[Review] Patty Melt at Chop Shop, Haymarket

I’d go so far to say that Chop Shop on Haymarket, that odd, triple-lane one way system that connects Piccadilly Circus with Trafalgar Square, is a hidden gem. Certainly in terms of real estate, it’s got nothing on the wide-fronted Byron Hamburgers opposite, or the generic pizza/pasta places that rely on unwitting tourist traffic and out of town theatre goers  to pay their Westminster rents, but in quality eating, it’s gold.

Chop Shop, as you’d expect, is a predominantly meat-focused affair, serving steaks, roasts and a weekly burger alongside potted crab, liver pate and smoked trout, as well as a host of other British deli bar snacks. They also have a patty melt on the menu, which is the focus of this review.

Price:

Patty melt with fries - £12.

Presentation:

Two halves of a perfectly golden and toasted patty melt are presented on a plate, complete with skewered pickles and a pot of French mustard mayo dressing. A separate beaker of rosemary salted fries come separately.

Toppings:

It’s a case of keeping it simple, as all good burgers and patty melts should, with cheese and braised onions. The cheese covers the patty in a thick melted curtain of stretchy, creamy goodness, and the mellow and slightly sweet braised onions

Meat:

The meat in the Chop Shop patty melt is a coarse ground aged beef patty, cooked perfectly medium rare, and very lightly seasoned to make the mellow, earthy beef flavours to really shine.

Bread:

This is the best of the best toasted, crustless caraway bread. It’s heavily buttered and then griddled to make a super crunchy golden wrapper to the patty melt.

Accessories:

Very good, perfectly crisp, and beautifully seasoned fries.

Overall rating: 9/10

It’s at the top end of the price range for what you get which is, essentially, a single round of sandwiches. But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in pure, unadulterated joy. Earthy flavours from the beef and onions mingling with the cheese all offset against the crunch of the buttery caraway toast - with a riff of pickle to pep everything up. The Chop Shop patty melt is a comfort dish, pure and simple, and it's delivered at the very top of its game.

Honourable mention: Pulled Pork Sausage Roll - £5

No visit to Chop Shop can possibly be complete without trying out their phenomenal pulled pork sausage roll. It really is as simple as it sounds - beautifully moist pieces of pulled pork are seasoned and rolled up in egg glazed pastry. It's served with an earthy tomato bacon chutney that beautifully complements the rich pork and pastry.

Find Chop Shop and all the best burgers in London on the Hamburger Me! London Burger Map.