Cafe 77 Hitchin — Restaurant in North Hertfordshire

Update: Got a rather unprofessional response in under 24 hours, surprisingly quick for this establishment. It appears I have been labelled the Grinch of Small Businesses this festive season despite leaving glowing reviews for most places (who are deserving of it). It’s as they say; “if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen”. Sounds like great advice for these people! As for my Christmas, it was fantastic and I ate much better food in much better company for my Christmas dinner! I hope a wee bit of criticism didn’t ruin their New Years as much as they act like it did. I wonder if there’s a lack of negative reviews because of their guilt-tripping responses to them? Doesn’t work on me unfortunately.

Ps. Happy New Year!

This place wouldn't survive up North. Extortionate prices, clammy, claustrophobic, gimmicky and an absolute rip-off. So much so, I'm going to break down the review per star:

'Food' (Prison food and served on a metal tray like it): Would be impressive if it was served after WW2 rationing. Bland, tiny portions, bland, overpriced slop, bland. I would've felt more satisfied throwing £10 at a sea otter clapping than eating this '''food''' for free. But apparently, this place makes the locals of Hitchin clap like sea otters, so good for them I suppose. But the food wasn't free, it was priced unreasonably.

''Service'' (Not worth a quip): This place is a hack, hence the 'wouldn't survive up North' comment. I think the wealthy locals of Hitchin may perceive this place to be 'rustic', 'American inspired', a 'wholesome independent business and a great eatery for the whole family (but mostly the palate-less children) to enjoy. I do not see this place from that angle. Cheap food sold at an insane mark-up. You can get the same quality hot dog from Costco for 4x less with a refillable drink to boot. Service wise, the server's idea of 'cleaning a table' (when she got round to it) was brushing other people's crumbs and table juice onto you instead of away from you. Not to mention the bloke seems to have a penchant for spilling the pricy drinks.

'''Atmosphere''' (of a NASA space-shuttle that's malfunctioning): Did I say claustrophobic? Credit to the people who run this joint, they can't help the size of the building of course. But who's bright idea was it to put a ''restaurant'' in a hobbit hole? It had potential for a lovely little bookstore. But no, it's a sweaty, greasy, dark, damp, murky burger shop.

I do hope that deep in the owner's greedy, money grabbing, dark soul that they derive a bit of humour out of this review. But I have essentially called their baby ugly for about 1-2 reading minutes. So they can take it as they please. But if it wasn't obvious already, I won't be returning. TLDR; No, I didn't like this place. Bit of a...

I first tried this place at this year's Street Food Awards and remember being blown away by the flavour of the food. So much so that they had my vote as the best of the (many) institutions I tried that day. They ended that particular event being rewarded with the well deserved Best Burger title.

Having realised that the restaurant itself isn't too far from me, I felt obliged to visit and try out the rest of their menu.

Expectations can be a tricky thing but thankfully I was not disappointed! The quality of the ingredients and the care with which they are prepared is extremely evident with every bite. Lovely juicy patties with a crispy exterior. Fantastically flavourful quality meat that is seasoned perfectly to my taste, satisfyingly toasted and airy bun that still has enough structure to stand up to the gloriously juicy burgers. Beautifully judged sauces. The basics are all you need in a great burger and they are all done exceptionally here.

Personally I would stick with the normal double cheeseburger. There are other options but the toppings can overpower the delicate flavours of the burger and you really don't need to. For instance in the Jack&Blue burger - the blue cheese added a lovely punch but the caramelised onions were a bit sickly sweet. Same goes with the BBQ sauce in the pulled pork burger. I mean, if you've got a great steak, why cover it in salad cream right? It is of course personal preference but for me the plain old classic double cheeseburger is the perfect option.

Last mention goes to the waffle fries which were soooo good! Delightfully crispy crust, with an inside of pillow like fluffiness. They were fantastically moreish and cooked to perfection.

Probably a top 10 burger...

My wife and I had a rare night out recently without the kids, and having previously enjoyed Cafe 77’s burgers we thought this would be a great opportunity to try out their restaurant.

What struck us was how relaxed the atmosphere was. The team were lovely, and despite the restaurant having a cool/industrial feel, it didn’t feel like anyone was trying too hard to come across a certain way like we’ve experienced in some places. Just genuinely nice people wanting customers to enjoy the food in an informal setting. Great music too.

The food was delivered in just the right amount of time (not rushed, but didn’t take too long either) and it was all delicious. We went for their cheese and bacon burgers with waffle fries (highly recommend both). What was a nice surprise was how tasty their bbq corn ribs were! I really liked their ‘wall of sauce’ too where customers can literally help themselves to a huge variety of sauces - nice touch.

Overall, would highly recommend and next time we’ll be...