Admiral Codrington — Restaurant in London

I've got a fever...and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL! Or rather, more cow. Preferably in burger form.

Hot Dinners recently reviewed the Admiral Codrington with a focus on their burger offering. Based on this, and my quest for the best burger in London, I headed there with Tracy L for a lunch time feast.

Note: £15 for a cheeseburger seems pretty high (and makes the £20 burger for B&L not too outrageous) so for that price you expect excellence without peer. And you get it, mostly.

As described by HD, the meat is personally selected by the Chef and then aged in house (I imagine in the cold cellar that seems to run the entire length of the restaurant and is accessed through door in the floor next to the bar). It is then coarsely ground and formed into 8oz patties with light seasoning in an effort to let the meat speak for itself.

The cheese alone requires a story. Legend has it that the chef infuses cream with bacon and parmesan rind. Mature cheddar, parmesan, and American cheese are then melted into the cream. The resulting cheesy mixture is chilled and sliced before being used to top the burger. So the question has to be, is it worth it?

I want to say yes, I really do. Flavourwise, the cheese has a soft smooth consistency that melts in your mouth and its heaven on a patty. It's lost that over processed aftertaste inherent in American cheese slices, gained a silkiness rather than the slightly chunky way that cheddar insists on, and mellowed the parmesan into a deep flavour that warms and comforts without slapping you in the face. But I wonder just how much time and effort had to go in to this in order to achieve the cheese. In addition, it's a cheese that really only suits burgers and I have a hard time imagining it on anything else (although maybe if they added a steak sandwich to the menu that could work). Finally, the bacon and parmesan infusion into the cream seems redundant as you are already adding parmesan to the cheese later and the burger comes with two (albeit very small) strips of bacon.

The burgers is simply served on a brioche bun which does the job of soaking up juices admirably and managed to almost hold together until the end. Make no mistake, this is a messy burger which will require you to grab it with both hands and tear in. The brioche is soft and fluffy and seems to melt away.

And there, folks, lies the problem. Everything was too smooth, too easily melt in your mouth, to provide any texture. The incredible quality of the meat made it like butter on warm day, the soft brioche soaked with juices dissolved faster than cotton candy, the cheese just swirled around and was gone leaving just a memory. I have teeth for a reason and they were begging for something to bite on, some sort of texture that gave substance to these great flavours my tongue swore were there. Perhaps if we had order the burgers medium instead of medium rare (they came out looking more rare than medium) there would have been a better balance or if there was more delicious crunchy bacon, but as it stood I felt a bit let down by what had all the hallmarks of a great meal.

On other bits, the chips were fluffy inside and crunchy outside but had an odd taste as if the oil had been used for frying fish or was just a tad too stale. The salmon ceviche was truly tasteless with the overdose of lime pickling out all flavour of the fish and the jalapenos failing to make a notable appearance. The garlic mash was similarly smooth and decent although I was left with the feeling I could have made a better one at home. Great ambience with very pretty blonde wait staff.

The sticky toffee pudding was fantastic though and I would highly recommend it. Soft and moist cake with rich date sauce and a tiny pitcher of cream to mellow out the sweetness. Incredible!

Overall, it's a tad on the expensive side but a pretty decent meal. Is it the best burger in London? Tastewise it was right up there and overall it's above average but by no means deserving of...

🚇 South Kensington 🍺 £5.85 Heineken ❤️ A food focused traditional Chelsea pub. . The Admiral Codrington or “The Cod” as it is known locally is situated in a quiet side street in Chelsea. To get here by Tube use South Kensington, it’s an eight minute walk to get here. . This pub was originally built in 1830. Due to railway tunnelling between South Ken and Sloane Square, the pub was rebuilt in 1860. This boozer is named after the naval officer Edward Codrington who captained at the Battle of Trafalgar and later, as Vice Admiral defeated the Turks at Navarino in 1827. . The decor here has a bit of old school charm about it in and around the main bar area. At the back of the bar is the dining area with open kitchen. To the left of the pub is a cosy covered outside space. The whole overall feel of the place was not that of a Gastropub for which the pub is famed for. . The beer choice was straightforward with one cask option available. I ordered a pint of Heineken which was good and pleasingly under six quid. Food-wise, the pub prides itself on offering a modern take on beloved British classics, all prepared using fresh and locally-sourced ingredients. In 2022 this pub appeared in the UK Top 100 Gastropubs list. . I popped in here with my Daughter for a quick drink after visiting The Saatchi gallery to see the Beyond The Streets exhibition celebrating Graffiti and Hip Hop culture. We visited on a Sunday just after 6pm and it seemed we had missed the rush as the kitchen closed at 5pm. The atmosphere was calm and relaxed with a dozen or so punters in attendance. The calmness was offset to a soulful soundtrack which was a nice backdrop to the ambience. The service was good, the member of staff who served is was polite and efficient. . @theadcod was a nice visit, my Daughter and I enjoyed chilling out here and having a catch up. I like the decor as it wasn’t full of pastel colours and had an authentic pub feel. The beer was good and the food receives positive reviews. If you fancy somewhere away from the hustle and bustle in SW3, this pub will probably be right up your street. . ℹ️ Info correct on...

Over many years there has been a gradual decline in quality of service, but the most recent trip proved how far they've fallen. I booked for 8 people well in advance (four weeks) and they'd even taken my card number before deciding that it wasn't necessary to take a booking fee unless we were going to be nine. I left my mobile number and then heard nothing, so assumed all was well. On the day, we arrive promptly to be told there is no reservation. A more senior manager came to deal with it, but kept having to be prompted during the conversation to explain the situation (thinking seemed to cause talking to cease!) We waited about an hour before being seated at our table. We were offered drinks but frankly at that stage I'd have preferred a serious discount as we'd had enough whilst waiting on an empty stomach. When seated, we explained that one of our party needed to leave soon, so his meal had to be prioritized to come before everything else - I checked this was understood (nods of agreement). The rest ordered starters, and after a wait the starters arrived but not the priority meal! Duly informed them to get it. Then later our drinks order was messed up - four different drinks became one order of four of the first pint... But we realised it was beyond the point of fixing. I will not be going back, and I'd advise anyone thinking of eating there to give it a wide berth. If you're still not put off, the food is pretty average but not cheap, and it's normally very busy round the bar (perfect if you like a scrum but not good for a...