Birthday Treats at Smashburger, Glasgow!

For those of you who are regular readers of my blog, you will know I’ve been absent for a wee while, trying to get my life together in the run up to the end of my PhD. In fact, I only re-joined the blogging scene about a week ago when I finally decided to get back in the saddle again after a six month break! No sooner had I returned to the blogosphere, an email popped up in my inbox announcing some new additions to the menu of my local Smashburger, and asking if I’d like to bring a guest along to sample the latest in gourmet burger goodies – with Friday being my birthday, I couldn’t resist!

Paul had already planned an evening of birthday excitement for me in Glasgow, so he was thrilled to finally get the chance to be included in one of my blogging experiences – he’s also the token ‘beef-eater’, so was available to give his opinions on any non-chicken burger options that the new menu had to offer!
 

We decided on an early evening dinner, arriving at Smashburger a little before 6pm. There were only a couple of diners on the ground floor, but I requested a table upstairs so that I could go full on crazy blogger lady with the photo taking! Despite the lack of other customers, I know this doesn’t reflect the quality of the food or service on offer as I’d already been lucky enough to visit when the company first set up shop here, back in October. I suspect the lull in activity was due to the time of day and the partial closure of Sauchiehall Street after a recent fire, causing re-routing of potential customers – we were assured by our waiter though that he expected it to pick up again as the night progressed.

 

 

As the condition of our invite was that we sample the new items on the menu, we already knew what our choices were:

 

- Triple Double Bloomer (Beef) - £6.95

- Crispy Chicken BLT Bloomer - £8.95

- Mac ‘n’ Cheese Bites - £4.25

- New Drinks Range (Ugly, Firefly, Dalston’s, Sandows, LongFlint Co.) - £3.25

- Sandows Cold Brew Coffee Haagen Dazs Shake - £5.25

- Popping Candy Salted Caramel Popcorn Haagen Dazs Shake - £5.95

 

Paul obviously went for the beef option, while I opted for the chicken BLT bloomer. We shared the generous portion of mac ‘n’ cheese bites and each chose something from the new drinks range – an ‘Ugly’ sparkling water with a hint of lemon and lime for Paul, and a ‘Firefly’ pomegranate and elderflower juice for me. While I would have loved to sample the Haagen Dazs shakes, neither of us have had particularly good experiences with rich milkshakes recently, so opted to steer clear for the sake of our delicate digestive systems!

As I mentioned in my previous Smashburger blog post, all the food ordering and payment occurs at the till in one go, similar to the wonderful system employed our regular favourite, Nando’s. I’m a huge fan of this system, as it prevents any hanging around after you’ve finished your meal, although it did leave us questioning how the staff earn any well-deserved tips.
 

I only had minimal time to try and capture a ‘perfect’ picture of the beverages, before our food had arrived at the table! Poor Paul then had to gaze longingly at his juicy burger while I attempted to get the lighting ‘just right’ in order to show off how tasty the food is to potential readers. Paul’s ‘Triple Double Bloomer’ came with two juicy beef patties, triple melted cheese, ketchup, SMASH sauce, tomato, lettuce, pickles (although he removed these) and red onion, and according to the menu, should have been served on toasted multi-grain SMASH bloomer bread, although his arrived sandwiched within a toasted brioche bun instead.

 

 

My ‘Crispy Chicken BLT Bloomer’ came with Applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and did arrive with the toasted multi-grain SMASH bloomer bread as advertised on the menu. I promptly removed the tomato, as I’ve never been a fan of that particular fruit, before digging in to the wonderful chicken goodness in front of me! Both of us had selected sweet potato Smashfries (£3.75/£4.25) as an accompaniment, although I’m not sure this was necessary with the generous helping of mac ‘n’ cheese bites which had also arrived at the table.

 

 

Overall, our opinions of the new menu items are definitely favourable, albeit with some slight changes if we were to select exactly the same meal a second time. Paul remarked that, while his burger was extremely tasty, he felt it was a little on the small side for one which contained two beef patties. I suspect this was only due to the swapping of bloomer bread for brioche bun however, as my burger was so large that I had to give Paul the last bit of it! He also wasn’t a fan of his drink choice, which he expected to taste more like lemonade, rather than sparkling water with a hint of lemon, but this wouldn’t be a problem for people who are usually fans of the carbonated water variety. My pomegranate and elderflower juice, on the other hand, was unexpectedly tasty, given my usual dislike for anything which contains elderflower – I may even select such juices over other soft drinks in the future, as it was wonderfully refreshing.

 

The one thing which we were definitely both in agreement over was the superb quality of the mac ‘n’ cheese bites! As a couple who regularly indulge in the usual cheesy fast food additions, such as mozzarella sticks, these were a huge hit with us, and will almost certainly be a regular addition to any future meal we have at Smashburger. Unlike the usual cheese overload that we experience with similar side orders, these offered a deliciously creamy alternative, without being too heavy on the stomach.

 

Having tried Smashburger with a friend, and now with Paul, I’d love to take my kids along for their dinner sometime. After checking that the menu also included some selected children’s dishes, I know that they would enjoy a trip, especially with the all singing and dancing soda machine and its weird and wonderful flavours! While I’m not sure how easy it would be to navigate the building with a pram come the end of the summer, I’m sure it won’t be long before we are all back for a visit!

 

If you’re keen to investigate these new dishes, or any of the regular menu for yourself, Smashburger is located at 165 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. I would advise any of my burger loving friends to give this a go, and make sure you add the mac ‘n’ cheese bites to your order!

 

*I was invited along to Smashburger in order to try out the new menu free of change, in exchange for honest feedback. All opinions expressed in this post are either mine or Paul’s.
 

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