The Beefy Boys - Bath — Restaurant in Bath

A little bit of home across the pond but in need of some...improvements. I've been living in the UK for some time now and now there is a fairly new Burger spot in the Bath area, so of course I had to go. I am American and even though a burger might technically be German, its still honestly the most popular food you can get in the US outside of Latin and Asian food. I have loads of opinions about burgers and American Faire in the UK because a lot of times it misses the mark because British people can be a bit fussy which make me feel like these burger places are more British Flare then American Faire. I went alone but was greeted by Manuel the manager. He was really patient with me while I asked all my specific questions and he honestly saved the review from being lower because there were some things that just missed the mark but these were things he also notices and it doesn't seem like this kitchen does well with feedback, but it takes time to build a team, I guess.

I had a Chicken burger; no bacon, american cheese, pickles, tomatoes, Chipotle mayo, onions, and lettuce. I'm a bit picky. First thing I asked was to have my onion grilled and Manuel said he would ask the kitchen which I thought was strange. He came back and said the kitchen doesn't do that. I said what?! So I had a raw onion on my sandwich, like what? Not even the option?! I was a bit annoyed, so then I asked for sliced pickles instead but I got them diced and I was like uh why are they diced? And then the bun was a kinda sweet brioche bun which I think is too light and flimsy for a burger as hefty as these, so it was just falling apart. The grilled chicken had a really good char on it though, it reminded me of a really good BBQ and it wasn't dry at all surprisingly. I think its harder to do a chicken burger because of that. Manuel continued to look after me and the staff was friendly too. But I do believe the kitchen is British and a bit unreasonable, like it's not hard to grill or caramelize an Onion right? It's not a big ask. Or to have a better bun. Maybe I'm asking too much, who knows. But I think that's the bare minimum with a burger spot.

Free refils on sodas. Cocktails, mocktails, beer and juice available. The place wasn't smelly, smoky, or too loud; very neat. I also tried the Ranch dressing and it wasn't like home so maybe if your a Ranch snob, skip it. It wasn't bad but it wasn't Ranch for me. I didn't go for the fries but the portions were decent and they had different special fries that were loaded. I always say if you can't do good fries you might as well close shop anyway, but from the looks it was good. Plenty options for kids and Vegans and Vegetarians. Manuel was very diligent about making sure there wasn't anything I was allergic to.

Finally, I had the Biscoff Sundae. The soft serve didn't have much vanilla flavor if at all, but i did appreciate the Biscoff crumble in the sundae. I do wish the Biscoff drizzle was a bit warmer so it has a good drizzle like a real Sundae.

Overall, I think I had more issues with the kitchen and their unwillingness to be a bit more traditional to something as iconic as a burger; it's more British Flare then American Faire. It seems like the company boasts a lot about the awards they've received. Some even being from the US. So I'm sure I'm nobody to them but its really a few simple improvements and it would have been amazing. But Manuel's service saved it for me. Very friendly guy who joked with me while I was the only table to myself so I...

Unfortunately I feel compelled to write this review.

For context, we first tried beefy boys in the pre-launch weeks and, honestly at that time it was the best burgers we had ever had. I had an OG boy done smashed style, and my wife had the Pizza boy Oklahoma style. In our first visit all the staff were attentive and took our orders quickly. Chips were a bit of a low point in comparison but the burgers made up for it and it is why we came back again.

Today was a much different experience. We arrived at 3.30 to try and beat the dinner rush. We were ushered to our table and had to wait 10 minutes before someone took our order.

In fairness, once the server did come over, he was really attentive and I cant fault him.

The pizza boy was not available much to the disappointment of my wife, so we both ordered OG boys, one Oklahoma and one smashed. We also ordered 2 x of the punch cocktails.

In comparison with our first visit, much more ice was used to bulk out the cocktails which was disappointing. It still tasted good but for the price was a bit too much ice.

The burgers however were very disappointing. There was alot more lettuce and gurkins on the burger, as well as a tonne more onions (even on the standard smashed) which threw off the balance and felt like it was less burger and more salad. The burgers also tasted a little weird - none of the juicy umami flavour from our first visit, and more of a stale almost "old oil" flavour is the only way I can describe it.

Plates were taken quickly after we finished, however they swapped servers, and we ended up being walked past for about another 10 minutes before I had to walk up to a server and ask for the bill.

Overall, our first visit we would give a 5+ star rating, and really stood out. Today was more of a 3, and has really soured our opinion. We will probably come back again, but we won't specifically make a trip into Bath to do so like we did today.

I would still say give this place a go, they are doing something unique and is worth supporting. I would just say the hype and initial reviews that many people, including myself, have promoted, may exceed the experience you get at...

Second Visit: 2025-04-30

Visited with a meat eating friend as not worth it for veggies/vegans

Pastrami fries - 1/5 Dirty Boy - 4.5/5 Jurrasic Classic - 2.5/5 Ninja Chicken - 4.5/5

Dirty fries were poor but at the least very loaded at the top. Lukewarm again and tasted microwaved. Skip the fries, go with another side.

Dirty Boy was excellent. Could have doubled up.

Jurrasic Classic didn't impress my friend, meat was overcooked for a thick burger.

Ninja Chicken was amazing and we wished we doubled up instead having the fries.

Overall still somewhat overrated but I might order a PBJ for delivery/collection as this looks good.

First Visit 2025-04-22:

After reading about their burgers winning the national burger awards I was keen to visit, even more so when they opened the Bath restaurant. Friend had visited before us and said they were amazing.

Did it live up to the hype? Not on the first visit.

Oklahoma Onion Boy burger - 3. 5/5

Plant-based burger with added blue cheese and chipotle 1/5

Poutine fries - 2.5/5

Biscoff shake - 5/5

I took a risk on the award winning Oklahoma Onion Boy - I'm not a massive mustard fan but the idea of "mustard fried Oklahoma-style onion-smashed patties" sounded interesting.

The website description reads: " Double American cheese, Oklahoma style patties, no sauce or salad!"

I assumed the mustard would be liberal but I was very very wrong, it was coated in the yellow stuff and ruined the flavour.

Meat was nicely cooked, wish I had gone for the dirty burger instead.

Poutine fries were nice to start with but did come out warm not hot. Unfortunately the aircon above us cooled the fries further. Cold gravy isn't nice.

Went with my partner, her opinion is basically don't bother coming if veggie; limited options and the plant based burger was worse than a McDonald's. Asked for blue cheese which wasn't melted, asked for spicy chipotle sauce and was never added (didn't show up on the bill).

She won't be coming back, so I'll need to take a meat eating friend next time.

Overall it failed to deliver on the hype, I'll be back to try the dirty boy and sit away from the aircon. Will update...