a feeling that they are even better on their home turf.

#burgerdudes

🍔 Review № 1368

🇸🇪 @lebabgavle ★★★☆☆

Le Báb took over Vigårda’s old premises in Gävle at the beginning of 2023, and made quite a splash upon opening, as the burgers were created in collaboration with Swedish burger champion Mikael Gustafsson. The restaurant now shares premises with the Italian restaurant Ll’Amice, and the menu featured a handful of different burger options. We ordered a double Cheeseburger with burger cheddar, silver onions, dill pickles, ketchup and mustard, as well as a double Dijon Mat och Vin by Micke Special with burger cheddar, silver onions, dill pickles, crispy onions, dijonnaise and yellow mustard. Both burgers cost 154 SEK (16 USD) each, including fries, a drink and a salad buffet.

The burgers were surprisingly similar, not least because they forgot the roasted onions in our Dijon burger. And despite our fairly high expectations, we were surprised by how inconsistent the quality was. The buns were properly toasted on the inside and held up well during the meal, but the top of the crown was pretty chewy. The double 100-gram beef patties had a nice crust on top and were well-seasoned. However, we were disappointed to find that the crust was pale underneath. Instead of being juicy and crispy, the beef ended up being noticeably soft. The cheeseburger could have used more ketchup to balance out the mustard flavour. The dill pickles – which were usually one of Micke’s strong points – were very salty without much acidity. The raw onions were hard to bite through. The Dijon mustard did help to redeem the burger somewhat by adding a rounder and milder flavour profile, and it would have probably been even better with the promised crispy onions. The fries were also slightly overcooked, although they were very crispy.

Le Báb serves decent burgers in central Gävle. We had admittedly expected a bit more finesse, but the burgers themselves were still good and reasonably priced – especially at lunchtime.

#burgerdudes

🍔 Review № 1367

🇸🇪 @burgers_by ★★★☆☆

Burgers By (also known as Burgers_By Vittinge Gourmetlada) are located in Morgongåva, just outside Heby. The small restaurant along the Riksväg 72 highway uses exclusively Swedish beef from local farms, and the menu includes around 10 burgers – as well as vegetarian and fried chicken options. We ordered the closest thing to a classic cheeseburger we could find: a Boston with double beef patties, cheddar, white onions, pickles, relish, ketchup, mustard and mayo. A menu with fries and a soft drink cost 175 SEK (18 USD), and we upgraded to Dirty Fries with bacon, melted cheese, spring onions and pickled jalapeños for an additional 30 SEK (3 USD).

The well-smashed patties stuck out over the edge of the burger quite a bit, and the first thing we noticed was that they were a little unevenly cooked, and one patty had a slightly weaker crust than the other. But the meat itself was well-seasoned with salt and pepper and was really tasty. The melted cheddar cheese also tasted nice but was a bit stringy texture wise. The lengthwise-cut pickles had been halved so they could be easily bitten into and provided a nice crunch, but they were too salty. And with the sweetness of the relish, we got a sweet and salty flavour experience that would have been even better with just regular dill pickles. The brioche bun was fluffy and tasted really good, but it should have been toasted harder on the inside, as the heel didn’t hold up for the whole meal and started to fall apart towards the end. The thick fries were a bit dry on their own, and they became a bit more interesting as Dirty Fries with all the toppings. But the portion was quite small, which meant that it was just barely worth upgrading them.

Despite some structural issues, Burgers By serves really good burgers. We definitely recommend a visit the next time you find yourself in Morgongåva.

#burgerdudes