[Review] Psychic Burger at Birthdays, Stoke Newington Road, Dalston

Psychic Burger is a burger concept that's launched on the ground floor of Birthdays, Stoke Newington Road, Dalston, N16 8BJ, replacing previous incumbent Rita's Bar & Dining. It's from the people behind the White Rabbit (where the menu testing took place) and part-owned by Vice.

You must be Psychic, I DO want a burger...

I was invited by Psychic Burger to give their burgers the Hamburger Me! treatment and so duly headed into Dalston with The Brunette to see how it measures up to the best burgers in London.

Price:

Psychic Burger - £7.50
Soft Shell Crab Burger - £9.50
Chilli cheese fries - £5.50
Coleslaw - £2.00

Presentation:

Beautiful. Presented on brushed aluminium trays, the two burgers have presentation impact. Each has its perfectly formed brioche bun topped with a golden onion ring. The soft shell crab burger actually looks like the crab is trying to escape, and the beef burger is well constructed and mouth-wateringly inviting.

The eponymous Psychic Burger

Toppings:

The Psychic Burger is topped with Monterey Jack cheese, and a generous helping of 'Psychic Sauce' - a tasty secret recipe sauce that doffs it's cap to a thousand island dressing style Big Mac sauce. Underneath the patty are the seemingly ubiquitous tomato/butter lettuce/pickles combo, and another dollop of Psychic Sauce. They're all pretty good - even the tomato is full of flavour (it's marmande variety), which is a nice surprise - but personal preference would be to have the lettuce chopped. Funnily enough, the only let down here is the Jack cheese - perfectly melted, but utterly lost between the sauce, beef, tomato and pickles.

The soft shell crab burger (with TWO whole soft shelled crabs deep fried in spices) is topped with sweet chilli and garlic aioli - both of which complement the deep fried crusted crustacean - and it's delicious.

Soft Shell Crab burger at Psychic Burger

Meat:

Excellent. The beef patty in the Psychic burger is reminiscent of the thinner patties being used in MeatLiquor's Dead Hippie, rather than the thicker ones being churned out by places like Patty & Bun, or Bleecker Burger. It takes very precise timing to get the cooking time right and ensure you don't move accidentally move from med-rare into well done territory...thankfully it was cooked to perfection.

The patties made up of a mix of aged fore-rib and chuck, around the golden 20% fat content mark. They're hand-formed, then seasoned slapped onto a flat top griddle. This gives a fantastic caramelized crust, which in turn gives way to a perfectly pink interior.

Psychic Burger cut-through

Good cookin' Psychic Burger at Birthdays Dalston

Bun:

Good. A top notch, fresh, toasted brioche bun. Standard.

Accessories:

Three words. CHILLI CHEESE FRIES.

Thin French fries covered with delicious chilli and sliced jalapenos, topped off with melted Jack cheese. These are like crack. If you get nothing else from this menu (you will, trust me) at least get these.

Chilli cheese fries and coleslaw at Psychic Burger

The coleslaw (and maybe it's just comparative to the AWESOME chilli cheese fries) was not so good. It needed more tang, more flavour, and was awkward to eat - to the extent that a fair bit ended up down my trousers.

Overall rating: 9/10

This is a well executed burger. The Psychic Sauce raises it above the ordinary, and the cooking and seasoning of the patty is perfect.

If you're in or around Dalston, I'd DEFINITELY recommend you pop in for a Psychic Burger. If you're not, it's a bit of a schlep but I think you'll find it's worth a visit...

Jolly good show guys.

One side note - if you don't order pork skin popcorn, you're crazy. It's awesome.

Pork Skin Popcorn is LEGENDARY

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