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Handmade Burger Co opened its 15th restaurant on the riverside at The Oracle in early December
Handmade Burger Co opened its 15th restaurant on the riverside at The Oracle in early December
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Restaurant review: Handmade Burger Co

By Becky Barnes
January 09, 2013


When I heard a new burger joint was opening at The Oracle I jumped at the opportunity to check it out – especially when I was told that every burger is made to order.

Almost every restaurant has a burger on its menu now, from high- end hotels like Malmaison to Italian restaurants like Bella Italia, so a specialised burger restaurant needs to go above and beyond to draw its punters in.

Promising to make each burger from scratch on site each day certainly seemed like a good start.

Handmade Burger Co opened its 15th restaurant on the riverside at The Oracle in early December and it is tucked on the corner near the Grosvenor Casino end of the river (where lsq2 was).

It’s a stylish place packed with tables with an open kitchen and modern décor. The menu is extensive, we're talking a choice of 40 burgers here, but it is easy to follow with staff on hand to guide you on your way.

Out of the 40 options I was immediately drawn to exclusive burgers from BBC’s Jimmy Doherty’s farm and opted for Jimmy’s beef, cheese and bacon (£8.95).

The juicy delight included mature cheddar, smoked bacon, caramelised onion relish, mayo and salad, to which I added a flat mushroom as an extra (greedy me or one of my five a day, depending on which way you look at it).

My boyfriend picked out the special stuffed burger with cheddar and chilli (£7.95). Warning; when the menu reads ‘hot chilli relish’ it isn’t lying about the heat – thank goodness for the selection of dips we picked for him to cool off with.

The great thing about this menu is you can add or take away exactly what you want and it is definitely a place for people who love to share.

We picked fresh cut chips (£2.95) and Cajun chips (£3.25) plus onion rings (£2.85) and chargrilled vegetables (£2.95). We also had to try the three chargrilled halloumi and veg skewers (£3.75).

We could have fed a table of four with the amount of food we ordered and it was definitely a case of eyes bigger than belly on this occasion. One bowl of chips is more than enough to feed two and maybe pick another side if you are really hungry.

I would opt for the fresh cut chips again next time I visit as there are so many flavours in the burgers and the dips that the Cajun flavour was a bit much against a blue cheese dip (although the waitress did point out this made them taste like Cheetos – good or bad you decide).

The dips were 70p or three for £1.95 and the barbecue flavour was a delight. With classic beef burgers starting at £5.95, a dip or two could certainly spruce up a plain burger on a budget.

This restaurant is no frills and offers a relaxed and friendly atmosphere – you place your order at the till so there are no squabbles about the bill at the end. Food came out very quickly and was tasty, fresh and satisfying.

The veggie options were impressive and burgers included green bean and chickpea with apple chutney (£6.95), sweet potato and bean with a mango and ginger salsa (£7.15) or spinach and lentil (£7.15).

Chicken and lamb burgers also grace the menu as do a range of salads as well as smaller burgers for a smaller appetite or a kid’s menu for youngsters.

Drinks included everything from beers to milkshakes but we opted for a lovely bottle of Chilean Los Romeros Merlot (£14.95).

Handmade Burger Co is a welcome addition to the Riverside and it may be just enough to tempt the burger eaters away from other restaurants where just a solitary burger lingers on the menu.


Contact Details

  • Telephone: 0118 9588106
  • Website: www.handmadeburger.co.uk
  • Address:
    Handmade Burger Co
    The Riverside, The Oracle,
    Reading
    RG1 2AG
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Most recent user comments 15 of 20

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   Overpriced muck!Buns had obviously been frozen as they fell into pieces and the burgers were below average
glitterwebby
16/01/2013 at 18:32 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   A burger joint ? must be down the block in the hood.

£15 for chilean merlot? Was the person at the till holding a sawn off shotgun by any chance?
rogerjolly, reading
15/01/2013 at 21:24 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   I'm not a burger fan. However, I had the biggest and juiciest burger I've ever eaten. The reviewer is right about the fries, we were two males and both ordered chips in case this was one of those places you get 6 each. As the food was delivered and before we even started eating we both looked at them and said, "There's no way I'm going to eat all my chips." We both left about half in our bowls. This is how restaurants should be, give you a pile of cheap carbs so you leave satisfied no matter what your appetite. The only odd thing about the experience was that the waitress recommended something on the menu when we initially sat down. I found this rather odd. So I asked why it was being recommended. There was an embarrassing pause followed by, "Well, everyone seems to be ordering it today." Go figure. Regardless, if I really wanted a burger again (which isn't a sensation I'm expecting soon) I would go here without hesitation and take anyone I was with it they wanted a burger for a meal. As a point of reference, I've not eaten in other "proper" (ugh, I dislike that word in the context of food) burger restaurants so I don't know how it compares.
Poldrieve, Caversham
11/01/2013 at 22:52 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   Malmaison burger best in town, but happy to be proved wrong with a visit to this new joint
Dog Leg
10/01/2013 at 14:19 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   Hazel - thanks for the tip!!
alex_f, Wokingham
10/01/2013 at 13:25 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   MSmith - haha good spot and sorry for the confusion - I did indeed have them confused. I did mean GBK rather than WGK!

