'We tried Britain's best burger - one thing not involving taste made it perfect'

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El Perro Negro
El Perro Negro's 'Best Burger in UK' (Image: Edinburgh Live)

The El Perro Negro restaurant in Glasgow opened in 2018 and soon became one to watch, as it was frequently featured in blogs and polls as the place to go for the city's best burger.

Soon the burger specialists, led by founder Nick Watkins, were accruing national attention.

When they entered the National Burger Awards in 2019 with their signature Top Dog burger they beat the competition and took the crown for the UK's best burger.

They repeated the same achievement in 2021, beating competition from 14 other top burgers from across the UK, Edinburgh Live reports.

All the burgers were cooked, served, tasted and judged at a live final in London, and were even back in the running for this year's final with a new burger, called the Big D.

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'We tried Britain's best burger - one thing not involving taste made it perfect'Edinburgh is home to the UK's Best in Burger (Edinburgh Live)

With a two-time UK Burger of the Year winner arriving at Bonnie & Wild's Scottish Food Hall in 2021, the staff at Edinburgh Live decided to try the burger out and see what they thought.

For context, the Top Dog Burger is a grass-fed, dry-aged beef patty, topped with bone marrow and Roquefort butter, double bacon, caramelised onions and black truffle mayo.

Sounds mouth-watering right?

The team arrived hungry on a busy Thursday evening, and the food hall was bustling.

'We tried Britain's best burger - one thing not involving taste made it perfect'The two-time UK Burger of the Year winner arrived at Bonnie & Wild's Scottish Food Hall in 2021, and staff at Edinburgh Live decided to try the burger out (Edinburgh Live)

They ordered the Big Dog (£12.50) and regular fries (£3.50) from the friendly staff, grabbed a seat at one of the long tables and waited for their buzzer to flash, signalling their burger was ready.

When they were finally able to collect the burger, and it looked as appetising as it sounded..

It's a smash patty burger, which, in a land of tumbling tower burgers and overstuffed options in crumbly buns, is greatly appreciated.

'We tried Britain's best burger - one thing not involving taste made it perfect'The fries were also delicious (UGC)

The fact they could actually hold the burger in their hand and take a bite, without it dripping everywhere or exploding salad and squirting sauce out the other end was a real Brucey Bonus.

There are rules to a great burger and this, for them, should be one of them.

The first bite was pretty heavenly.

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'We tried Britain's best burger - one thing not involving taste made it perfect'A trio of burgers from El Perro Negro (UGC)

As down and dirty a burger as you could hope for, with the patty filled with flavour and well seasoned and that black truffle mayo and caramelised onions working so well with the crisp rashers of bacon (another thing that was appreciated).

Truffle can be overwhelming but the balance in this was pretty spot on.

Another big plus point was the in-house demi-brioche buns which held together well and tasted delicious.

'We tried Britain's best burger - one thing not involving taste made it perfect'The burger was a good portion size (UGC)

The chips were, much like Gordon Ramsay's Street Burger, a cut above the usual fare you find in high street places, with a perfect crunch and fluffy potato.

Some more seasoning would have been nice, though.

A good portion size – though smaller than they remembered from the Glasgow branch – and plenty of chips ensured they left feeling pretty satisfied too for the £16 that has been spent.

'We tried Britain's best burger - one thing not involving taste made it perfect'El Perro Negro (UGC)

So, there you have it, Edinburgh is home to the best burger in the UK and it seems crazy that more people don't know about it.

Was it the best ever? It was pretty close.

There are plenty more options on offer such as the Double Smash with Chipotle Mayo (£12) and the Black Dog with Lawson's Black Pudding (£10).

Sean Murphy

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