Mr Memoirs of an Amateur Cook and I love a good burger. We make our own at home quite often and like to think that over the years we have become rather good at it. We havent had any complaints anyway!! Sometimes however, it is rather nice to treat yourself and go out to eat and have someone else make the burgers for a change!
Image courtesy of Franks Burger House
With this in mind, a short while ago we thought it was about time that we paid Franks Burger House in Northampton a visit. Franks Steakhouse has occupied a prominent position on the Wellingborough Road since October 2011 and has rave reviews. We are yet to visit the steakhouse but, as it was a weekday we fancied something a bit quicker so popped in to their ‘sister’ restaurant across the road which opened in May 2012.
The ethos behind Franks Burger House is fresh burgers made with local meat served in a contemporary setting, no booking is required. The moment we walked in we were pleasantly greeted and asked to choose a table as the restaurant wasn’t that busy. I must say, I love the simple, understated interior of the burger house. It is full of big, chunky, light coloured wooden benches and tables adorned with calf skins and Union Jack cushions; very Wild West meets the UK! There is also a well stocked bar on site with an area to sit and wait for a table over a drink. I am told that past the open plan kitchen (always a plus in my opinion! That way the chefs are really accountable as to what they are up to!!) there is a lovely patio area which is perfect for pre-dinner drinks on a warm evening.
I must admit that the menu on offer from Franks Burger House did not particularly excite me. Although I agree that a very large menu can often be a mistake and lead to average food which all somehow tastes quite similar, I don’t believe that for a self-proclaimed ‘burger house’, Franks offered enough selection. Maybe we have been spoilt by the likes of Gourmet Burger Kitchen who, although a large chain which I often shy away from, do offer really very tasty food and a large selection of toppings for burgers as well as various unusual meats from buffalo to wild boar. At Franks, there are eight types of burger on offer; one of those is simply a double burger, another is a plain burger whilst a third is a burger without a bun. The remaining options contain fairly ordinary toppings of cheese, bacon, chilli and avocado; there is one burger which contains a meat other than beef and that is a rather bog standard sounding chicken burger.
We both opted for the ‘Elite’ burger, a beef burger with two slices of mature cheddar, and a side portion of onion rings. The burgers came out and were very well presented each on individual wooden boards with homemade chips in a mini frying basket. There was a little bit of salad on the side, namely one lettuce leaf and one slice of onion…minimalistic yes but a little too much so! Unfortunately, I was not as impressed with the taste of my meal as I was the presentation. I found that although the meat was local and the burgers handmade, it did not have much flavour at all. The beef was not well seasoned and it would be quite difficult, I’m afraid to say, to pick it out in a line up of other mass-produced burgers. Although the bread was nice, it was not the ideal kind for a burger bun as it was far too dry and also too floury which led me to become self conscious about having flour all over my face! The chips were average. I was really hoping for some proper handmade steak cut chips however, they were quite thin and not much to write home about. On the plus side, the onion rings were rather nice with the right amount of crunch however, there was not a lot of batter on them and you certainly didn’t get much for your money!!
We had a more positive experience with the drinks. My boyfriend had a cider and I had a large glass of wine; both were very reasonable and my wine was the best glass I had tasted in a while!
The overall price was very reasonable and perfect for a mid-week meal out with burgers being around the £7 mark.
Overall, if I’m honest I was rather disappointed with Franks Burger House, particularly as I had read such good reviews of their steakhouse; I must admit that I did expect better quality food. Would I give it another go? Perhaps. It is just on our doorstep and I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt seeing as they had just opened however, I will not rush there in a hurry and will be more inclined to making my own burgers at home which are just as good a treat, if not better.
4 thoughts on “Northamptonshire Review: Franks Burger House, Northampton”
miss a l dawson
i do beleive that you are a bit biased towards this burger house. As you seem to proclaim yourself as a semi-food critic, i can do the same.
I think that burgers should always have the best possible ingredients, which franks are, and why should they be covered up with stuff????
The big burger places cover up the taste of the burger with salt, and sauces, to take taste away from a shit burger ie sauce, mayo, chilli, smoked bacon, cheese, or anything else to put on. have you ever tried a mc donalds burger on its own? i would advise you not too (it just tastes of salt and stuff!). I think it is good that someone is doing a reasonably healthy burger, through locally sourced meat (not south america) and flour on a bun what? of course a good quality bun does, it is also locally sourced, not a big supermarket chain! you and your partner ate for £7.00? what more could one ask for for £7.00? (for two)
sarahsfoodieblog
Hello Miss Dawson
Thank you for your comment and reading my blog.
Firstly, I am wondering about your connection with Franks? You certainly seem very defensive. As my ‘About’ page clearly states – the views on this blog are purely my own and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My blog about Franks is simply that, my opinion. No where on this blog do I “proclaim myself as a semi-food critic”. I am simply someone who enjoys cooking, eating out and blogging about my experiences.
I see your point about not covering up the “best possible ingredients” however, if I have something plain and simple, I still expect it to be tasty. I unfortunately did not find my burger at Franks very flavoursome – it certainly wasnt very well seasoned.
I must admit, I find your comment comparing Frank’s burgers to McDonalds rather irrelevant. We all know that McDonalds do not use locally sourced ingredients and their food is highly processed; it is after all a fast food chain something which Frank’s isnt so, why the comparison?!
If you are looking for a good comparison to a Frank’s burger, why not compare it to the burgers at the Wig and Pen in Northampton? I think you will find that the Wig and Pen uses very good quality, locally sourced (where possible) ingredients. I can testify that their burgers are fantastic and there is also the possibility of having a variety of toppings to compliment the burger and not detract from the taste (if one chooses). They also have a regularly changing specials board which often features burgers – today there was a Venison and bresaola burger with roquefort on offer. I would have liked to have seen specials like this at Franks if Im honest. In my opinion, it shows great creativity and shouldnt creating good food be about creativity and at times, experimentation?
As I am someone who regularly makes their own bread, I am well aware that often there will be flour on bread rolls however, there was way too much flour on our burger buns at Frank which made the whole burger quite dry.
Also, sorry if I didn’t make it clear but the bill was not £7.00 for both of us – it was over £7 for just one of the burgers…
In the last paragraph of my blog I clearly state that although I was dissapointed, I would give Frank’s Burger House another try – maybe you missed that bit before writing your comment?! However, upon looking on Tripadvisor, it seems I am not the only one who was not that impressed with the place and if you are in anyway connected with Frank’s Burger House, I must admit that you have rather put me off returning.
Thanks again for reading.
Sarah
Gary Collins
Hi Sarah,
I think another thing the other commenter seemed to miss when comparing McDonalds to this gourmet burger restaurant is that you can buy a burger from McDonalds for as little as £1. For £1 I can accept a greasy, salty abomination of a burger, in fact I’d expect it. That is why I choose not to eat there. I would however expect a gourmet burger restaurant to offer a wide range of burgers and for it to be well presented, well seasoned and imaginative when it turned up in my plate.
If the other commenter is in some way linked with this restaurant, they’d have done well not to compare their gourmet burger with that of McDonalds!
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