‘An utterly smashing time’

‘Smashing’ is the new hot food term, the casual dining obsession.

But how does something originating in the truck stops of the Great Lakes region settle into our hyper-polished metropolis?

Growing up vegetarian, and in the depths of rural Devon, McDonald’s and Burger King were a forbidden world of meaty, smoky sin – only glimpsed on our rare visits to Exeter, and appropriately reviled.

This has left me, despite my recent shucking off of ethical eating, rather bemused by the gourmet burger trend as a whole. I’m not very up to date with the thick-versus-thin patty debate.

Smashed burgers popping up around the city all but completely passed me by until my colleague suggested visiting Sayer St. Burgers for a lunch that felt like vindication for all the deprivation of my plant-based upbringing.

The restaurant is part of joyous old boozer Howl At The Moon, which sits on the thoroughfare of Hoxton High Street.

Nearby, market stalls sell actual clothes as opposed to chutney, and kettles rather than handmade soap.

There is a buzzing liveliness to the area and the pub itself, with weekly live fiddle music, a local parrot on a gentleman’s shoulder, and a reasonable and delicious house lager, named simply HOWL.

Lockdown may have had painfully few silver linings, but pushing charming chef Ollie away from music and into food was one.

After two years at a sports bar on Sayer Street – hence the name, although Ollie is hunting for a new one – they moved into this vibrant, well-respected corner a month ago.

Rickety tables and a festival marquee extend themselves out into the road, as space inside is limited.

Thankfully, the sun was winking weakly at us.

The menu is simple, small and surprising.

Yes, the main event is the three burgers, but the sides are where Ollie shows off hints of complexity.

Take the Caesar salad, for example, like a green slice of cake made from iceberg lettuce, doused in dressing, shards of bacon, and a mighty mound of parmesan.

There are fried Oyster mushrooms, flecked with Japanese seven spice (togarashi) that peppers your tongue. Despite a slightly slimy interior, they are a great stand-in for chicken nuggets. Dig them into the nori and lemon mayo for a complex whiff of the sea, or otherwise the sharp, vinegar-heavy barbecue sauce.

Chicken wings lean into the Asian trend that was so popular a couple of years ago: sour, sweet and drenched in a rust-orange honey glaze that will live under your fingernails for a couple of days.

The famous mains countered all my reservations of insipid mushy meat.

Compressed on the grill, the dense, doubly flavourful disks are like a beef schnitzel without the bread crumbs.

The ‘smashed’ patties are smaller and easier to eat, but with all the trimmings and taste of a heavily stacked gourmet bun.

The chicken burger is not quite so petite, with such a massive chunk of bird that it must be tackled with a knife and fork – unless you were a reticulated python in a past life. Pickles and onion give fresh blasts of solidity, and a heavy dose of house sauce and appropriately plastic-y American cheese are slick and satisfying.

The vegetarian burger (from Unconventional Taste) can be made vegan, and as it zipped past our bench looked equally crowned and glorious.

The chips are on the plain side and a overly salty, but this could be a mistake—the temptation to over-salt is deeply human.

All in all, this is a considered but very much fledgling venture.

And watch this space, people. A roast is hopefully on the cards, and we pray for the addition of desserts.

To dismiss this as just fast food, elevated pub grub, or an on-trend gimmick would be hasty. There is an eye for detail here, as well as a respect for good food that fills and amuses.

Yes, you might need to drown yourself in hand soap afterwards, and mop at the mayo stains on your jeans, but you’ll be well and truly converted.

Get down and have a Howl in the sun (while it lasts) for an utterly smashing time – and yes, I have been sitting on that pun for the whole article. So sue me.

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