To Byron for a post-parents’ evening debrief en famille. To those who are unfamiliar with its concept Byron is to the gourmet burger boom of the noughties what Pizza Express is to its market – food, décor and service of sufficient quality to feel like you’ve been out for a meal without being too expensive to dissuade the average muncher from using it as a regular standby.

Like PExpress their restaurants (in London at least) are often to be found in either regenerative developments or landmark buildings. The one at St. Paul’s is in New Change, Jean Nouvel’s crouching beige behemoth that just about manages to unobtrude in a historically sensitive location.

We were lucky to secure the last booth for four and snaffled some olives while waiting for the main event. The menu (of course) is mostly burgers but they have a good variety and a pretty regular turnover of specials in case you’ve been through the card. I took a B-Rex which delivered a juicy  burger, melting cheese and properly hot jalapeños. We shared good crunchy fries and fried zucchini while the skin on chips were a bit floury for my liking.

Beer, let’s think about beer. For a can of Byron lager I could get six Zywieces in the Turkish Food Centre. Obviously the TFC has slightly lower overheads than a restaurant in the heart of the City but still, £5.95 for a can of beer is Courchevel prices.

The service was super-friendly and the food excellent so we left happy. Happier than if we’d gone to GBK but not quite as happy as if we’d Honest Burgered (assuming they’ve fixed the bogs by now – Byron’s are world class btw). But that’ll have to wait till next year.

8/10

To see where else I’ve eaten in 2016 go to the GoogleMap here

London Restaurants burger Byron London New Change St Paul's