Handmade Burger Company, Hull

With a raft of restaurant chains closing branches up and down the country you might be forgiven for thinking that the market is slowing down in the casual dining market.

Showing faith in Hull and the restaurant market in general, the Handmade Burger Company have recently opened a new dining option in the city.

It's a cold midweek night in January so you would expect the place to be quiet, although our fellow diners turned out to be returning customers - so they must be doing something right and in Hull, they certainly are.

Apparently their burgers are made from scratch every day using the freshest, finest ingredients with the chips being made from real potatoes that are peeled and cut before bring double fried, in other words bang goes that post Christmas diet.

Beer, craft beer and cider are available along with spirits and a short wine list, which includes a fruity Sauvignon Blanc from Chile priced at £19.45 for a bottle. If you fancy cocktails then 2-4-1 are available for these everyday.

They reckon the decor of each restaurant reflects the city they are in, so Hull has that industrial chic decor that seems popular at the moment. Wood floors and steel pillars gave it more of a New York feel for me. The atmosphere felt a little cold and didn't really do justice to the food.

The Salad is always a good test to see how fresh the ingredients are, they only do one though - the House salad - which was as fresh as the cold wind blowing down the east coast that night. Plentiful and healthy it paved the way for what was to come.

The rest of the menu tends to be either 100% prime scotch beef burgers or fresh chargrilled chicken breast burgers.

The smell of prime beef being cooked fills the air only whetting my appetite even more.

The Juicy Lucy headliner burger arrives and it was hard not to be disappointed. Stuffed with American cheese, onion rings, red onion, garlic mayo, lettuce and served with a gherkin it was even tastier with bacon added as extra. Priced at £10.45 it's not cheap, fresh cut chips are extra too at £3.45 - though they do taste like your mum used to serve, in other words proper chips.

My partner chose the Cajun Vegetable and Bean (vegan) burger which is cajun veg and bean patty, burger relish, lettuce, tomato and red onion - priced at £7.95 it seemed a big hit. There are another 5 vegan and veggie choices too on the menu.

The dessert menu has the sugary Strawberry Cheesecake Sundae and the Oreo Sundae - both are worth the visit just to try either of these delights. My partner went for the New York style cheesecake - but for me the bottom was not crisp enough though I was in the minority here.

We visited another restaurant of theirs in Birmingham at the Bull Ring a few days later to see if the standard of food was the same as in Hull. The restaurant was far busier being a weekend but the quality of food appeared to be consistent.

The chain has new owners who look to be on the right track. If you are after a proper burger you will be too.

Handmade Burger Company, 54-60 Paragon Street, Hull HU1 3PE
Telephone 01482 212711
www.handmadeburger.co.uk