GBK is excellent. It's what I was hoping for at the riverside. Not that we are short of places doing good burgers (Miller and Carter also do a great one, yet to try the £20(!) one at Malmaison) but they all seemed to fall slightly short of a GBK.

But like you I think Handmade Burger just edges it, for me mainly based on the quality of the chips and way they served us and accommodated my mistake the other day.
alex_f, Wokingham
10/01/2013 at 13:20 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   Yes, I was talking about Wokingham Gourmet Kitchen not GBK. I think WGK's burgers are pretty good.

Regarding Handmade, there is an almost permanent offer on Voucher Cloud (website and free app) – usually it's buy one main course, get one for £1 so don't pay full price if you want to try it. I've been to the Brum one a few times and it's not bad.
Hazel, Wokingham
10/01/2013 at 12:40 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   I quite enjoyed the Bella Pasta reference - it amused me and made the critic look sneaky and sarky. A shame the reviews cannot be taken seriously when they are always so positive though. Not being any reliable use for choosing a place to eat does rather lead to question why they continue to feature.
Nowtas, West Berkshire
10/01/2013 at 12:25 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   I think alex_f and Hazel are talking about two different places.

I think Hazel is talking about WGK = Wokingham Gourmet Kitchen - which is far from gourmet, but don't get me started.

I think Alex_f you mean GBK - Gourmet Burger Kitchen. This is a very similar chain to the handmade burger company, which serves some ace NZ lager. Having eaten at both recently, the Handmade Burger Company just edges it, down to their exceptional customer service.
MSmith
10/01/2013 at 12:24 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   @cadoxton conner - Mission Burrito have a 'Man vs Burrito' challenge! It's not free if you complete though, just a t-shirt and photo on the board (not that I know from experience ;) ).
alex_f, Wokingham
10/01/2013 at 12:13 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   Never understood the need to have cheese and meat in a burger, it seems gross; an American thing, no doubt.

What Reading surely needs is a restaurant with a supersized food challenge, with no bill if completed, as seen on the TV program "Man v Food" (Dave channel). This would surely help in our bid for city status !
cadoxton conner
10/01/2013 at 11:16 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   There are no burgers on the menu for over £9 (unless you pile on the additions). http://handmadeburger.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/HBC_new_menu_20122.pdf

I found the prices quite comparable to a decent pub burger (where a good steak burger and chips is usually £8 - £10). I am basing this on sharing a portion of chips (which is much larger than you would find in a pub portion).
alex_f, Wokingham
10/01/2013 at 10:30 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   I went here with my boyfriend a week or so after it opened and I can safely say that it is far too overpriced. Around £9 or so for just a burger is a ridiculous amount to pay. Also a pain that you have to order chips seperately. I think you can get a good quality burger for less than that in good pubs. Another thing, they got our orders mixed up and they had hardly any of the ingredients in stock so had to change my boyfriends order TWICE!
Miss Merry, The 'ding
10/01/2013 at 09:48 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   Handmade Burger beats WGK by a mile.

I went there last weekend, and I had a mexican salsa burger, my other half had a bacon and cheese burger, sharing a portion of chips, and each having a milkshake.

I made a mistake in initially ordering a burger with an ingredient I was allergic to (my mistake - it should have been obvious and I didn't point it out). The manager swapped this for another immediately (apologising - when it was my fault!) and it came back out within 5 minutes.

The burgers are alot tastier than the ones you'd have at WGK (maybe a teensy bit smaller, but still a big meal) and the chips on another level - a bit like chip shop style chips but far less greasy and with a great deal more flavour. Much better than the generic frozen ones you get at WGK. The milkshakes certainly weren't the gargantuan size that you get at WGK, but they were alot thicker.

I was REALLY impressed - I couldn't recommend it enough. And this is from someone who was praying for a WGK in Reading.
alex_f, Wokingham
10/01/2013 at 09:45 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   Ah, a burger chain – WT restaurant reviewers' spiritual home.

Seriously though, for a good burger (aka "juicy delight") I'd go to WGK.
Hazel, Wokingham
10/01/2013 at 09:29 Offensive or Inappropriate?
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