The Experience:The main lure of MEATmission for a party of eleven people was that it is one of the only burger places in London that take a reservation. It is also the latest offshoot of the MEATWagon chain and has been rumoured to be the best of the lot.
The restaurant is intentionally covert and inside a former Christian mission with nothing but the neon red ‘MISSION’ sign above the doors. A passerby might mistake it for a tacky strip club if not for the mouthwatering aroma that seeps through the doors and onto the street. They are going for the feel of an American prohibition-era speakeasy, and the big glass jugs of beer with eccentric décor certainly gives off that feel when you enter. The walls are covered with back-lit pictures of bulls and rams in suits, and the stained glass ceiling in the main room creates a beautiful glow. MEATmission integrates the atmosphere into the eating experience.
The staff were amazing. The Burgermeisters were celebrating a birthday and MEATmission managed to cater for a big group and helped set up the birthday cake and light all the candles. They were sweet and attentive and did a great job to keep everyone happy with their meal. They also did not rush the party out at all. At other burger joints, the waitstaff tend to be a bit snotty and rush their customers for higher table turnover, but at MEATmission they just kept kept a smile on their faces no matter how annoying the Burgermeisters’ requests were.
Burgers Ordered: Green Chili Cheeseburger, Red Chili Cheeseburger, Bacon Cheeseburger, and Halloumi & Mushroom Burger.
The Taste: The best burger by a long shot was the Bacon Cheeseburger. Classic and absolutely delicious. The meat patty was perfectly pink and juicy inside and was covered with delicious gooey melted cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, mustard, ketchup, pickles, onions, and lettuce. The combination was divine and spiced perfectly.
Runner up was the red chili burger, which included another perfectly cooked meat patty, beef chili, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, onions, and mustard. If you like spicy burgers, this one has the perfect balance of spiciness to everything, allowing you to taste all the rich elements in the burger while turning up the heat a bit.
Next in line was the green chili burger. This one rocked one meat patty, chili butter that was chock full of chunky spicy green peppers, onions, pickles, ketchup, and mustard. This one was less-than-stellar. It turned up the heat significantly compared to the red chili burger. It was so hot that there was little taste save for a mouthful of fire. That juicy burger hiding inside basically went to waste because of the heat. After about half of the burger, the Burgermeister scraped off the green chilis and poured bleu cheese over the top to bring the heat down. The flavor combination a little funny, but at least there were no more faces on fire.
There were two vegetarians in the group who ordered the halloumi and mushroom burger, which was a nice alternative, especially because most burger places in the area don’t offer a veggie option. This burger was tasty and rich with a thick cut of halloumi cheese, a big portabello mushroom, onions, pickles and ketchup, and mustard. It was very nice, but nothing to write home about.
The monkey finger appetizer really stole the show! Monkey fingers are boneless pieces of chicken that are battered and smothered in buffalo sauce and served with bleu cheese dip (a take on the American chicken fingers). They were crispy on the outside with succulent strips of chicken on the inside and then coated with the best buffalo sauce the Burgermeisters had ever tasted. Words can’t really do them justice… they are simply amazing and that’s it.
The other appetizers were okay. The fried pickles were pleasant, although they were very doughy and in the end were probably too heavy for this group. The bingo wings were good; there was nothing amazing about them, but they were not bad either. The french fries were fine, but a bit pale. The Burgermeisters would have preferred them to be fried a bit more and golden because it felt like chewing on a potato towards the bottom of the bowl. The chili cheese fries added a layer of spicy, cheesy goodness over top, and get the recommendation over plain fries.
The Verdict: MEATmission certainly gets a recommendation. The trendy ambiance and the décor of the restaurant made it more of an experience than simply a place to eat. The staff were nice and attentive and didn’t rush the group or get annoyed when the Burgermeisters got whip cream all over their kitchen (don’t ask). Be careful of the Green Chili Burger and go for the classic bacon cheeseburger. MEATmission certainly knows how to cook their burgers correctly, so whichever one you decide on you can depend on getting a perfectly cooked and spiced pink burger with punchy toppings that compliment all the flavors. The restaurant holds its place as the best of the MEATWagon offshoots and stands as one of the top five burger joints that I have tried so far in London!
MEATMission is located at 15 Hoxton Market in London, England.
